Konami yesterday pulled the curtain back on Silent Hill f, a full-fat third-person horror game that boasts some of the freakiest monster designs in the series' 25-year history, and its gnarly content warning is even making a horror buff like me a little worried.
Silent Hill f takes the series' foggy setting and contorted-limb monsters to a rural 1960s Japanese village this time, putting us in the shoes of teenager Shimizu Hinako, and the game's website goes to great lengths to remind us that some things were very different back then.
"This game is set in Japan in the 1960s and contains depictions based on the customs and culture of that time," Konami's disclaimer says. "These depictions do not reflect the opinions or values of the developers or any individuals involved." Of course, some things in the world haven't simply gone away as the disclaimer also warns of "depictions of gender discrimination, child abuse, bullying, drug-induced hallucinations, torture, and graphic violence."
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Things might get so grim, in fact, that Konami even says that it's really really okay if you need to take a break now and then. Turning on all the lights and running to the kitchen for some emergency coffee wouldn't make you a wimp, honest, the publisher implies. "If you feel uncomfortable at any point while playing, please take a break from playing or speak to someone you trust," are the disclaimer's exact words.
In true Silent Hill form, it seems the real horrors aren't just coming from abject designs and spooky liminal spaces. Shimizu herself is apparently a "girl struggling under the pressure of expectations from her friends, family, and society" who "now hardly smiles." Taken together with the content warnings up above, Silent Hill f will likely take a sterner look at some real-world issues, though hopefully they're tackled with the same finesse as Silent Hill 2 and not Silent Hill: The Short Message.
There's no release date for Silent Hill f, but it'll come to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S when it's ready.
Famed Higurashi When They Cry creator Ryukishi07 says he worked so hard on the Silent Hill f story that "I don't think I would mind if it was the last thing I ever wrote"
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