Konami has finally given us a proper look at Silent Hill f since it was first revealed back in late 2022 (alongside the Silent Hill 2 Remake and that rough Silent Hill: Ascension thing), and it looks frankly terrifying. The trailer itself was mainly focused on the storyline and introducing us to the new protagonist Hinako Shimizu, without as much as a lick of gameplay. But since this is Silent Hill, fans have combed every millisecond of footage from the Silent Hill transmission and noticed a familiar callback to previous entries in the series.
Towards the end of the trailer, Hinako is shown in a distressed state, with a looming threat approaching her. But rather than run away scared (like I will be doing when playing the game), she decides to fight, and the nearest thing to her just so happens to be a steel pipe. So while we didn’t see any of the game’s combat, we can sleep soundly knowing we’ll be able to bludgeon monsters with the series' most iconic weapon.
While a pipe seems like a standard monster-bashing tool, it’s been the go-to melee weapon of Silent Hill protagonists since the series kicked off in 1999 when Harry Mason found one in an alleyway. Since then it’s appeared in pretty much every game in the series (even the bad ones like Downpour), and Silent Hill f looks to be continuing the tradition. In fact, it seems likely that it’ll be Hinako’s main form of attack, as the game’s box art features her brandishing the blunt weapon. Time will tell if Silent Hill f will keep up the momentum of the Silent Hill 2 remake, but for now it’s looking promising.
In case you weren’t already scared enough, Silent Hill F’s ESRB rating promises the likes of "entrails and sinew displayed on serving platters" and "a character sawing off her own arm."
