'We want to keep experimenting': Silent Hill f won't become the new norm as Konami wants each new Silent Hill game to stand out and have 'its own distinct flavour'

Silent Hill f endings screenshots — (Image credit: Konami)

Silent Hill f may seem like a huge outlier when compared to other games in Konami's psychological horror game series: it's not set in the town of Silent Hill, it takes place during the 1960s, and there's a distinct lack of sexy nurses. But in reality, it has more in common with other Silent Hill games than it's been given credit for.

"The spiritual journey of the protagonist, as she faces her trauma and inner turmoil, is what ultimately makes it Silent Hill-like," series producer Motoi Okamoto says in an interview with IGN Japan at TGS 2025 (via Automaton).

The mysterious fox man. — (Image credit: Konami)

As I said in my Silent Hill f review, the vibes are very much on point in this game. Not just with the inner turmoil that new protagonist Hinako Shimizu faces, but also with the setting, puzzles, and monsters that you face. That said, Okamoto has made it clear that Konami wants the future of Silent Hill games to be varied.

"That doesn’t mean every future Silent Hill will be like Silent Hill f," Okamoto explains. "Each one will have its own distinct flavour. We want to keep experimenting and be ambitious, both in terms of gameplay design and storytelling, so please look forward to the next Silent Hill as well."

Creating more individual Silent Hill games has been quite the talking point for Konami during the promotional run for Silent Hill f. We were told the same thing at Gamescom when I got to talk to Okamoto and NeoBards' game director, Al Yang, about what this latest game can tell us about the future of the Silent Hill series.

"We aim to create a series that is always challenging in a positive way, offering a different flavour of gameplay with each title," Okamoto continued in a social media post. "Some things will remain unchanged, and the most important of these is the quality of the story. We firmly believe that a psychological story is essential to the essence of Silent Hill, and we will continue to focus on this aspect, confidently delivering it in future works."

I love the idea of future Silent Hill games branching out into new territories and trying out ideas from different developers, while staying true to the essence of Silent Hill in terms of its story motifs and psychological horror roots. In my eyes, Silent Hill f is not only proof that this concept can work wonderfully, but that it's also the best way forward for a series that stayed stagnant for so many years.

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Elie is a news writer with an unhealthy love of horror games—even though their greatest fear is being chased. When they're not screaming or hiding, there's a good chance you'll find them testing their metal in metroidvanias or just admiring their Pokemon TCG collection. Elie has previously worked at TechRadar Gaming as a staff writer and studied at JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs about Smash Bros. or any indie game that crossed their path.

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