KONAMI unleashed their heavily anticipated SILENT HILL f Transmission showcase today revealing a new location for the fan-favourite horror franchise.
Following the horror franchise’s strongest year to date, KONAMI announced a SILENT HILL f Transmission showcase that went live today revealing oodles of information on the newest title in SILENT HILL. The transmission is intended to show fans what’s to come to the franchise in SILENT HILL f, for better or worse, considering the abysmal Silent Hill: Ascension arrived the year before.
KONAMI revealed the now-announced game back in 2023, and it turns out the entire ~30-minute transmission runtime was all about SILENT HILL f. All of the exciting announcements (as well as the newly released trailer) from the transmission can be seen below.
The SILENT HILL f Transmission kicked off with a fresh look at the upcoming title (which can be seen above). The showcase started by flaunting the location the KONAMI presenters were standing in, and seeing a digital twin of exactly where they were standing, but in SILENT HILL f. For the first time in franchise history, SILENT HILL will be set outside of the titular location.
The newly introduced location is inspired by a real-life location in Japan. The setting is based on the small town of Kanayama, in the city of Gero in Gifu prefecture. The fictional twin is known in-game as Ebisugoka. When KONAMI knew they wanted SILENT HILL f to be based in Japan, that’s when they knew the prolific Japanese horror scenario writer, Ryukishi07 (most known for Higurashi When They Cry)should be the narrative writer.
He explains he chose the location by using the same method he chose for his previous horror works. The small labyrinthine town makes the location feel small, cluttered and claustrophobic allowing the setting to fill the player with dread. You can feel Japanese history from the setting, and KONAMI placed importance on that aspect.
The concept for SILENT HILL f is “find the beauty in terror,” and by leaning into those themes SILENT HILL straddles the duality between terror and beauty. Ryukishi07 explains when something becomes too perfect, SILENT HILL f explores the unsettling nature of that terrible perfection. Ryukishi07 mentions he was honoured to be approached by KONAMI, and he was filled with excitement and anxiety upon approaching KONAMI, similarly to how players would feel playing SILENT HILL.
Ryukishi07 says “Fristly, SILENT HILL is a setting” but he explains its so much more than that, a battle of sorts into the psychological aspects into the human mind. Ryukishi07 explains the narrative direction of SILENT HILL f will have players guessing as to what NPCs mean when they utter what appears to be gibberish. The idea is for players to recall those gibberish-seeming statements from terrified NPCs, and think “Aha! That’s what they meant!” The setting and the characters in it are all keys to the mystery of Ebisugoka.
Ryukishi07 explains in every SILENT HILL title, female characters get pulled along the narrative, and taht’s what led to the decision of making the main character a female protagonist. Ryukishi07 said instead of having the female character pulled along the way, let’s make her the protagonist finding answers for herself during the transmission.
SILENT HILL f put players in the shoes of main character Shimizu Hinako, an ordinary teenager until her town is enveloped in a mysterious fog. After the fog came, the town has become unrecognizably horrific, and she must explore the town ina n attempt to solve the overarching mystery (yet to be detailed by KONAMI) and most importantly, survive. SILENT HILL f is “a tale about a beautiful yet terrifying choice.”
Akira Yamaoka returns as the composer for SILENT HILL f (returning from SILENT HILL 2 Remake). He’s been the main composer for SILENT HILL since the first game and has worked on the franchise for 25 years. Seeing as how this is the first game set in Japan, Yamaoka utilized Japanese influence in his work. Yamaoka explains the important part of getting the music right, is when the emotions in the music and the emotions of the character on-screen are mutually exclusive. On the flip side, Composer Kensuke Inage composes the music for the Fog World aspect (referred to as the “Dark Shrine”) of SILENT HILL f.
Both composers worked in tandem to not only return the ‘SILENT HILL feel’ to the new title, but to “find the beauty in terror”.
The development team of SILENT HILL f chose to bring the prolific franchise to Japan due to the fact that both Japanese and Western horror was used in the development of the SILENT HILL franchise, and due to the Western setting for the entire franchise’s history, they felt the Japanese essence initially baked into SILENT HILL started to fade. That’s when the idea to make the setting Japanese came to be. The developers went on to assure new players SILENT HILL f is a completely new story and serves as a solid on-boarding ramp to the series as a whole.
While the transmission concluded without any gameplay, the grotesque imagery the series is known for, along with the chilling atmosphere and a development team that genuinely cares about the franchise were present to prove that SILENT HILL f could be a return to form for brand new titles in the franchise. Fans can wishlist SILENT HILL f today on Steam, and SILENT HILL f will be available on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC.
