Silent Hill f won me over with its chilling Japanese horror - but its Soulslike combat left me struggling

"However, with Konami handing over the latter's development to external studios, it has become more open to reimagining the series in multiple projects."

"There's a risk that this change of setting could mean you'll lump it with other Japanese-themed survival horror series like Project Zero or Forbidden Siren, but Hong Kong/Taiwan-based developer NeoBards has created an authentically Japanese place with Unreal Engine 5 that translates many of the familiar hallmarks of that town in our restless dreams."

"Ebisugaoka is still technically a hill, as that's what 'gaoka' means in Japanese. If the name wasn't apparent, then yes, this new setting is in Japan, more specifically, the Showa era in the 1960s."

"The town's design shares a similarly muted grey palette and a melancholic tone, especially as you learn of the personal troubles Hinoka has at home, including a drunk, abusive father, and a strange relationship with an older sister seen dressed in a beautiful kimono, whose face is not shown for reasons not yet known."

Konami has handed Silent Hill development to external studios, enabling multiple reimaginings of the series. NeoBards, a Hong Kong/Taiwan-based developer, built Silent Hill f in Unreal Engine 5 and set it in Ebisugaoka during Japan's Showa era of the 1960s. The protagonist, high school student Hinoka, lives in the town and the opening focuses on her rural small-town life. The town uses a muted grey palette and a melancholic tone. Hinoka faces personal troubles including a drunk, abusive father and an older sister in a kimono whose face is not shown. The script is by Ryukishi07 and unfolds as a slow burn.

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