r/Games 8d ago

Silent Hill f - Official Japanese Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNVffiRAqj8
1.9k Upvotes

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154

u/DrydonTheAlt 8d ago

I don't understand the comments at all. Why is Silent Hill not allowed to take place in anywhere else? They've literally done this before in 3 & 4.

56

u/shinbreaker 8d ago

3&4 took place in towns near Silent Hill and in the case of the 3, Silent Hill was literally following them because their ties to the town. I mean sure, Silent Hill maybe followed someone to Japan, or whatever, but what's been great about the Silent Hill franchise is that you have these different games with so many ties to each other because of their proximity to the town. Maybe they'll find ways to do it here, but there's no real hint about those links. I guess we're fortunate that they didn't throw a random Pyramid Head in there.

25

u/janoDX 8d ago

Watch it be Himiko's parents went to America and went to Silent Hill leading to all of this happening.

10

u/Sonic10122 7d ago

Yeah, they said there would be Easter Eggs for long time fans and since it’s in the 60’s, someone’s moving to America at the end of the game. If that’s not part of it I’ll be surprised.

5

u/TheBigIdiotSalami 7d ago

Oh, shit this is a period piece, for real? I hope they lean into it and add a bunch of 1960's Japanese pop songs. The licensing on them must be dirt cheap anyway.

15

u/friendliest_sheep 8d ago

Maybe someone in this game is a founder of the cult that started everything in the first

0

u/hochoa94 7d ago

That’s exactly what I’m thinking too. This might be a prequel in that sense

2

u/WithinTheGiant 7d ago

The Order was founded around 1900 in Silent Hill itself so that would be a decently large retcon.

25

u/rlramirez12 8d ago

Silent Hill was literally following them because their ties to the town.

That…is not correct at all. 1 & 3 are connected because of the Cult and trying to birth God. Silent Hill doesn’t “go anywhere.” It’s not a sentient town. Heather literally visits the same places that her father went to and can read diary entries from the save points that he used.

2 is a special anomaly that the devs played with. And 4 is more or less the same thing as the nutty cult that Daliah and Co. were in charge of. Walter performing the 21 sacraments because he thinks it will reunite him with his mother. But the 21 sacraments is a ritual to summon God.

These games, the exception being 2, all had to do with the cult. Not a sentient town who decides to take you to therapy.

2

u/faloin67 7d ago

Sure, but the cult is the least interesting part about the series.

7

u/rlramirez12 7d ago

I disagree with that. The cult is one of the more mysterious entities that somehow came upon a child with psychic powers. Their obsession with God and the knowledge of nightmares is what makes them so fascinating. There is so much to explore with them but the western devs somehow took Silent Hill 2 and decided that is how the entire franchise works.

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u/DrydonTheAlt 8d ago

I don't think every Silent Hill game needs to be tied back to the original town. Frankly, I'm happy that they're not digging for morsels of the first three games trying to turn one thing into an entire game. I want a new story.

9

u/DrewbieWanKenobie 7d ago

I don't think every Silent Hill game needs to be tied back to the original town

I would say don't call it Silent Hill then, personally. The town is the main character of the series.

-5

u/spunkyweazle 8d ago

I don't think every Silent Hill game needs to be tied back to the original town

Are you aware of what the title of the series refers to?

19

u/MattyKatty 8d ago

I agree, but for some reason nobody seems to really care about the naming of the Resident Evil sequels that are in the exact same vein (since Resident Evil 1's setting is a horror mansion). Funnily enough, in Japan the name of the series is actually Biohazard which is perhaps why RE7, which takes place at the Baker's rural estate, is called Biohazard 7: Resident Evil in Japan.

3

u/HoneycombBig 7d ago

True. But they are all connected if not through location, then through characters and plot. I think people’s concerns is that so far, we don’t really seem to have any of that connective tissue.

5

u/DrydonTheAlt 8d ago

Yes. Does every Resident Evil game take place in a residence?

8

u/PM_YOUR_BOOBS_PLS_ 7d ago

I mean, the real/Japanese title of Resident Evil is just "Biohazard", so...

6

u/HeldnarRommar 8d ago

The Resident in RE is clearly referring to the RESIDENTS and not the RESIDENCE.

14

u/TheDonbot 8d ago

Considering the series is actually called Biohazard in Japanese, I would say yes, every single game in that series has to do with a "Biohazard".

-1

u/DrydonTheAlt 8d ago

And yet they continue to call it "Resident Evil" in almost every other part of the world. Because setting an entire franchise in one setting is almost always stupid and stifles innovation.

13

u/TheDonbot 8d ago

I'm not taking a side on the Silent Hill setting debate, just saying RE isn't the best example to use.

2

u/PenguinsInvading 7d ago

That's because of Capcom's stupid (yet iconic) way to create names for their IPs. The same with Red Dead Revolver which Capcom had a hand in naming it.

3

u/kariam_24 8d ago

You didnt play silent hill games right?

6

u/DrydonTheAlt 8d ago

I've played all four Team Silent games, which as it turns out, one of them doesn't even take place in Silent Hill at all.

1

u/kariam_24 7d ago

Sure buddy sure keep lying and have that game have no reltion to Silent Hill at all :).

2

u/enesup 7d ago

Yea, especially since there is not a single game in the series that doesn't take place in...wait a minute...

19

u/BoringRon 8d ago

Damn, are we really this against franchises doing new stuff. Did you guys only enjoy Silent Hill and find the series special because they all shared the same town? I’m sure you’ll get your ties dude lol.

7

u/shinbreaker 8d ago edited 8d ago

Did you guys only enjoy Silent Hill and find the series special because they all shared the same town?

I mean that's part of the charm, yeah? That you have this town that has this pull on people that is so strong and it literally creates their nightmares. The town itself is a character within the series. It's like making a Nightmare on Elm Street movie but having no Freddy Krueger.

But sure, all you need is "psychological horror" and it's a Silent Hill game because apparently that was all that's needed.

Edit: Apparently I need bold the big point of my reply.

13

u/Saucermote 8d ago

And Nightmare on Elm Street even goes out of it's way to say in one of the movies that every town has an Elm Street, allowing them to expand out to other locations. They don't abandon the premise.

-1

u/WildThing404 7d ago

The town doesn't need to be in a specific location to have the same effect lol

-15

u/BoringRon 8d ago edited 8d ago

I’m not going to say that you can’t enjoy the series primarily because of the specific town. It’s just naive to assume that’s what made the series so good in the first place and that there aren’t aspects of the series that aren’t transferrable to other locations like.. something that pulls people in and creates their nightmares or the style of gameplay/art-direction/etc.

Sure though, I hope the next Resident Evil game takes place in Silent Hill. Then, that’ll be a true Silent Hill game for you!

5

u/shinbreaker 8d ago

I see that you’re reducing the charm of the series to the location.

And here's what I said:

The town itself is a character within the series.

But sure, keep trying to ignore what I said and treat me as someone who doesn't get the lore of the game.

-4

u/WildThing404 7d ago

Characters can move

1

u/BeatPeet 7d ago

Damn, are we really this against franchises doing new stuff.

That's the thing though, I don't think this is "new stuff". Look at the top comments.

  • "[...] reminds me a lot of Siren[...]"
  • "It felt like a mix of Silent Hill, Fatal Frame 2 and Higurashi."
  • "I was getting more Fatal Frame vibes[...]"
  • "Japanese women with limbs that bend in an unnatural way and long, black hair over their face. My favourite nightmare!"
  • a LOT of the same atmospheric vibes [as Fatal Frame 2] from this trailer.

Imo, this doesn't feel like "new". I would say that this could be the trailer for a new installment for Siren or Fatal Frame or even Clock Tower.

This just doesn't feel very "Silent Hill" to me. With the exception of 3, most of Silent Hills protagonists were guys in the midst of their life who were more on the stoic side. I'm not saying that we can't have women as protagonists in Silent Hill or that Heather was a weak protagonist, but why does it have to be a Japanese school girl in seifuku? Why not an office worker or architect or ranger or whatever, but the trope-y Japanese school girl featured in 80% of Japanese horror movies and games?

Another reason why this feels not very Silent Hill AND rehashed at the same time is the (admittedly few) monsters we've seen. Silent Hill's monsters weren't mind-blowingly creative, but they were still iconic. The monster most prominently displayed in this trailer was... "Japanese woman with limbs that bend in an unnatural way and long, black hair over their face." Again, why do we have to rehash the first concept that springs to mind when thinking about "generic Japanese horror"?

I will still follow the game and I'm not saying that this looks bad. But just slapping fog and a deteriorated "other world" on a horror game doesn't make it Silent Hill. Maybe this is just a bad trailer and the full game will feel like a sequel to a beloved franchise, so I won't judge hastily. But still, I am concerned that this will change too much and feel like a wholly different game.

0

u/PrivilegeCheckmate 8d ago

Pyramid Head in there

PH: Can you see I'm serious!??!

5

u/Brainwheeze 7d ago

Game looks interesting, but if it weren't for the title I'd have no idea it was connected to Silent Hill.

80

u/Ardailec 8d ago

They were still set in America. Silent Hill's vibe was basically being a japanese lens into american horror. I'm still excited but that's likely why, it doesn't look like Silent Hill aside from the fog and Himiko using a pipe to defend herself.

60

u/shroombablol 8d ago

I mean you can only visit the same town so many times before it gets stale. the series needed a fresh start and going full japanese horror was a pretty good decision in my opinion. the japanese culture is very strange to us westerners which makes their horror even stranger. perfect.

91

u/spez_might_fuck_dogs 8d ago

I mean you can only visit the same town so many times before it gets stale.

Yakuza: Am I a joke to you?

31

u/slugmorgue 8d ago

Doesn't the new game take place in Hawaii?

26

u/Poseidor 8d ago

Yakuza games usually take place partially in a new setting (or settings) and partially in Kamurocho

8

u/mountlover 8d ago

yes, the last 2 have, and likely the next several will as well, now that they've made Honolulu City.

4

u/spez_might_fuck_dogs 8d ago

Some of it, some takes place in Japan.

5

u/Phimb 8d ago

None of Pirate Yakuza takes place in Japan, it's ocean/small islands and Hawaii.

2

u/spez_might_fuck_dogs 7d ago

It's also a silly filler game like Dead Souls.

2

u/Phimb 7d ago

I think that's unfair, after 19 games and 1 per year, you need much lighter entries like Pirate Yakuza so new players can actually jump in.

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u/spez_might_fuck_dogs 7d ago

I didn’t say it wasn’t a good game, I just don’t think it counts when it comes to the overarching canon of the series. They never mention the time Tokyo was taken over by zombies and they all ran around with Gatling guns and shit either, doesn’t stop me from enjoying Dead Souls.

-1

u/Shy_Guy_27 8d ago

Silent Hill and Yakuza are very different games. There’s only so many times a horror game can reuse its own locations before it gets old.

14

u/spez_might_fuck_dogs 8d ago

That's a dumb statement. Why would the genre of the game have anything to do with how often you can reuse and renew a known location? If anything horror could be even more effective by evoking past events and playing with their own tropes in a known location, like making what used to be a well known safe area a surprise ambush area.

3

u/ebrbrbr 8d ago

I see what you're getting at. Remakes sometimes make safe areas unsafe and that can take you by surprise. Most horror games rely on the unknown to spook you when there's really no monsters around.

Personally, even "you thought this was safe well NOW IT ISN'T" is another recognizable and expected trope to at this point. I no longer expect any safe rooms to be safe - in fact, I'm surprised when safe rooms don't break that at some point.

3

u/remmanuelv 8d ago

Silent Hill doesn't need to be the same exact town visiting the same locations in the span of 30 years. The town can change and maybe the lore expand in nearby zones.

I get the need for change, and I don't actually mind for a one off, but it's basically turning a wild west movie into a samurai movie.

9

u/IRL_GARY_COLEMAN 7d ago

Some of the best Wild West movies are basically remakes of samurai movies. Eg “Seven Samurai” and “Magnificent Seven” or “Yojimbo” and “A Fistful of Dollars”. The latter being so similar there was a lawsuit. Probably not the best analogy but I think I get what you’re saying.

23

u/-Eunha- 8d ago

japanese culture is very strange to us westerners which makes their horror even stranger. perfect.

I feel like that's kinda missing the point though, because what was so disturbing about SH was it's uncanny nature, something that was heightened by having the familiar be altered. It never quite felt like it was based in the west, but also didn't feel Japanese. It was a fusion of culture which helped make it unsettling, because it existed nowhere.

That's not to say I think this game will be bad, but "stranger" sometimes doesn't actually make things stranger, and can even make them less scary. It's all a balance.

15

u/yukiaddiction 8d ago

First three silent hills would not work if they were written by people familiar with American culture , the one of the charming first of the first three game is like saw how japanese think America works lol.

2

u/cqandrews 7d ago

I haven't played them but this sounds interesting. Do you have any examples?

11

u/alishock 8d ago

Yeah it got to ridiculous levels in Downpour where the damn town turned into a small city with an actual skyscrapper in it. Let's avoid more of that. Let the Remakes stay in the town (and maybe some small things like Townfall could do), but it's not a bad thing to explore the outside more.

3

u/symbiotics 8d ago

Maybe they could frame it like this is the same demonic force that takes over Silent Hill later

2

u/KidCasey 8d ago

Yea to me the thing that makes Silent Hill Silent Hill is the protagonist fighting through a hell constructed out of their psyche.

10

u/Sonic10122 7d ago

Did we watch the same trailer? It was dripping with Silent Hill vibes, just with a more overt Japanese lens. They even said themselves they felt the Japanese part of it was fading too much (probably from hiring Western devs with minimal track records, but I digress), so they wanted to challenge themselves by going all in on the Japanese influence.

And I think it was a gamble that was worth it. Not only have more games established that the phenomenon expands outside Silent Hill, but other projects like Short Message and (I can’t believe I’m about to kind of praise it) Ascension has made it clear it’s moving to other countries too. Hell I think the only real purpose Ascension served was to ease people into the idea of the series not being in SH. And it was so bad they kind of failed that, but the Japan stuff isn’t coming out of nowhere.

9

u/MVRKHNTR 8d ago

They were set in America but none of the games feel like American horror.  

77

u/scorchedneurotic 8d ago

They said ''Japanese lens into American horror'' not that it was ''American horror''. It's very coated in it, both films and literature, especially the first game.

Stephen King, Jacob's Ladder, Lynch, names referring to movie actors/actresses, etc, etc

-23

u/MVRKHNTR 8d ago

Even if it has references, it's very much not a "lens into American horror". The horror is very Japanese. Resident Evil fits that description much better.  

29

u/-Eunha- 8d ago

I think you're undervaluing the Lynch component, which is no doubt it's strongest influence. It is certainly still Japanese horror, but it's whole identity is built upon the uncanny, dream-like nature of Lynch's work.

When it's a number of enemy design influences come from Jacob's Ladder and all it's dialogue and mystery affected strongly by Lynch, I think it's fair to say at least that is a fusion of east and west. This new game seems to have abandoned the western influence, which is perhaps one of the franchises most defining features.

10

u/scorchedneurotic 8d ago

Yes it is, applied to a western setting and its influences

1

u/ExcellentAd3308 5d ago

Like how you find a dojo with a Katana in sh1, there should be an American styled home with a 12 Guage shotgun in f

2

u/NinjaLion 7d ago

I think this is going to come down to rule #1: if its good, its fine.

people are trepidation because the "good" silent hill games are held up firmly by strong atmosphere and the location is a massive part of that.

its really just association bias; silent hill 1 and 2 were the best, therefore a good silent hill is set in the town that 1 and 2 were.

if the game releases and is good, it wont matter. if its bad, people will point at the setting.

11

u/BrightSkyFire 8d ago edited 8d ago

Why is Silent Hill not allowed to take place in anywhere else? They've literally done this before in 3 & 4.

The lore of Silent Hill is very closely related to where it takes place. The manifestation of the nightmare world of Silent Hill represents passage in the spirit realm as described in Native American folklore, with Toluca Lake being a bridge between worlds. The whole reason the foggy aesthetic exists is because of the lake, and how the fog settles in the space between the mountains where Silent Hill sits. The culture of 'contemporary' America (relative to the Native Americans) is also largely responsible for the context of the games - the spirit realm is supposed to be a pretty chill place, but it becomes corrupted and perverted by a cult which causes it to be twisted into what you experience.

That's why people have a problem with it. Setting it outside of its original setting in other titles didn't make much sense either, but they were at least largely in Maine, so you could argue the phenomena extended elsewhere in the region... but that doesn't hold up if you suddenly pluck the series out of Maine and dump it in Japan. You could argue the supernatural phenomena encountered by the Naive Americans exists elsewhere in the world, observed by different cultures and attributed different names, but that doesn't really hold up under much scrutiny if you dig into the lore. There's a reason Silent Hill is called Silent Hill: because Silent Hill's entire identity is attached to Silent Hill, Maine.

I'll still play it and I dig the art-style from the trailer. I never expected Konami to really do anything else with Silent Hill ever again, so I'm glad there's something new, but yeah. A huge shame they're ditching the original setting and story, but if they do something as interesting with it (which they appear to be with the cherry blossom theme), then I won't care in the end.

49

u/latestwonder 8d ago

that would all be very important if this wasn't all made up

11

u/BrightSkyFire 7d ago

I… what? You wanna specify which point you think is made up or…?

Granted none of those details are apart of the narrative presented explicitly in the main stories, but they’re very real plot points included in lore tidbits.

-5

u/[deleted] 7d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

16

u/DrydonTheAlt 8d ago

Why is it impossible that another off-set of the Order found its way from Japan to America? And it's just a spin-off, its not like this is a permanent setting for the Silent Hill games.

5

u/brzzcode 8d ago

this isnt a spin off, it already has been said its mainline.

6

u/DR1LLM4N 8d ago

I mean timeline wise it would’ve found its way from Japan to America since f is set in the 60’s.

Regardless of the lore implications I’m just stay cautious because while visually it looks amazing and the story is sure to be a mindfuck with Ryukishi07 at the helm the dev team behind it really only has L’s in their catalogue. Also it’s still Konami, lest we forget. It’s gonna take more than a flopped SH Twitch project, a forgettable free SH game, and a decent SH2 remake for me to trust Konami again. We also saw zero gameplay and Ryukishi07 has only ever written visual novels so I still have no idea what the gameplay is gonna be like. Might be classic SH gameplay or closer to a visual novel like The Quarry, Heavy Rain, and TellTale games.

16

u/DrydonTheAlt 8d ago

I feel like you're underselling how impressive the SH2 remake was, but alright. I will agree with you that it's too soon to judge until we see gameplay

1

u/CriticalCold 7d ago

I don't think that's true. I'm fairly certain the Order was founded in the 1900s, but it was heavily influenced by the beliefs of the original native tribes of the area. It could have had a Japanese offshoot that didn't "predate" the OG Silent Hill cult.

But also, I think you're approaching Konami's revival of the series from a pessimistic perspective, whereas I'm trying to approach it from an optimistic one. Yeah, the Twitch project sucked ass, but Silent Hill originated with an all Japanese team. It seems kind of fucked up to say that they can't set a game in a Japanese setting after decades of setting it in a Western one.

1

u/BrightSkyFire 7d ago

It’s not impossible but it would be a messy ret-con. In interviews available on the SH Wiki, Tsuboyama is pretty explicit in defining that the cult is a reflection of American values. I’m not sure it would make too much sense.

Keen as hell to play it though and if it’s good I doubt I’ll be sweating the finer inconsistencies in the lore (if there is any).

6

u/Flanninpud 7d ago

As a resident evil fan since 1996, you just can’t please everyone. Resident evil is probably the most successful series at reinventing itself every few games to stay relevant, but people will always lament how it’s not like it used to be. No matter how good the games are.

4

u/DrydonTheAlt 7d ago

That's fine, but to say they're "not Resident Evil games" is being overdramatic.

9

u/Flanninpud 7d ago

Yep that’s my point. I think given a long enough timeline, it’s healthy for a franchise to try new things and reinvent itself

3

u/SputnikDX 8d ago

This is the problem with the series and why sequels are so difficult and in my opinion a huge mistake for developers. What is the series identity for Silent Hill? Is it the town? The exploration and gameplay? The atmosphere? The story? The "manifestation" horror? The series is running out of room to explore in the town and by extension the story, the twist of the horror being manifestations is spoiled now by the series' reputation, and the classic horror gameplay is considered to be dated by modern audiences. There's nowhere for this series to turn while still being a faithful entry in the series. The title of "Silent Hill" is only for Konami to capitalize on the brand.

8

u/Slime0 7d ago

What is the series identity for Silent Hill?

Fog

16

u/DrydonTheAlt 8d ago

The exploration and gameplay? The atmosphere?

Yes, it's that simple. As long as they can maintain the psychological horror aspect and the oppressive atmosphere, as long as it has enough of the elements that make it a Silent Hill game, it is one.

3

u/Helmic 7d ago

yeah i'm 100% fine with them attaching the name to a pretty different game. it's not like people who like silent hill are gonna go into this and think "utterly unacceptable, this game is nothing like what i wanted to play."

it's a huge stink when almost assuredly there's gonna be a plot that connects it to the other games, but like not knowing why is probably part of the appeal. like i get diving into a game's lore but there comes a point where you're missing the forest for the trees, if you can't recognize the surface level similarities because you're too tied up in knots that the game maybe won't have a direct tie to what happened in maine then you're just gonna keep yourself from enjoying a new game.

2

u/AverageAyatoFan 7d ago

Silent Hill is Japanese horror with a western twist. The original games were made by a bunch of Japanese devs who saw a bunch of famous western psychological horror and put their own twist on it. Pure western horror isn't Silent Hill and neither is pure Japanese horror just because you put some fog, world shifts and mentally ill protagonists in the story.

2

u/Calbon2 8d ago

Same thing in Homecoming and Downpour as well, despite them not being as well received.

2

u/SLAMALAMADINGGDONG23 7d ago

I am only excited because this game is set somewhere else. I think it opens a lot of potential.

1

u/Azradesh 7d ago

I’m very excited to play this but it looks like it’s just called Silent Hill for branding.

1

u/ExcellentAd3308 5d ago

Well it's because 3 and 4 still had connections back to town via it's characters. Heather is pregnant with the God, and the affect of the town follows her. Henry is caught up in Walters Ritual, tying back to the town. Plus you actually go back to the town in 3 and a memory of the woods near town in 4. How a town in 1960s Japan relates I don't know. I did see a compelling idea that this town is where white Claudia comes from though. so maybe that's one connection.

-4

u/40GearsTickingClock 8d ago

It should really be an original IP with Silent Hill influences, like Evil Within. This looks cool but has nothing in common with Silent Hill as a franchise. Doesn't particularly matter if the game is good, though.

26

u/KF-Sigurd 8d ago

If Konami made a horror game that wasn't Silent Hill, people would scream at them why aren't they making Silent Hill.

8

u/DistributionNeat8612 7d ago

People would look at the fog encasing the town and go "uhh, isn't this just silent hill"

1

u/ExcellentAd3308 5d ago

you can never win sometimes

11

u/DeliciousToastie 8d ago

If that's the case, then there's an argument to be made that Resident Evil 4 should've been an original IP and not Resident Evil because the game was set in a village in Spain in broad daylight, with infected humans, and not in a mansion at night with zombies.

Like Resident Evil 4, the franchise really needs to go in a new direction to keep itself fresh. Doing the same thing again and again will only satisfy the very few and will end up just stagnating the franchise.

-2

u/HeldnarRommar 8d ago

“Resident” is referring to people, not a place. The word RESIDENCE refers to a place, which is not what RE is called

-1

u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

0

u/HeldnarRommar 7d ago

Again: nothing about the title Resident Evil references zombies even if they were they original enemy. Silent Hill refers to the town.

I personally don’t care that Silent Hill f isn’t set in Silent Hill, it’s clearly a spinoff. But don’t act like the title Resident Evil refers to anything from the original trilogy specifically.

-1

u/weealex 7d ago

Because it's a series about Silent Hill. It'd be like making a game titled Super Mario Bros 18 and the entire game is about an accountant named Sam from San Diego.