It's been a long time coming, but finally, Silent Hill is back.
From its humble roots as a PlayStation-exclusive all the way back in 1999, we've had highs like Silent Hill 2, lows like the Orphan trilogy, and everything in between.
You'd be forgiven for thinking Konami might never take us back to that tormented town after the IP lay dormant following Silent Hill: Downpour in 2012, but in 2025, it's back with a vengeance.
While we'd admit that 2024's Silent Hill: The Short Message didn't exactly get us off to the best start, Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 remake was a certified hit – then again, you'd be lynched if you messed that up.
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There have also been rave reviews for Silent Hill f, and at the time of writing, it has an impressive 85/100 on Metacritic.
Swapping the typical backdrop of Silent Hill for the fictional Japanese town of Ebisugaoka during the 1960s, NeoBards Entertainment has helped this spin-off stand up to the greats by being a genuinely terrifying game. It's not just gamers who've been forced to hide behind the pillow, with voice actor Konatsu Kato. suggesting she had a troubled time making the survival horror.
Silent Hill f was banned in Australia before it was even released, although it was never going to be a family-friendly affair. As reported by Automaton, Kato has admitted that bringing Hinako Shimizu to life was a struggle.
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In a previous post, Kato explained: "I've been living as Hinako in the world of Silent Hill for a long time now.
"On some days. I almost felt my own sanity slipping, but it was worth it to be able to contribute to this game."
She's opened up further in an interview with Famitsu, telling the outlet how her initial recording sessions ran smoothly before things started to take a turn. We can't help but be reminded of Heath Ledger's time as the Joker on The Dark Knight, Jared Leto taking it too far by refusing to get out of crutches when filming Morbius, or Ashton Kutcher becoming a fruitarian Buddhist for his role in Jobs.
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Kato says she'd record the same scenes over and over again thanks to the New Game Plus mode and moments based on player choice. Noticing a change in her emotional state, Kato found herself asking, "What am I? What is Hinako doing now? Where?"
It got especially confusing when she was filming parts of Hinako interacting with herself, with Kato adding: "There were times when I would burst into tears without even thinking about anything. The more time I spent facing Hinako, the more my confusion grew. I remember there were days when I felt like I was going crazy."
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect is Kato saying she only remembers 'fragments' of recording her lines, concluding that she had a feeling of "not knowing where I was or who I was.”
The Silent Hill games have always been psychologically disturbing, but the fact that it's seemingly taken a toll on its lead protagonist adds another layer of fear to Silent Hill f.