The first previews for Silent Hill f are out, and they provide a surprising revelation.
Both GameInformer and IGN say that Silent Hill f is actually a Soulslike. That was a completely unexpected direction, especially for a horror game. But before we get to there, let’s address the elephant in the room.
Is Silent Hill f Still A Horror Game?
While Silent Hill f’s combat is starting to go viral, it is still a horror game at its core. Like other Silent Hill games, there will be a lot of exploration of the setting, and conversations with NPCs that can take unexpected directions. We won’t be more specific to avoid spoilers, but you can rest assured it’s still going to feel a lot like Silent Hill.
So About That Soulslike Combat…
Your character can still visibly express fear when enemies arrive, but you can still attack them. Unlike other horror games, you can’t use firearms, and that is where the Soulslike elements come in.
You can pick up various melee weapons and take on gruesome otherworldly bosses with in timing based combat. While it may see erratic at first, good players will find the tells to time their evasions and counterattacks.
A Design Choice Not Everyone Is Going To Like
Both GameInformer and IGN actually state that you won’t feel as weak playing Silent Hill f as you will playing the average Soulslike. You can change the difficulty, but even without doing so, NeoBards knew not to take that inspiration too far.
Some gamers aren’t happy about Soulslikes having difficulty settings, or being made easier. But that suggests that every Soulslike needs to only make games under FromSoftware’s template. That’s a standard even FromSoftware doesn’t follow.
The Other Game Design Choice Everyone Really Won’t Like
Even less players are going to like that the weapons get destroyed in time. And as a horror game, your opportunities to repair weapons will be few and far between.
Whiles tons of gamers hate losing good weapons they picked up, this is part of Silent Hill f’s overall game design. You should be constantly on the lookout for new weapons. In theory, that also means you will be finding better weapons the longer you keep going.
That’s as far as we will go to describing Silent Hill f, but if you don’t mind spoilers you can check out GameInformer’s and IGN’s in-depth coverage. It sounds like NeoBards decided to make something to draw newer gamers into Silent Hill, and maybe convince them to learn more about the classic games.
