tohya.net
Minor spoilers this time. But I imagine everyone who was interested in playing the game blind already did so.
Well, this is a tough one to write a review for. Overall I definitely enjoyed the game. But there's a lot of things Silent Hill f does that I'm not super fond of. Most prominently the lack of a "normal" action difficulty setting. Not only is story mode too easy because enemies are weak, this setting also changes some mechanics to make sure the player can't have problems beating the game. Hard mode feels just right early on, but can get really frustrating later on (especially with some boss fights). The much needed middle ground — I'm thinking the mechanics of hard mode with strong enemies and bosses dealing a little less damage — is sorely lacking.
The narrative still has me puzzling about how much of what happens in the story is actually real, and what parts are meant metaphorically. There's a good chance the entire story is to be taken strictly metaphorically, but it's probably open to interpretation. Maybe. I'd still have to play through the game two more times to experience the remaining content to be sure. So, Silent Hill f massively doubled down on NG+ features. Not only are most endings unique to NG+, so is an entire sub quest that rewards you with a cool weapon (that I wish was available on a fresh NG), but also new cutscenes and text notes that keep on fleshing out the narrative. There's also an upgrade system now that requires NG+ to fully exhaust. Personally I feel like all of that makes Silent Hill f less replayable than previous games in the series, since you basically have to beat this game 3-4 times in a row to get the full experience. Not to mention that all of those upgrades (and some early unlockable abilities in NG+ and beyond) completely trivialize the combat and dampen the survival horror aspect of subsequent playthroughs. I've beaten Silent Hill 1 to 3 multiple times each and vastly prefer that I get the full experience in a short 8-12 hour game. Silent Hill f just isn't a game you can comfortably replay entirely on a weekend once a year. I also wasn't a fan of how much text there is in this one. Not only does it hurt the pacing, but some of the early journal entries are really on the nose regarding the themes of this game.
Hinako (the game's protagonist) deals so little damage with her regular attacks that you're forced to rely on waiting for enemies to perform attacks that she can counter to stun them and reduce their defenses. The system is fine in a way because it's really tense, it always has you worried that you might run out of focus or that another enemy might show up while you're waiting for an opening. On the other hand waiting for those openings can be really frustrating sometimes because some enemies really take their time starting an animation that you can abuse for a counter hit.
Silent Hill f's visuals feature a slight comic look that I find very appealing. The setting in 1960's Japan brings some fresh air to the series that it desperately needed and the town of Ebisugaoka oozes with eeriness. Meanwhile the oppressive atmosphere Silent Hill games are known for can be found in some of the game's dungeons. I was surprised by how well the developers managed to capture the surival horror adventure feel of the originals — although I found the linear gauntlets through town a bit misplaced and would have prefered Ebisugaoka to be a bit more open with quicker access to new areas and dungeons (as is the case in the originals with Silent Hill serving as a hub map). The game's sound design is spot on, and the soundtrack just good. Unfortunately it doesn't have the impact of the better Silent Hill soundtracks because we can't have music in adventure games anymore.
So my conclusion is that Silent Hill f makes for a potent entry to the series in spite of some glaring flaws. I'd probably place this next to Silent Hill 3 in my personal ranking system (that goes Silent Hill > Silent Hill 2 > Silent Hill 3 lol).