In honor of the spookiest of spooky months, October, let’s tackle a topic I never thought we’d have the pleasure to discuss. We received two Silent Hill games in two consecutive years, which is mind blowing since the last mainline game released over ten years ago in 2012. It’s quite insane, actually. With the nuance that the Bloober Team were handed the reins to remake Silent Hill 2, we’re here to debate how the remake of the most popular game in the franchise stacks up to the newest mainline title, Silent Hill f.

You Can’t Beat a Classic

The Bloober Team really showed up with Silent Hill 2 remake. The visuals and gameplay were much improved to the modern age, allowing gamers, old and new, experience the soul rattling story that makes this game so great. Even if you were raised on fixed camera angles and tank controls, you can’t deny that full control of your character and camera really makes the experience all the better. The characters look amazing, the voice acting isn’t cheesy, and there were minor tweaks to the puzzles and locations to keep things fresh for returning fans. However, with that being said, the Bloober Team remained faithful to the story. If you touch up the visuals and controls, how can you ever beat a classic?

Silent Hill f is the Resident Evil 7 of the Franchise

Yes, somehow I still threw a Resident Evil reference here; however, I simply mean that Konami brought several major changes to the series staple, many of which made fans nervous in the beginning. Capcom did the same with Resident Evil 7, hoping to revive the franchise because of how stale and off-track it became, and it worked wonders. I Konami’s case, they decided to take Silent Hill away from the traditional New England town and set us in an entirely new location and time period.

But if it’s not IN Silent Hill, how can it be Silent Hill?

I loved how Konami challenged this mindset, and they proved that Silent Hill is more than just that town in northeastern United States. In fact, they turned away from the western style and leaned into their own culture, a culture that they knew inside and out. Leveraging their knowledge of their culture and the eastern perspective of horror really breathed new life into the franchise. Even though Silent Hill f takes place in 1960s Japan, it keeps in theme with psychological terror—one wrought with internal turmoil and a splash of something occult.

Without getting into spoilers, Silent Hill f is made of several complex layers that leaves the second play through different from the last. The more notes you pick up, the more you chip away at the life of Hinako as well as the deities that the town worshipped. The monsters are still terrifying but do fall in line with the new motto: find beauty in terror.

Combat is also tweaked in Silent Hill f. Although combat is still not the series’ strong point, I appreciated the nuances that allow me to do more when facing these monstrosities. You can build up your sanity, health, and stamina and add buffs via omamori.

Sure, Silent Hill f doesn’t have Pyramid Head, nasty rusted out prison, or some gross hole in the wall to stuff your arm in, but horror can manifest in many ways.

Although the Silent Hill 2 remake was one of my Game of the Year contenders of 2024, I have to lean toward Silent Hill f as the better game (by an extremely narrow margin). I just believe Konami genuinely made a high-quality horror game in Silent Hill f. They shook things up, and it worked. A new environment, new era, and new set of circumstances rebooted the series like how Resident Evil 7 did, and it leaves me excited for what else Konami has in store for us.

Which of the two do you think did horror better—Silent Hill 2 remake or Silent Hill f? Please share your thoughts with us on our Boss Rush Facebook Group or our Boss Rush Discord.

Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games

The Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast about Video Games – is the flagship show of the Boss Rush Network and Boss Rush Media. Each week, hosts⁠ Corey Dirrig and LeRon Dawkins⁠ are joined by friends, fellow creators, indie developers, and industry veterans to discuss the latest in the world of video games, including news, rumors, new releases, and what they’ve been playing. They also answer listener questions, debate important industry topics and Boss Rush Banter discussion points, and feature a rotating weekly segment. New episodes post every Monday.

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Featured Image Source: Konami