During Anime Expo 2025, we here at ComicBook had the opportunity to interview key figures working on the highly anticipated Silent Hill f. The upcoming horror game had a massive presence at the convention, with a panel at the JW Hotel and an elaborate booth at the Entertainment Hall. Silent Hill series producer Motoi Okamoto, Silent Hill f scriptwriter Ryukishi07, and Silent Hill series composer Akira Yamaoka took to the stage to discuss the franchise. We were able to interview all three men about the upcoming game, asking about its influences and how different it will be from the other games in the franchise. After the undeniable success of the Silent Hill 2 Remake and the upcoming release of the Return to Silent Hill movie, the franchise has never been this hot. A remake of the first Silent Hill game has already been announced, and Silent Hill f is one of the most anticipated horror games of 2025.
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The crew detailed how it intends to keep up the momentum with Silent Hill f, expanding on the decision to change the setting. Silent Hill f centers around Hinako Shimizu, a Japanese schoolgirl from the 1960s who now finds herself surrounded by a strange fog in the fictional town of Ebisugaoka, Japan. The new title in the Silent Hill franchise focuses more on Japanese identity and culture rather than the mixture of American subcultures and society that the series was known for. It will be the first mainline Silent Hill game set in Japan.
Silent Hill f Devs Discuss Making the New Entry in the Prestigious Franchise
When designing the new enemies for Silent Hill f, will these monsters be based more on Japanese culture, or will they carry over several design elements from previous entries, like the nurses and the other classic monsters we all know and remember?
Motoi Okamoto: So when it comes to the monster designs, they are heavily influenced by the plot that the scriptwriter reaches, and so they are heavily influenced by the protagonist Hinako’s trauma and inner turmoil. So the creative process itself is very much in line with what we have done for our previous games, but the influences are heavily skewed towards Japanese culture. The creative process is something that is a collaborative brainstorming effort that was done by four parties, including the developers, scriptwriter Ryukishi07, myself, and the main monster designer character. We’ve done frequent brainstorming sessions with four parties in order to think of the monster designs.
With Silent Hill f specifically in a Japanese setting now, would the new score be more based on Japanese music, or will we keep the classic Western style that we all remember?
Akira Yamaoka: First, I’m slightly surprised that the original scores for the original games sounded Western to you. For Silent Hill f, since it’s in a Japanese setting, more specifically it’s the Showa era, so like 1950s, 1960s Japan, the music style is more in tune with that time period. As you said, some elements may feel Western, but for the most part, the musical style is very much in tune with Japanese tastes because the music setting would be more heavily focused towards the Japanese culture of the time.
The original series had clear inspirations from a variety of media, but with this new one, f, is is based on more Japanese horror films like The Grudge or The Ring?
Ryukishi07: When you say Japanese horror, I’m assuming it’s the type of direction and presentation that Japanese horror leads towards. Like having darkness and void on the screen and then maybe just having like a random hand or an eye just peeking out, something a little more subtle in presentation compared to more in your face type of like a Western horror. When it comes from my perspective, it’s not quite so much Japanese horror as it is just the type of presentation that the game is taking.
So when it comes to Silent Hill f, of course, it has the Silent Hill themes at its core, and from there I try to present the game in a horror style by trying to dice the elements of the game into it from a perspective that makes it appear as horror. I think I’m not trying to take direct influence from Japanese horror so much as it is I’m just trying to take the game and trying to dice it up and chisel it in a way that appears as horror.
Have you encountered any unique challenges in this new setting while developing the game? Something you didn’t expect at all?
Ryukishi07: From the perspective of the scriptwriter, maybe fully enjoy is not the best way to put it, but personally, it was very approachable and familiar to me. So if I had to mention some kind of challenge, it would probably be how I felt during the very first time we gathered for a brainstorming meeting because I was under the impression that, you know, Silent Hill was a very much an American experience, so I had some ideas of, you know, the stereotypical American thing with cops with donuts and girls running away into hospitals and all that. But you know, the first time we met, I was told that this game is going to be based in Japan. So that caught me off guard. That was probably the biggest challenge, if I could call it that.
Silent Hill f will have a young protagonist. Does making the character younger add more vulnerability to the story? How does that change the game from previous entries?
Ryukishi07: I believe that the protagonist for the game, Hinako, is in her years when she probably feels the most vulnerable and impressionable. I believe having her at this age will probably contribute to her sense of vulnerability.
Of course, she is in a very vulnerable state, but she will also be encountering many challenges. She’s in her younger years, so she will be taking off towards parts of the future in my eyes. From the gameplay perspective, sometimes you’ll have to, you know, run and hide from some terrors, but rather than completely just running and hiding from your fears, I would like for her to, you know, muster the courage to stand up to her fears.
The city where the game takes place is a fictional city. It was based on the real-life Kanyayama district. Were there any major landmarks that you wanted to adapt from the real-life city into your game?
Motoi Okamoto: There are some memorable locations. For example, in Japanese, they are called the Kinkotsu, which are a type of narrow, convoluted alleyways that you may have seen in the game. Those exist in the actual town, and they have been incorporated into the game. I also believe in the key arts; there are also some longer ones, like stone stairways. Now they’re not one-to-one replicas, but they have been incorporated into the game in some way.
Konami unveiled new footage for Silent Hill f at its Anime Expo panel, highlighting atmospheric cutscenes that feature Hinako talking with strange people. One of the scenes is a pivotal moment between Hinako and an older, big sister-like figure named Junko, ending with one of the new themes scored by Yamaoka. The Silent Hill f booth featured displays of the monsters players can expect to encounter in the game, blending the traditional Silent Hill aesthetics with Japanese culture.
Silent Hill f is scheduled for release for PS5 and PC on September 25th, 2025, arriving just in time for the Halloween season.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity and was made possible via Konami.
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