I am not Silent Hill f protagonist Shimizu Hinako, but I could be. I'm not Rinko, the antagonist with a crush, but I have also been moth-eaten with jealousy like she is. And while I'm not Sakuko, who dies young, I understand her need to be closer to God. Silent Hill f coaxes these moments of empathy from me throughout its story of young womanhood like pulling out stitches, and its ability to do so makes it not only one of the best games of 2025, but also one of the most painful in Silent Hill's 26-year history.
I rarely feel so respected by a horror game. The 2000s were a blessed time for cursed games like 2005's Haunting Ground, 2006's Rule of Rose, or Konami's impeccable Silent Hill 3 from 2003, which revered their female protagonists even while dunking them in ice-cold catastrophe. Horror games have since shifted their focus to friendlier fare like survival co-op, until Konami made the genius decision to let writer Ryukishi07, who also created the devastating When They Cry visual novel series, into Silent Hill.
