A recent stream from Konami revealed many new projects in theSilent Hillseries. AfterSilent Hill Transmission announcementslike theSilent Hill 2remake andSilent Hill Townfall, the last project shown was a game calledSilent Hill f. The game is intended to be the next mainline entry of the series, taking the place of the canceledSilent HillsandP.T. The f in the title could indicate any number of things, but regardless, the trailer shows thatSilent Hill flooks very different from other entries in the series. Everything that is shown in the trailer indicates that it could be completely separated from the franchise’s past stories.
One of the most interesting aspects ofSilent Hill fis that the story for the game is being written by Ryukishi07, who is known for creating theHigurashi When They Cryseries, a Japanese murder mystery visual novel series that has seen great success due to its use of suspense and horror elements.TheHigurashiseries also received adaptationsto manga and anime. When looking at the trailer forSilent Hill f, it is clear to see that Ryukishi07’s influence has significantly impacted the direction of the game. There is a lot for fans to analyze in the trailer and many details that have people speculating their meaning.
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Silent Hill f’s Unique Setting
Nearly all the games in theSilent Hillseries, except forSilent Hill: Shattered MemoriesandSilent Hill 4: The Room, share a common setting: the titular town of Silent Hill. The small foggy town is a fictional location somewhere in the rural Northeastern United States. From the first shot of theSilent Hill ftrailer, players can immediately see that the location is somewhere different.
The trailer shows a rice paddy and an abandoned Japanese street shrouded by the cover of night and a layer of fog.Fog is a common motif forSilent Hill, though it is obvious this is not only a different location from what fans know, but a different time period as well.
The story of the game will be set in Japan during the Showa period which lasted from 1926 to 1989. In particular, the game seems to be set somewhere in the 1960s. The trailer shows a schoolgirl running through the town and features some sort of red floral infection spreading throughout the town. The girl walks by a rusty chain link fence as she drags a pipe along the groundsimilarly to the iconic Pyramid Head. Much like the town of Silent Hill in the other games, the town shown here is somewhere rural and is likely away from any sort of big city. Viewers can see dilapidated wooden buildings and shots of a sort of mountain range overlooking the town.
The town of Silent Hill in the other entries in the seriescan still be compared to this town so far, since barely anyone can be seen in the town and a dark fog would shroud what little there was to see. Through Silent Hill, the player character experiences a dark alteration of reality and the mundane world blends with the supernatural. This switch between reality and the supernatural can be seen in the trailer with the Torii gate in the field of flowers. Torii gates represent the border between the material world and the sacred worlds in the Shinto religion. It is not uncommon to find them in Japan, though they could represent something more forSilent Hill f.
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What Are The Red Flowers Seen Through Silent Hill F’s Trailer
Throughoutthe trailer forSilent Hill f, red flowers sprout up, infecting the small town. It starts with a schoolgirl standing by a shrine with these flowers, then shows them slowly spreading into different parts of the town. These red flowers are seen creeping along windows and consuming an ichimatsu doll until the walls are completely covered with this red infection.
The red flowers form tendrils and wrap around the schoolgirl as she tries to get away until the trailer cuts to a shot of what is assumed to be that girl completely consumed by these flowers. The flowers bud out of the girl’s skin and grow into a field around her in a visual similar to the real-life bleeding tooth fungus. The corruption of this town through flowers is similar to the rust-covered Otherworld fromSilent Hill.
The flowers that are predominantly shown throughout the trailer appear to be Lycoris Radiata, otherwise known as red spider lilies. These flowers are commonly used in Japan to surround rice paddies and houses to pests away, since they’re toxic when eaten. Many Buddhists also plant these on graves as a tribute to the dead. They can also symbolize death, final goodbyes, abandonment, and bad luck. Symbolism through flowers is not new to theSilent Hillseries,particularly in theSilent Hill 3songtitled Flower Crown of Poppy, which plays during the normal ending of the game. In a similar vein to red spider lilies, poppies can be known to represent peace through death.
Death is a very common element throughout theSilent Hillseries and usually relates to the playable characters on a deeply personal level. There is no confirmed character yet, but from what the trailer has shown,Silent Hill fwill focus on flowers and growth as a common motif. The growth of certain flowers is not uncommon for games, playing a significant part in titles likeMetal Gear Solid 3andDrakengard 3. The red spider lilies in the trailer indicate thatSilent Hill fcould feature themes like peace through death or consumption by grief. Whatever Konami and Ryukishi07 have planned is likely to keep in tradition with theSilent Hillseries by having deep messages conveyed through metaphor and environmental storytelling.
Silent Hill fis currently in development.
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