The flood of Silent Hill F previews highlight an emphasis on combat that seems like a bit much
It can be hard to tell whether previews are an accurate overview of a game's focus. When a studio is showing off an immersive sim they often emphasize the combat rather than slower-paced exploration and puzzle-solving stuff, and I imagine the same is true of survival horror. People are less fussed if a preview spoils a boss fight than an entire puzzle solution, and it's a lot easier to sell a game based on "the fights look cool" than something more nebulous like atmosphere.
So maybe I'm way off base when I look at the glut of Silent Hill F previews appearing over the last week and think in this psychological horror game maybe there's a bit much focus on hitting things with pipes and polearms. It's not just that there's a lot of combat—the Silent Hill 2 remake had heaps of mannequin-bashing as well, but it didn't bother me because it was the best combat a Silent Hill game has ever had. By comparison, Silent Hill F looks a bit clunky.
For starters there's a lot of hit-stop but not much hit-reaction, which is an odd choice. Hinako will swing at a scarecrow schoolgirl or a monster made of doll parts and the dramatic slow-motion will highlight a complete absence of impact. Sometimes attacks look like they miss, but enemies fall down dead anyway.
There's also the presence of a stamina bar and a teleport-y dodge, with perfect dodges refilling that stamina bar. Enemies are staggered if they take enough damage, are highlighted with a red aura during the brief window you can land an attack for extra damage, and there's a focus bar you can deplete for special attacks and slow-mo. It's a lot of systems for the thing Silent Hill games normally treat as secondary—a necessary bit of friction to drain your ammo and the tension. There's no shooting in Silent Hill F, and so it seems like the melee's been given more to lift. In the absence of ammo to keep track of there's weapon durability as well, with repair kits probably a vital resource.
All that said, I do like the look of Silent Hill F overall. There's a chase sequence through those narrow Japanese alleyways that looks properly like brown trouser time, and the otherworld being reimagined as an endless shrine instead of a chainlink industrial estate makes for a nice change of pace. The way enemies move looks well creepy, and the florid red growths replacing the usual rust are another welcome change to visuals that have become a bit textbook. It gives me hope I won't get 10 hours into Silent Hill F and suddenly see sexy nurses and a boss who looks like Pyramid Head only with a torii gate for a face.
Even if the combat's a bit much, and the enemies too hard to evade in those narrow Japanese streets, given that it's a Silent Hill game I'll always have the option of turning the combat down to easy while keeping the puzzles on normal so I can blitz through to concentrate on the good stuff. Silent Hill F is due out on September 25, and I'm still looking forward to it.