Yep, Silent Hill f Is Definitely a Ryukishi07 Story

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As I get ready for Silent Hill f, which I’m really excited about coming out in 2025, I decided to explore the Higurashi When They Cry series. I wanted to learn more about the writer, Ryukishi07. It turned out to be a much more intense experience than I expected! Higurashi When They Cry is genuinely disturbing, frightening, and makes you feel uneasy. Its sweet, anime-style look hides a much more complex and unsettling story.

Let me state upfront: I really enjoyed playing Higurashi When They Cry, and it significantly boosted my excitement for Silent Hill f. Of course, this new installment in the Silent Hill series shouldn’t have simply copied Ryukishi07’s previous work, but the fact that it’s set in Japan and features a teenage cast immediately draws comparisons to Higurashi. Having spent many hours with Silent Hill f, I’ve realized it shares much more with Ryukishi07’s earlier games than just those surface-level similarities. While some might see it as borrowing heavily from something like Higurashi, another way to look at it is that it builds upon the same core concepts, just within a different game universe.

Spoilers ahead for Silent Hill f and Higurashi When They Cry.

Silent Hill f Has Ryukishi07’s Fingerprints All Over It

Social Anxiety, Folk Horror, and Psychodrama Are at the Heart of Silent Hill f’s Narrative

The story of Silent Hill f is wonderfully intricate and can be quite puzzling, but understanding its main ideas doesn’t require a lot of deep thinking. The game takes place in Ebisugaoka, a fictional town in Japan, that’s haunted by a past that is both mysterious and ordinary. This town is controlled by powerful, unknowable forces from beyond. At the heart of their manipulations are key characters like Hinako and Shu, who are at the mercy of these powers and struggle with intense confusion and other mental health challenges.

This is quite similar to how the story unfolds in the Higurashi games. Set in the remote, made-up Japanese village of Hinamizawa, Higurashi When They Cry centers on a group of teenagers who become caught up in a complicated series of events involving time loops and psychic powers. The “Hinamizawa Syndrome,” a condition that affects the people of Hinamizawa and causes them to become aggressive, shares similarities with the factors that amplify violence in Silent Hill. The ever-developing horror of this situation feels comparable to the broad scope of the story in Silent Hill f, which is constantly revealing new layers.

It’s important to remember that both Silent Hill f and Higurashi When They Cry are intentionally mysterious. After experiencing the first chapter of Higurashi, or playing Silent Hill f once, you’ll likely have more questions than answers – and that’s by design. Just one playthrough/read isn’t enough to understand the full story of either game.

How Silent Hill f Differs from Ryukishi07’s Previous Work

If you break down Silent Hill f and Higurashi When They Cry into their basic elements, the similarities are clear. However, both stories are complex – they’re more than just a collection of similar parts. The way these shared elements connect and how they’re shown to the audience are quite different in each project.

As a fan, I’ve noticed that Silent Hill f really throws you right into the action! Unlike the When They Cry games, which build things slowly and create this calm before the storm with those long, everyday life sections, Silent Hill f gets shocking and intense almost immediately. It doesn’t let up at all! I guess that makes sense since it’s more focused on action, but it also changes the feel of the story. It goes from being something mysterious and subtle to something much more urgent and, honestly, a bit more confusing in a really interesting way.

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2025-10-02 01:20