Picture this: it is the 1960s in Japan, a time of great change where old traditions clash with new, modern ideas. You are in the quiet, idyllic mountain town of Ebisugaoka. Life is simple, peaceful. You are Hinako Shimizu, a high school student living an ordinary life filled with school, friends, and family. Then, one day, everything changes. A mysterious, thick fog rolls in, swallowing the town whole. People vanish. The familiar streets become silent, empty, and haunted. Grotesque, nightmarish creatures now roam where your neighbors once walked. This is where your story begins. Welcome to Silent Hill f.
This guide is your lantern in the fog. It is a complete, spoiler-free masterclass designed to walk you through every aspect of your harrowing journey. Silent Hill f is a brand-new, standalone story in the legendary survival horror franchise. That means you do not need to have played any other
Silent Hill game to dive into this nightmare. In fact, this entry is a bold new direction. For the first time, the series leaves its traditional American setting behind to deliver what the creators call a “100% Japanese horror” experience.
The game is built around the concept of “grotesque beauty” or “floral horror”—the idea that something can be so immensely beautiful it becomes deeply unsettling. You will see this theme everywhere, from the vibrant red spider lilies that symbolize death to the monstrous creatures that blend natural beauty with macabre terror. This guide will help you navigate that beautiful nightmare. We will cover everything from basic survival and combat to advanced strategies, deep upgrade systems, and a complete, spoiler-free roadmap to unlocking all five of the game’s endings. Whether you are a newcomer to horror games or a seasoned veteran, consider this your essential companion for surviving the horrors of Ebisugaoka.
Before You Take the First Step: Essential Basics
Before you venture into the fog-shrouded streets, it is vital to get your bearings. Silent Hill f introduces several modern features that allow you to tailor the experience to your liking. Understanding these basics will ensure your first steps are confident ones, even when the world around you is designed to make you feel anything but.
Choosing Your Nightmare: Action & Puzzle Difficulties Explained
One of the most significant features of Silent Hill f is its approach to difficulty. The game understands that different players seek different challenges from a survival horror title. Some crave punishing, cerebral puzzles, while others want a more fluid and less frustrating combat experience. To accommodate this, the game features two separate difficulty settings: one for Action (combat) and one for Puzzles. You will be asked to set these when you start a new game, and your choices are locked in for that playthrough, so choose wisely.
There are three levels for each setting:
- Story: This is the easiest mode. Enemies are less aggressive and have lower health, while puzzles provide more direct clues and even highlight key information in your journal. This is the perfect setting for players who want to focus on the narrative and atmosphere without getting stuck.
- Hard: This is the standard survival horror experience. Resources are more limited, enemies are tougher, and puzzles become more complex, requiring you to connect the dots on your own without in-game hints.
- Lost in the Fog: Unlocked after you complete the game once, this is the ultimate challenge. Combat is brutal and unforgiving. Puzzles become incredibly cryptic, removing crucial details and sometimes requiring external knowledge to solve.
This separation of difficulties is a brilliant design choice that allows the game to appeal to a broad spectrum of players. A fan of the classic, puzzle-box style of the original games can set Puzzles to Hard or Lost in the Fog while keeping Action on Story to avoid combat frustrations. Conversely, a player who enjoys modern action-horror can set Action to Hard and Puzzles to Story to keep the pace moving. You can craft your own perfect Silent Hill f experience.
Understanding the On-Screen Display (UI)
Silent Hill f uses a minimalist user interface (UI) to maximize immersion and keep you focused on the terrifying world around you. However, the few elements on screen are critically important.
- Health Meter: This is your life bar. It depletes when you take damage from enemies. When it is empty, it is game over. You can restore it with healing items like Bandages and First Aid Kits.
- Stamina Meter: This circular gauge shows your physical energy. Actions like running, dodging, and attacking will drain your stamina. If it empties, you will enter an “Out of Breath” state, slowing you down and leaving you vulnerable. Stamina regenerates on its own when you are not exerting yourself.
- Sanity Meter: This is arguably your most important resource. It represents Hinako’s mental fortitude. This meter is drained by witnessing disturbing events, getting hit by specific psychological attacks from certain enemies, and, most importantly, by using your powerful Focus abilities in combat. We will dive deeper into this crucial mechanic in the next section.
The Survivor’s Mindset: 10 Essential Tips for Staying Alive
Before you master the intricacies of combat, you must adopt the mindset of a survivor. The world of Silent Hill f is unforgiving, and your greatest weapon is your wits.
- Scrutinize Every Corner: Ebisugaoka may seem linear, but its secrets lie off the beaten path. Check every alley, porch, and dimly lit room. Overlooked spaces often hide vital healing items, scarce weapon repair kits, or narrative-expanding notes that provide context to Hinako’s ordeal.
- Prioritize Defense: Your defensive arsenal is more important than your offensive swings. Learn to master the perfect dodge and counter-attack systems. These techniques conserve resources and can end fights before they drain your health.
- Use the Environment: Narrow corridors can limit an enemy’s mobility, and obstacles can create temporary barriers. Use the claustrophobic level design to your advantage to isolate threats or create an escape route.
- Survival is the Goal, Not Annihilation: Hinako is a teenager, not a soldier. Your objective is to survive, not to kill every monster you see. Engaging in every fight is a quick path to depleting your precious resources.
- Listen Carefully: The sound design is your early warning system. Each monster has distinct audio cues—labored breathing, scraping metal, rustling fabric—that can alert you to their presence long before you see them.
- Manage Your Stamina: Sprinting and attacking both consume stamina. If your stamina bar is fully depleted, you will be left breathless and unable to act, a fatal mistake in a dangerous encounter. Always leave a sliver of stamina for an emergency dodge.
- Know Your Enemy: Take time to observe monster attack patterns from a safe distance. Each creature has telegraphed movements that signal its next attack, providing the visual cue you need to dodge or counter effectively.
- Heal Proactively: Do not hoard healing items until you are at death’s door. Use them when your health drops below 50% to avoid being killed by an unexpected combo attack.
- Conserve Weapon Durability: Your weapons will break. Avoid using your best, most durable weapons on weak enemies. Save them for tougher encounters and boss fights where their damage output is essential.
- Trust Your Instincts: If an area feels too dangerous or you are low on supplies, do not be afraid to retreat. Sometimes the wisest decision is to fall back, save your game, and approach the challenge with a new strategy.
A Quick Look at the Controls
The developers recommend playing Silent Hill f with a controller for the best experience. The control scheme is modern and intuitive but mastering it is key to survival.
- Movement: Left Stick
- Camera: Right Stick
- Run/Sprint: Hold L3 (press Left Stick)
- Light Attack: R1
- Heavy Attack: R2
- Dodge: Circle button
- Focus Mode: Hold L2
- Interact/Pick Up: X button
- Access Journal: Up on the D-Pad
- Access Map: Down on the D-Pad
The Survivor’s Trinity: Mastering Health, Stamina, and Sanity
In Silent Hill f, survival is a delicate balancing act between three core resources: your physical health, your immediate stamina, and your mental sanity. While Health and Stamina are familiar concepts in gaming, the Sanity meter is the central pillar of the gameplay loop, acting as both a measure of your psychological state and a fuel source for your most powerful abilities.
Keeping Hinako Alive: How Health and Stamina Work
Your Health bar is straightforward: it represents Hinako’s physical well-being. Taking hits from the grotesque monsters roaming Ebisugaoka will deplete it. If it empties, you die. You can restore health using various consumable items you find scattered throughout the world, such as Bandages, which restore a significant amount of health, or food items like Yokan.
Stamina, meanwhile, governs your ability to perform strenuous actions. Every time you sprint, dodge, or swing your weapon, you consume a portion of your stamina gauge. Light attacks consume a small amount, while heavy attacks take a much larger chunk. If you deplete the gauge completely, Hinako will become exhausted, unable to run or attack effectively, leaving her wide open to attack. Stamina regenerates automatically when you stand still or walk, but managing it carefully during a frantic fight is the difference between life and death.
The Sanity Meter: Your Most Important Resource
The Sanity meter is what truly sets Silent Hill f‘s gameplay apart. In many horror games, a “sanity” mechanic is a passive system that simply punishes the player with negative effects. Here, it is an active, spendable resource that you must manage strategically. Think of it less as a health bar for your mind and more as a fuel tank for your inner strength.
Sanity is depleted in two primary ways:
- Psychological Attacks: Certain enemies, particularly those inspired by Japanese folklore (Yokai), can unleash attacks that directly damage your Sanity instead of your Health.
- Using Focus Attacks: Your most powerful combat abilities, called Focus Attacks, consume a significant amount of Sanity to execute.
The consequences of low Sanity are severe. As your Sanity drains, your ability to use Focus mode becomes less effective. The world may begin to distort with unsettling visual and auditory effects. If your Sanity meter empties completely, you will be in critical danger. Not only will you be unable to use your best offensive moves, but any further psychological damage will begin to drain your Health bar directly, leading to a swift death.
This design transforms Sanity management into a core strategic element. A full Sanity meter means you are not just mentally stable; you are “fully charged” and ready to unleash devastating attacks. A low Sanity meter means you are not just frightened; you are offensively depleted and vulnerable. Every fight becomes a calculation: do you spend your precious Sanity to end the encounter quickly, or do you conserve it for a more dangerous foe that may be lurking around the next corner?
How to Restore Your Stats and Stay Grounded
You are not completely helpless against the encroaching madness. The world of Ebisugaoka is dotted with items that can help you recover.
- Health Items: Bandages and First Aid Kits are your primary means of restoring health. You will also find various Japanese snacks and desserts that can provide a small boost.
- Sanity Items: To restore your frayed nerves, look for items like Ramune (a Japanese soda) or Divine Water. These are crucial for keeping your Focus abilities available.
- Stamina Recovery: Stamina recovers on its own, but the single best way to manage it in combat is by mastering the Perfect Dodge, which instantly replenishes your gauge.
The Art of the Fight: A Combat Primer
The combat in Silent Hill f is a deliberate evolution for the series. It is more modern and action-oriented than past entries, but it is far from a simple hack-and-slash affair. The system is methodical and “crunchy,” rewarding patience, observation, and precise timing. Forget button-mashing; survival here is about mastering a deadly, reactive rhythm. Think of each encounter not as a brawl, but as a dance with death where you must learn your partner’s steps to survive.
Basic Principles: Light & Heavy Attacks
Your offensive options are rooted in two basic attacks, mapped to the shoulder buttons of your controller.
- Light Attacks (R1): These are quick, low-commitment strikes. They consume less stamina and are great for interrupting weaker enemies or getting in a few quick hits when an opening presents itself.
- Heavy Attacks (R2): These are slower, more powerful swings that deal significantly more damage and can stagger enemies. However, they consume a large amount of stamina and leave you vulnerable if you miss.
The key is to weave these two attacks together. A combo of light attacks might be followed by a heavy finisher to maximize damage during an enemy’s vulnerable state.
Mastering Defense: The Perfect Dodge
Your most important defensive tool is the dodge, mapped to the Circle button. While you can use it to simply create space, its true power lies in the Perfect Dodge mechanic. If you press the dodge button at the exact moment an enemy’s attack is about to land, you will trigger a perfect dodge.
The benefits of a Perfect Dodge are immense:
- Invincibility: You completely avoid taking any damage from the attack.
- Slow Motion: Time will briefly slow down, giving you a precious window to assess the situation and plan your next move.
- Stamina Replenishment: Most importantly, a Perfect Dodge instantly and completely refills your stamina bar instead of consuming it.
Mastering the Perfect Dodge is non-negotiable for survival, especially on higher difficulties. It turns a defensive maneuver into a powerful resource management tool, allowing you to stay on the offensive without becoming exhausted. Practice the timing on weaker enemies early on until it becomes second nature.
Turning the Tables: How to Execute Powerful Counters
While the Perfect Dodge is your key to defense, the Counter is your key to offense. This is the ultimate “turn the tables” move. As you fight, you will notice that enemies sometimes emit a distinctive colored aura or a visual pulse just before they launch certain attacks. This is your signal.
If you press the heavy attack button (R2) at the precise moment you see this cue, you will perform a devastating counterattack. A successful counter staggers the enemy, leaving them completely helpless for several seconds. This creates a massive, risk-free opening for you to unleash your most powerful combos without fear of retaliation. A well-timed counter can dispatch weaker enemies in a single blow and can turn the tide against even the most intimidating foes.
Like the Perfect Dodge, this system discourages mindless aggression. It forces you to watch your enemy, learn their attack patterns, and wait for that perfect moment to strike. Successful combat in Silent Hill f is a reward for your patience and observation.
Unleashing Your Inner Strength: Advanced Combat with Focus Attacks
Beyond the fundamentals of dodging and countering lies the heart of Silent Hill f‘s advanced combat: the Focus Attack. This high-risk, high-reward mechanic is your ultimate weapon against the horrors of Ebisugaoka, but using it carelessly will lead to a swift demise. It is the system that ties your mental state directly to your combat prowess, forcing you to make critical strategic decisions in the heat of battle.
What Are Focus Attacks?
A Focus Attack is a powerful, charged-up strike that consumes your Sanity meter as fuel. These attacks can deal massive damage, break through the defenses of heavily armored enemies, and stun most creatures, creating a vital opening for follow-up strikes or a strategic retreat. Each weapon type has its own unique Focus Attack, adding another layer of strategy to your loadout choices.
Charging and Unleashing Devastating Blows
To perform a Focus Attack, you must first enter Focus mode.
- Hold L2: This will cause Hinako to enter a focused stance. Time will slow slightly, and a charge gauge will appear on your screen.
- Charge the Gauge: As long as you hold L2, the gauge will fill up. This process drains your Sanity meter.
- Press R1: Once the gauge is full, press the light attack button (R1) while still holding L2 to unleash the devastating attack.
Focus mode also has a secondary benefit: it dramatically increases the window of opportunity for performing a Counter, making it easier to time your parries against tricky enemies.
The High Cost: Managing Sanity in Combat
The power of Focus Attacks comes at a steep price. This system is a double-edged sword that you must wield with caution.
- Sanity Drain: Every second you spend charging your Focus Attack drains your Sanity. Executing the attack itself consumes a large chunk of your maximum Sanity, meaning you will have less Sanity to work with until you can restore it.
- High-Stakes Interruption: The biggest risk is getting hit while you are charging. If an enemy strikes you during the Focus animation, the attack is interrupted, you take damage to your Health, and you still lose the Sanity you spent charging. A failed Focus Attack can turn a manageable situation into a desperate one in an instant.
This risk-reward dynamic makes the Focus Attack the central strategic decision in any tough fight. It is a powerful tool, but not one to be used lightly. Save it for the right moments: to break the guard of a formidable foe, to deal a finishing blow, or to create breathing room when you are overwhelmed. Mastering the game means mastering this constant calculation: is the potential reward of this Focus Attack worth the immense risk to my most valuable resource?
An Arsenal of Anguish: A Guide to Weapons & Durability
In Silent Hill f, you are not a trained soldier. You are a high school student fighting for her life. As such, your arsenal is not one of firearms and explosives, but of desperate, improvised tools of survival. The game features a strictly melee-only combat system, forcing you into close-quarters encounters with every nightmare you face. A key feature of this system is the game’s division of weapons between two distinct worlds: the fragile, breakable tools of the real world and the powerful, unbreakable artifacts of the Otherworld.
Finding Your Tools: Melee Weapons in the Real World
As you explore the fog-choked town of Ebisugaoka, you will find a variety of makeshift weapons. These are everyday objects turned into instruments of defense: steel pipes, baseball bats, sickles, kitchen knives, and heavy axes. These weapons are your lifeline, but they are not permanent.
A crucial mechanic to manage is weapon durability. Every swing you take, whether it hits an enemy or clangs against a wall, will degrade your weapon’s condition. You can see the weapon’s state visually; it will look more worn and damaged as it deteriorates. If a weapon’s durability runs out, it will break, leaving you potentially defenseless in the middle of a fight. This system reinforces the survival horror ethos of scarcity and desperation. It encourages you to be precise with your attacks and to consider whether every fight is truly necessary.
Otherworldly Blades: Special Weapons of the Dark Shrine
When you are pulled from the foggy streets of Ebisugaoka into the mysterious Otherworld—a dark, twisted reality that reflects Hinako’s psyche—the rules of engagement change. In these “Dark Shrine” areas, you will find unique, powerful weapons that do not have a durability meter. They cannot break.
Early on, you might find weapons like the Kaiken, a swift dagger perfect for learning enemy patterns, or the Naginata, a polearm with exceptional reach that allows you to attack from a safer distance. Later, you will acquire the ultimate Otherworld weapon: the
Fox Arm. This supernatural weapon transforms your combat approach, allowing you to unleash devastating combos and permanently eliminate enemies without needing to perform special finishers. This duality in arsenals creates a distinct gameplay rhythm. In the real world, you are a vulnerable survivor, conserving your fragile tools. In the Otherworld, you become a more empowered predator.
Maintenance is Key: Using Toolkits to Repair Your Gear
Your real-world weapons may be breakable, but they are not entirely disposable. Scattered in rare locations throughout the game, you will find Toolkits. These precious consumables allow you to repair a damaged weapon, restoring its durability.
Toolkits are extremely limited, so conservation is paramount. Do not waste them on common weapons like kitchen knives. Save them for your most powerful and reliable tools, like a high-damage Axe or Sledgehammer. The decision of when and on what to use a Toolkit is a key strategic choice that can have major consequences for your survival later in the game.
Weapons Compendium
To help you choose the right tool for the job, here is a breakdown of the weapons you will find in Silent Hill f.
| Weapon Name | Type | Location Found | Special Properties & Focus Attack |
| Real World Weapons | |||
| Kitchen Knife | Light | Ebisugaoka (Common) | Very fast but low damage and stagger. Focus: A quick, multi-stab flurry. |
| Steel Pipe | Medium | Ebisugaoka (Common) | Balanced speed, damage, and reach. A reliable all-rounder. Focus: A powerful overhead slam. |
| Baseball Bat | Medium | Ebisugaoka (Common) | Similar to the Steel Pipe but with higher stagger potential. Focus: A wide, sweeping horizontal strike. |
| Sickle | Light | Ebisugaoka (Uncommon) | Faster than the knife with slightly better reach. Focus: A rapid series of slashes. |
| Crowbar | Medium | Ebisugaoka (Uncommon) | Slower than the pipe but with higher damage. Focus: A lunging thrust. |
| Axe | Heavy | Ebisugaoka (Rare) | Slow but deals massive damage and can stagger large foes. Focus: A devastating charged chop. |
| Sledgehammer | Heavy | Ebisugaoka (Rare) | The slowest weapon, but has the highest damage and can block attacks in Focus stance. Focus: A ground-shaking slam. |
| Otherworld Weapons | |||
| Kaiken | Light | Dark Shrine | No durability. Fast attacks, good for learning patterns. Focus: A precise, armor-piercing thrust. |
| Naginata | Medium | Dark Shrine | No durability. Excellent reach, keeping you safe. Focus: A long-range lunging stab. |
| Fox Arm | Special | Dark Shrine (Story Progression) | No durability. Unlocks powerful combos and Bestial Form. Focus: A multi-hit supernatural claw swipe. |
| PP-8001 | Special | New Game+ (UFO Ending) | Alien weapon with unique properties. Unlocked as a bonus after achieving the joke ending. |
Faith and Fortune: The Hokora Shrine & Upgrade System
Progression in Silent Hill f is not handled through a traditional experience point (XP) system. Instead, it is deeply woven into the game’s world and themes through a unique mechanic centered around Faith and Hokora shrines. Getting stronger is not just a matter of defeating enemies; it is a ritual of sacrifice and prayer, forcing you to engage with the game’s spiritual undertones on a mechanical level.
What is Faith and How Do You Get It?
Faith is the central currency you will use to upgrade Hinako’s abilities and acquire powerful charms. You do not earn Faith by killing monsters. Instead, you earn it by making offerings at
Hokora, which are small, sacred shrines that serve as the game’s save points and upgrade hubs.
When you interact with a Hokora, you will have the option to “Enshrine” items from your inventory. This means you sacrifice consumable items—like food, drinks, and other curiosities you find—to the shrine. In return, you are granted an amount of Faith corresponding to the value of the item offered. This creates a fascinating and constant strategic dilemma: do you use that Ramune drink to restore your dangerously low Sanity right now, or do you sacrifice it for Faith to work towards a permanent stat increase that will help you in the long run?
Praying for Power: Using Ema to Upgrade Your Core Stats
Once you have accumulated enough Faith, you can use it to permanently upgrade Hinako. At a Hokora, you can choose to “Pray.” This menu allows you to spend your Faith, along with a rare item called an Ema (a wooden prayer plaque), to enhance your core attributes.
You can invest in four key areas:
- Maximum Health: Increases your survivability.
- Maximum Stamina: Allows you to perform more actions before becoming exhausted.
- Maximum Sanity: Expands your pool of Sanity, letting you use more Focus Attacks.
- Omamori Slots: Increases the number of powerful Omamori charms you can have equipped at once.
Ema are found in hidden locations throughout the world, making them a precious resource. Deciding where to invest your Faith and Ema is a critical part of shaping your character build. Do you become a resilient tank with high health, or a nimble fighter with a deep stamina pool? The choice is yours. This system brilliantly ties progression to the game’s themes. You are not just “leveling up”; you are literally performing a ritual of sacrifice and prayer to gain the strength needed to face the darkness.
Consumables & Their Faith Value
Making the right choice between consuming an item and enshrining it is crucial. This table will help you weigh your options.
| Item Name | In-Game Effect | Faith Value | Best Use |
| Arare (Rice Crackers) | Restores small Health; effect increases with continuous use. | Low | Consume early on when health items are scarce. Enshrine later when you have better healing. |
| Yokan (Jelly Dessert) | Restores significant Health. | Medium | A reliable healing item. Enshrine only if you have a surplus of First Aid Kits. |
| Ramune (Soda) | Greatly restores Sanity. | Medium | Crucial for Focus Attack builds. Consume before tough fights; enshrine if you have Divine Water. |
| Chocolate | Restores a small amount of Sanity. | Low | Good for a quick top-up. Generally better to enshrine for Faith. |
| Kudzu Tea | Gradually restores Health and Sanity over time. | High | Excellent for post-fight recovery. Its high Faith value makes it a prime candidate for enshrinement. |
| Divine Water | Fully restores Sanity and temporarily reduces Sanity drain. | Very High | The best Sanity restoration item. Use it for boss fights. Its high Faith value is tempting, but its combat utility is often too good to pass up. |
| Bandage | Restores a large amount of Health. | N/A | Cannot be enshrined. Purely for healing. |
| First Aid Kit | Fully restores Health. | N/A | Cannot be enshrined. Your emergency heal. |
| Shriveled Abura-age | No consumable effect. | Extremely High | A special offering item designed purely to be enshrined for a massive Faith boost. Always enshrine this. |
Harnessing the Spirits: The Ultimate Omamori Guide
The single most important system for customizing your playstyle in Silent Hill f is the Omamori system. These are traditional Japanese protective charms that function as the game’s equipment, providing a vast array of passive buffs that can fundamentally change how you approach combat and exploration. With 40 unique Omamori to find and equip, this system is the key to mastering the game and overcoming its greatest challenges.
What Are Omamori? Your Key to Custom Builds
Omamori are equippable charms that grant you special perks. These effects range from simple stat boosts, like the Pine Omamori which increases your maximum health, to complex, game-changing abilities. For example, the
Crow Omamori restores a bit of health every time you defeat an enemy, reducing your reliance on healing items. The Spider Omamori greatly decreases weapon durability loss, saving your precious Toolkits.
You start with a single Omamori slot, but you can upgrade this at a Hokora shrine using Faith and Ema, eventually unlocking up to three slots. Combining the effects of different Omamori is where the true strategic depth lies. You can create powerful builds tailored to your strengths: a “Survival Build” focused on healing and defense, a “Combat Build” designed for relentless offense, or a “Resource-Saver Build” that conserves items and weapon durability.
How to Find and Equip These Powerful Charms
There are two distinct ways to acquire Omamori in Silent Hill f:
- Hidden Omamori: There are 17 Omamori hidden in fixed locations throughout the world. Finding these often requires thorough exploration, solving small environmental puzzles, or venturing off the beaten path. Some of these are missable, and several can only be found in New Game+.
- Hokora Shrine Draws: There are 23 Omamori that can only be obtained by “drawing” them from a Hokora shrine. This is a randomized pull that costs Faith. The first draw costs around 400 Faith, with the price increasing by 100 for each subsequent draw, capping at 1,000 Faith per draw. Acquiring all of them is a significant investment of Faith.
You can equip or swap your Omamori at any time through the pause menu; you do not need to be at a shrine to change your loadout. This allows you to adapt your build on the fly to meet the specific challenges you are facing.
The Omamori Master List
This comprehensive table details all 40 Omamori, their effects, how to get them, and our strategic rating. This is your ultimate resource for build-crafting in Silent Hill f.
| Omamori Name | Effect | Acquisition | Location / How to Get | Tier | Recommended Synergies |
| Hidden Omamori (First Playthrough) | |||||
| Whale | Restorative item use cannot be interrupted by normal attacks. | Hidden | Early game; in the first house you enter, behind the building down a ladder. | A | Essential for healing mid-combat. Pairs well with Sakura. |
| Cat | Greatly reduces damage taken during a dodge. | Hidden | Shrine Path; on the back of an orange cat ema in the southwest. | B | Good for players still mastering the Perfect Dodge timing. |
| Pine | Increases maximum Health. | Hidden | Doctor’s House; requires a multi-step key puzzle inside the house. | A | A straightforward and always useful survivability boost. |
| Spider | Greatly reduces weapon durability loss from light attacks. | Hidden | Use Sakuko’s Mailbox Key (from northern farm shrine) on the mailbox at her house. | S | Massively extends the life of your best real-world weapons. |
| Hawk | Greatly speeds up Focus charge time. | Hidden | Second Otherworld area (“Corridors”); in a room just after discovering the missing gate key. | S | Transforms Focus Attacks from a slow setup to a viable core combat tool. |
| Blessed Hand Mirror | Prevents one fatal hit, fully restores all stats, then breaks. | Hidden | Found in a room just past the Sacred Door in the Corridors. | C | A single-use safety net. Good to have, but not a build-defining item. |
| Wolf | Increases damage when using high-durability weapons. | Hidden | Ebisugaoka Middle School; in locker “TT” with the code 377. | B | Strong in the early-to-mid game but less useful when weapons are damaged. |
| Bull | Greatly reduces Stamina cost of heavy and charged attacks. | Hidden | Worship Hall; in a newly opened back room after solving the statue light puzzle. | A | Excellent for heavy weapon users, allowing for more sustained offense. |
| Horse | Greatly reduces Stamina consumed while sprinting in fights. | Hidden | Mountain path to Shu’s house; tucked in a corner off the main path. | C | Situational; useful for repositioning but less impactful than other options. |
| Crow | Slightly restores Health after defeating an enemy. | Hidden | Ritual sequence after Shu’s house; requires the new arm ability to open a specific door. | S | Drastically reduces your reliance on healing items over time. A top-tier charm. |
| Suzuran | Expands the Perfect Dodge window, making it easier to perform. | Hidden | Mountain path after Shu’s house; in a breakable crate behind a small house. | B | Great training wheels for mastering the Perfect Dodge. |
| Hound | Slightly restores current max Sanity after defeating enemies. | Hidden | Treasure Hall; in the first room on the right after passing through the first correct fox statue. | A | Helps sustain your Sanity for Focus Attacks without using items. |
| Hidden Omamori (New Game+ Only) | |||||
| Shrew Mole | Dodging costs no Stamina when near death. | Hidden (NG+) | Shrine Path; behind the giant tree in the southeast. | B | A powerful clutch-survival tool. |
| Rabbit | A heavy attack after a Perfect Dodge becomes a powerful Counter. | Hidden (NG+) | Ebisugaoka Middle School exterior; inside a shoe box in a classroom. | A | Adds a new, powerful offensive option for skilled players. |
| Swallow | Consecutive Counters stack a damage buff (up to 5x). | Hidden (NG+) | Worship Hall; through a new gap in the wall on the west side. | S | The ultimate reward for players who have mastered the Counter system. |
| Goat | Reduces damage taken when outnumbered. | Hidden (NG+) | Mountain hut where the gate key was originally found. | B | Very useful for crowd control situations. |
| Hokora Shrine Omamori (Random Draws) | |||||
| Boar | Greatly speeds up Stamina recovery. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | S | Universal utility. More stamina means more attacking and dodging. Always good. |
| Owl | Greatly decreases Sanity consumption while using Focus. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | S | The perfect partner for the Hawk Omamori, creating the ultimate Focus Attack build. |
| Sakura | Increases effectiveness of Health-restoring items and Omamori. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | A | Amplifies the healing from items and the Crow Omamori, creating a powerful survival loop. |
| Mantis | Restores a small amount of Health after each successful Counter. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | A | Rewards skilled play with free healing. Pairs wonderfully with Sakura. |
| Turtle | Greatly decreases damage taken when at full Health. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | B | A good opening gambit for any fight, but loses its value after the first hit. |
| Plum | Increases maximum Stamina. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | B | A solid, if unexciting, boost to your combat endurance. |
| Bamboo | Increases maximum Sanity. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | B | More Sanity means more fuel for Focus Attacks. A good general-purpose charm. |
| Clam | Decreases enemy line of sight. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | C | Can help with stealth, but often it’s better to equip a combat-focused charm. |
| Crab | Weapon durability does not decrease while using Focus. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | B | Useful for preserving weapons if you use a lot of Focus Attacks. |
| Kudzu Leaf | Slightly increases max Health, Sanity, and Stamina. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | B | A jack-of-all-trades charm. Good if you do not have more specialized options. |
| Bear | Greatly increases stun power when weapon durability is low. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | C | Turns a negative situation into a slight positive, but it is better to just repair your weapon. |
| Willow | Increases effectiveness of Sanity-restoring items and Omamori. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | B | Pairs well with the Hound Omamori for maximum Sanity regeneration. |
| Butterfly | Greatly reduces Stamina cost of dodging (disables dodge chaining). | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | C | The inability to dodge continuously is a major drawback that often outweighs the benefit. |
| Otter | Restores spare weapon durability after defeating an enemy. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | A | A fantastic way to keep your entire arsenal in good condition without using Toolkits. |
| Serpent | Automatically performs a Counter on a visual hint, but it costs Sanity. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | C | The Sanity cost and slower recovery make this a poor trade for learning the timing yourself. |
| Beetle | Greatly increases damage to stunned enemies. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | A | Excellent for capitalizing on Counters and Focus Attacks. High damage potential. |
| Camel | Reduces Sanity consumed by charged attacks. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | B | A decent alternative to Owl if you have not drawn it yet. |
| Swordfish | After a Counter, Stamina is not consumed for a short time. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | A | Allows for an incredibly aggressive and damaging follow-up after a successful Counter. |
| Dolphin | Restores some max Sanity after a Perfect Dodge. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | B | Rewards defensive play with Sanity, fueling your offense. |
| Elephant | Prevents staggering from normal attacks, but damage taken increases. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | C | A very risky trade-off. Generally not worth the extra damage taken. |
| Tanuki | Converts incoming physical damage into Sanity damage. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | C | Can be useful if you have high Sanity and low Health, but it is a dangerous gamble. |
| Weasel | Greatly increases normal attack damage but removes stun ability. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | B | A pure damage build option, but losing the ability to stun is a significant drawback. |
| Daisy | Grants unlimited Sanity & Stamina, but any physical hit is fatal. | Shrine Draw | Random draw at any Hokora shrine. | D | A high-risk “glass cannon” charm for challenge runs only. Not recommended for normal play. |
Know Your Nightmares: Spoiler-Free Enemy Strategies
The monsters of Silent Hill f are more than just obstacles; they are physical manifestations of psychological trauma, their designs and behaviors deeply rooted in Japanese folklore and the game’s core themes. To defeat them, you must treat each one like a mechanical puzzle. By observing their form and movements, you can understand their function and devise the perfect counter-strategy. This section provides general, spoiler-free tips for the common enemy archetypes you will encounter.
General Tips for Facing Horrors
No matter what creature crawls out of the fog, these core principles will keep you alive:
- Stay Mobile: Never stand still. Constant movement makes you a harder target and helps you manage spacing.
- Study, Then Strike: Do not rush in. Watch the enemy’s attack patterns. Every monster has “tells” that signal its next move. Learning these is the key to timing your dodges and counters.
- Manage Your Stamina: Do not spam attacks or dodges. A depleted stamina bar is a death sentence. Use the Perfect Dodge to keep your stamina high.
- Know When to Flee: Not every fight is worth taking. If you are low on health, your weapon is about to break, or you are simply overwhelmed, running is a valid and often wise tactic. Your goal is survival, not annihilation.
Strategies for Common Enemy Archetypes
While each monster is unique, many fall into broader categories. Here is how to handle them.
Aggressive Rushers (e.g., Kashimashi)
These enemies are fast, relentless, and designed to pressure you. They often represent feelings of social anxiety or judgment, constantly attacking and giving you no room to breathe.
- Strategy: Do not try to trade blows. Your best approach is to bait their attacks. Maintain a medium distance, let them lunge at you, and then use a Perfect Dodge to create an opening. Punish their recovery frames with a quick two-or-three-hit combo, then immediately create distance again. Be patient and capitalize on their aggression.
Heavy, Armored Foes
These are large, slow-moving brutes that can absorb a lot of damage. Their normal attacks often bounce off their tough exteriors.
- Strategy: Basic attacks are inefficient here. This is the perfect time to use a Focus Attack. A fully charged Focus blow can break through their defenses, stunning them and leaving them vulnerable to a flurry of follow-up attacks. If you are low on Sanity, focus on baiting their slow, telegraphed attacks and using Perfect Dodges to get behind them for a few safe hits.
Psychic / Sanity-Draining Foes
Some enemies will attack your mind instead of your body. They may let out a disorienting shriek or have a gaze that drains your Sanity meter.
- Strategy: These enemies should always be your top priority in a group fight. Your Sanity is your most valuable resource, and they will deplete it quickly. Close the distance and eliminate them as fast as possible. If they begin a psychic attack animation (often telegraphed by a sound cue or a glowing effect), try to interrupt them with a heavy attack or use a Focus Attack to finish them off before they can cripple you mentally.
Swarmers / Minions
These are smaller, weaker enemies that often appear in groups or are summoned by a larger boss. Individually, they are not a threat, but together they can overwhelm you.
- Strategy: Crowd control is key. Use wide, sweeping weapons like the Baseball Bat or Steel Pipe to hit multiple enemies at once. Do not let them surround you. Keep moving and try to funnel them into narrow corridors where they can only approach you one or two at a time. Prioritize eliminating them quickly before focusing on any larger threats in the area.
Puzzles of the Psyche: Tips for a Sharper Mind
Puzzles have always been a cornerstone of the Silent Hill experience, and Silent Hill f continues this tradition with some of the most thematically integrated brainteasers in the series. These are not just arbitrary locked doors and key hunts; each puzzle is designed to be “grounded in psychological anguish and suffering,” reflecting the game’s narrative, its 1960s Japanese setting, and the inner turmoil of its characters. To solve them, you will need to think less like a gamer and more like a psychologist.
How to Approach Puzzles in Silent Hill f
The first step to solving any puzzle in this game is often figuring out what the puzzle even is. You will rarely be given direct instructions. Instead, you will be presented with a strange altar, a cryptic note, or an unusual arrangement of objects.
- Think Thematically: Always ask yourself, “What is the story trying to tell me here?” Puzzles are connected to the narrative. A clue might be related to a character’s specific fear, a piece of local folklore, or the oppressive social expectations placed on women in that era.
- Observe Everything: Look for environmental clues. A sequence of symbols on a wall, the direction a corpse is pointing, or the specific items left on a desk can all be vital pieces of the puzzle.
- Experiment: Do not be afraid to try things. Interacting with objects in different orders is often part of the process of discovery. The game rewards curiosity.
Using Hinako’s Journal to Your Advantage
Your single most powerful tool for solving puzzles is Hinako’s journal, accessible by pressing Up on the D-Pad. The journal is more than just a logbook; it is an active, intelligent co-protagonist in your journey.
When you encounter a puzzle, Hinako automatically starts a new entry for it in the “Puzzles” tab of her journal. As you find relevant documents, clues, or notes anywhere in the world, the journal automatically collects and organizes them under the corresponding puzzle entry. This is a massive quality-of-life feature. You never have to sift through a dozen different documents in your inventory to find the one clue you need; they are all neatly gathered for you.
Furthermore, the journal provides a window into Hinako’s own thought process. Her notes and doodles can offer subtle hints, and her interpretation of events might reveal something you missed. Whenever you feel stuck on a puzzle, your first action should always be the same:
check the journal.
The Impact of Difficulty
Your chosen puzzle difficulty has a dramatic impact on the experience.
- Story Difficulty: The game provides significant assistance. Puzzles are less complex, and crucial words or phrases in documents within your journal will be automatically highlighted, pointing you directly toward the solution.
- Hard Difficulty: The puzzles gain extra layers of complexity. You might need to find an additional item or perform an extra step. All the journal highlights are removed, forcing you to interpret the clues entirely on your own.
- Lost in the Fog Difficulty: This mode is for true puzzle masters. The in-game hints become almost uselessly vague. Crucial information might be omitted entirely, and the game may expect you to have outside knowledge, such as recognizing specific types of Japanese plants or understanding elements of folklore, to solve the puzzle.
Beyond the First Nightmare: New Game+ and All Endings
The story of Silent Hill f does not end when the credits roll for the first time. In fact, it has only just begun. The game is intentionally designed for multiple playthroughs, with a rich New Game+ (NG+) system that re-contextualizes the narrative and unlocks the path to the game’s true, complete story. Following the design philosophy of writer Ryukishi07, known for tales that unfold over multiple arcs, your first journey through Ebisugaoka is merely the first chapter.
Unlocking New Game+: What Carries Over and What Changes
Upon completing the game for the first time, you will unlock New Game+. To start it, simply load your completed game save file. You will begin the story again from the beginning, but with a significant portion of your progress intact.
What Carries Over:
- Your character stats (Health, Stamina, Sanity upgrades)
- All of your collected Omamori
- Your accumulated Faith
- Certain key items required for endings, and all non-puzzle-related documents
What Changes:
- New Content: NG+ is not just a simple replay. It adds entirely new scenes, new documents to find, and new environmental details that shed more light on the story.
- Altered Placements: To keep you on your toes, the locations of enemies, healing items, and weapons are changed.
- Access to New Endings: Most importantly, NG+ is the only way to unlock four of the game’s five endings.
A Spoiler-Free Roadmap to Unlocking All Five Endings
Silent Hill f features five distinct endings. Your first playthrough will always result in the same, fixed conclusion, which is intentionally vague and designed to leave you with questions. The subsequent endings are unlocked in NG+ by performing a specific set of actions. Here is a spoiler-free checklist to guide you.
Ending 1: Coming Home to Roost
- How to Get: Simply complete the game for the first time. This ending is mandatory and cannot be changed on your initial playthrough.
Ending 2: Fox’s Wedding
- How to Get: This ending is available in New Game+.
- Do not use any Red Capsules throughout the entire playthrough.
- You must either find and purify the Sacred Sword OR never acquire the sword at all.
- You must find a specific key item called the Agura no Hotei-sama.
Ending 3: The Fox Wets Its Tail
- How to Get: This ending is available in New Game+.
- Do not use any Red Capsules throughout the entire playthrough.
- You must acquire the Sacred Sword but do not purify it.
Ending 4: Ebisugaoka in Silence
- How to Get: This is considered the “true” or conclusive ending, and it has the most demanding requirements. It can only be unlocked on a NG+ save file that has already achieved at least two other main endings (Ending 5 does not count towards this).
- Do not use any Red Capsules throughout the entire playthrough.
- You must acquire and purify the Sacred Sword.
- You must offer a specific key item, the Brooch, to the Ancient Jizo Statue.
Ending 5: The Great Invasion from Space!
- How to Get: This is the traditional, humorous “UFO” ending, a staple of the Silent Hill series. It is available in New Game+.
- Find and listen to all UFO radio broadcasts.
- Find and read all three “The Great Space Invasion” movie posters in the correct order.
- Interact with a specific UFO-related event late in the game.
To see the whole story, you must embrace the cycle. Each playthrough will reveal new layers of the mystery, and only by achieving these different outcomes will you piece together the full, horrifying truth of what happened in Ebisugaoka.
Unlocking Your Bonuses: A Guide to DLC and Deluxe Edition Content
For players who want to enhance their experience or get a head start on the horror, Silent Hill f offers a Digital Deluxe Edition packed with extra content. If you have invested in this version, this section will walk you through exactly what you get and, more importantly, how and when you can access your bonus items in the game.
What’s in the Digital Deluxe Edition?
Pre-ordering the Digital Deluxe Edition of Silent Hill f grants you a collection of digital goodies and valuable in-game items.
Core Deluxe Content:
- 48-Hour Early Access: The biggest perk, allowing you to start playing two full days before the global release date.
- Digital Artbook & Digital Soundtrack: These are accessed through a separate bonus application, allowing you to dive deeper into the game’s stunning concept art and listen to its haunting musical score.
- Pink Rabbit Costume: An exclusive in-game outfit for Hinako, paying homage to a recurring motif in the Silent Hill series.
Pre-Order Bonuses (Included with both Standard and Deluxe pre-orders):
- White Sailor School Uniform: An alternate costume for Hinako.
- Omamori: Peony: A special equippable charm that slightly restores your Health whenever you pick up a food item.
- Item Pack: A one-time bundle of useful starting items, including a First Aid Kit, Divine Water, and a Shriveled Abura-age (a high-value Faith item).
How and When to Claim Your Bonus Items and Outfits
This is a crucial point that can confuse many new players. While some of your bonuses are available immediately, others are intentionally held back until after you have completed the game’s tense opening sequence. This is a deliberate design choice to ensure that even players with bonuses experience the initial struggle and vulnerability as intended.
Here is the step-by-step process:
- Start a New Game: When you launch the game, your bonus outfits (Pink Rabbit Costume, White Sailor School Uniform) will be available immediately. You can choose one for Hinako to wear right from the start.
- Play Through the Prologue: You will not be able to claim your other bonus items right away. You must play through the game’s introductory chapter, survive your first few harrowing enemy encounters, and progress the story.
- Reach the Second Hokora Shrine: After the prologue, you will eventually reach the second Hokora shrine in the game. When you interact with this shrine, a new “Bonuses” tab will appear in the menu.
- Claim Your Rewards: Select the “Bonuses” tab to claim your Omamori: Peony and your Item Pack. These items will be added to your inventory.
Do not panic if you cannot find your items at the very first shrine you encounter. The game is designed to give them to you just as the world starts to open up, providing a helpful boost for the journey ahead without trivializing the terrifying opening moments.
Disclaimer: This is an unofficial fan work, all trademarks and copyrights for Silent Hill f belong to the developer NeoBards Entertainment Ltd.
Find the game here! SILENT HILL f Official Website
Leave a Reply