Silent Hill has always dealt with difficult topics, but new PS5 game Silent Hill F is shaping up to be the most disturbing entry in the long-running survival horror series yet.
Its content warning, posted visibly on the game’s website and various product pages, is not for the faint of heart.
Rather than sugar coat it, we’ve reproduced the full thing below:
“This game contains depictions of gender discrimination, child abuse, bullying, drug-induced hallucinations, torture, and graphic violence.
“This game is set in Japan in the 1960s and contains depictions based on the customs and culture of that time. These depictions do not reflect the opinions or values of the developers or any individuals involved.
“If you feel uncomfortable at any point while playing, please take a break from playing or speak to someone you trust.”
Clearly this is going to be an intensely challenging experience, then, which won’t be to everyone’s tastes.
Our only hope is that Konami is able to navigate all of this material respectfully. Obviously, we’re talking about some truly sensitive real-life topics here, and they need to be handled in the right way.
[source konami.com]
Comments 46
It should say:
"If you feel uncomfortable at any point while playing, that's intentional; it's a f**king horror game".
Remind me again, why people are saying this ain't a Silent hill game? These themes are perfect for SH. Even Short message while not a great game still had strong/dark themes like this.
Treating horror audience like this is frankly insulting. Imagine calling your mother: Mom, I played a scary game and wet myself. Can I trust you? The game told me to talk to you.
@Dalamar The themes of Silent Hill 2 for example depicting Sui***e can’t exactly be called horror in the traditional sense can it? Silent hill has always talked up the hard subjects people don’t really want to talk about. It’s not resident evil at the end of the day, a traditional horror I would say.
Well. not a horror game without getting into uncomfortable territory. A lot of great horror games don't just show scary scenes or invoke feeling of dread, but also present imagery and topics to the player that make them feel uneasy or disturbed.
This content warning makes me want to play the game even more. Tackle those mature themes!
It’s not because I am desensitized to these themes or support, but because they are uncomfortable and invoke feelings. I want to feel uncomfortable when I play a horror game.
This is something I really don’t like about content warnings: if something offensive or immoral makes you cringe, or angry, or upset, it’s probably a good gauge that you are doing right with your life. You shouldn’t be warned that you might feel something.
These things should be felt!
I feel like people are too afraid to feel anything other than joy and happiness. And because they are so shielded from feeling anything but joy and happiness, they don’t know how to process anger, sadness, or fear.
Has Inside Out taught us nothing about how natural and important emotions really are?!
It’s the people who applaud the offensive or immoral behavior we should worry about.
Looks like some cutesy stuff to me. And I always throw up after an Indian
@Mikey856 I think you misspelt "suicide"
@Athrum I wasn’t sure if it would be allowed these days ygm
@Mikey856 Silent Hill is exactly what traditional horror should be: making you feel scared, uneasy and disturbed. Resident Evil never ever was scary, simply having zombies and sparce jumpscares doesn't make a horror.
@Dalamar suicide ain’t a traditional theme in horror movies though is it hence the warnings. Gore/murder/jump scares yes.
Removed - disrespecting others
I mean SH has always had this but I don't like that the warning is spoiling moments about the game. Just say it has intense violence and language and that would be fine.
@StrickenBiged
But you can also imagine this is there for legal reasons (and there are precedents in Japanese movies/tv shows where similar statements are found), the absence of which might render them vulnerable to lawsuits.
A warning about horror elements in a horror game??? I wish they'd give us these warnings for lazy, un-optimised, broken games as well (is that you Bethesda?).
'If you experience trauma when your avatar falls through the floor of the game world, enters into a conversation with yet another T posing NPC, phases through gabbro rock on his trusty steed or you are forced to reload the game 10 times in one hour either please refrain from asking for a refund or wait for the next 27gb patch in due course'
I love how people are mocking a game for warning its audience that it contains topics that might effect them heavily beyond just gore and jump scares. Its like mocking a warning that something contains sexual violence because it could trigger people victims of it. Read the warning people this game has more then just gore and horror it also has other things that might trigger people like victims of stuff like child abuse. Jesus people ditch the stereotypes and learn some bloody empathy.
@Dalamar Victims of child abuse might want this warning don't you think?
They still like the school girls though the japanese eh, in any game.
God, some of you guys are dense as hell..
These warnings are literally what's included in (age) ratings, so people who are actually worried about depictions of certain themes can check if a game tackles them before deciding on whether or not they want to buy /play those games.
@DennisReynolds I am such a victim. I think this warning is dumb as hell.
I get warning about child abuse, but everything else? This is a horror game. C' mon.... that's just boilerplate warning material.
Definitely glad to see some transparency about the child abuse part, the rest is pretty much expected and why I'd play in the first place.
I get current day BS and the company having to cover their butts, but.........if you need trigger warnings like this you probably shouldn't be playing horror games in the first place especially not J-Horror
Personally that makes me want to play it more. Good on the devs for pointing it out and highlighting that they were yesteryears views. Kudos.
@Dalamar and my Dad who was a victim of child abuse had to leave the room when anything like that appeared on TV/film because it would trigger him. As i said learn empathy.
There may be a parent or guardian out there who’s letting a kid play the game without realizing just how mature and graphic the content is. It’s probably good to have the warning.
Even with the warning, I can’t imagine the content is any worse than what’s in Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus. The mental abuse, the physical abuse, the animal abuse, the racism, the…ugh…I’ll stop there. That game had some really tough scenes.
@DennisReynolds Sorry to hear that, but glad to hear he got through it. Not everyone does.
@Dalamar you don't get to speak for other victims. Stop being so glib.
Don't know why anyone would [actually] have an issue with this . You have literally been warned .
Removed - disrespecting others
I like the warning. The older I get the more I feel the need to know exactly what I'm getting myself into when I watch a horror movie. Not spoilers or anything, just stuff like "are any kids brutally murdered?" "How miserable are the depictions of violence?" "Jump scares or no jump scares?" Not all horror is created equal, and while I still consider myself a fan of horror I'm far more picky than I used to be and there's certain elements I would rather stay away from. So far this seems like a go, though the child abuse is a red flag and I'll want to know just how agonizing the torture is.
It's an art form. Especially in games anything could be a trigger nowadays.
I feel like the warning is all fluff. If those topics in the game affect you, it's not for you.
Don't cry to me about being victim, either. I went through it myself and learn to deal with it and move on peacefully.
oh look a horror game that looks more like a Siren or Fatal Frame game with the name Silent Hill trying to pretend to be a Silent Hill game trying to scare us off with the words of drugs, hallucinations, torture and graphic videogame violence...
gee where have i experienced that crud before? oh yeah in any old Silent Hill or Resident Evil game.
pretty much just a normal day/week in the world of Silent Hill/Resident Evil/Fatal Frame/Siren
Bring it on! I love feeling uncomfortable!
It's all about the clicks and the buzz. Move over people, nothing to see here
That’s why it’s for adults only! Horror is horror.
@Dalamar As another "survivor" of child abuse, I'd agree. I was physically and mentally abused for much of my childhood... father pinned me to the floor and threatened me with a knife, door was taken off of my room to prevent me from having any privacy, still have scars on my head from when I was thrown into a wall. With that said, part of getting past all that is learning how to come to grips with it, adjusting to accept what happened and move on.
Corporations infantalizing their customers and giving them trigger warnings does no real service. If seeing certain things bothers you that badly, seek therapy or learn how to pick your entertainment. ESRB already puts ratings on about every game you buy, not to mention the fact we're already talking about a Japanese horror game here, a genre thats never been afraid of touching on these topics.
Just the name of this game is scaring me, I will not play it.
I didn't expect that today i see some people complaining about a simple warning, which Konami or any company has every right to inform the contents of their games.
I wonder what's the next thing that people gonna complaint?
It is mental things like that need to actually be said.
A friend of a friend was hospitalised after watching Punch Drunk Love apparently as it was shortly after he had a car crash and it brought on terrible PTSD. Movies only come with a warning if they think it will sell tickets. If they want to stick a vague warning on a game then go knock your socks off.
I think it’s strange to have such a specific warning, but I’d rather much have this than it be toned down or not at all. Excited for this to come out, especially because of the writer
@DennisReynolds Yes I was going to point out that these aren’t really warnings that it’s a horror game. I completely agree that people don’t need to be warned about the fact a game is there to make them feel uneasy. But you’d have to agree that in the case of very raw and sensitive issues, you can’t not alert people who could have serious problems with themes like child abuse, inherited from actual lived experience …
@Nunab18 also hadn’t read this when I added my comment to be fair. I’ll obviously defer to this viewpoint
@DennisReynolds Konami is clearly going for gasps!
@Dalamar clearly you aren’t a victim of child abuse. Good for you. Maybe think about those who are. It’s just a warning message. Can’t imagine simple words would trigger you so badly, right? Certainly not as much as an actual victim would be…
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