Silent Hill f left a much stronger impression as an immersive action-adventure built around the story of a young girl named Hinako — rather than the pure horror experience the series name might lead you to expect.
On the higher difficulty, I kept asking myself, “Wait, is this even a horror game?” The dodge-timing, parry mechanics, and build-crafting made it feel far more Soulslike than survival horror.
That said, there were definitely some rough patches along the way. The diary glitch and the tedious resource management got on my nerves more than once mid-run.
But before I knew it, I was 5 runs in. Then 6. The game has this weird addictive pull that makes grinding feel almost effortless.
Hinako as a character, the slowly creeping atmosphere, the occasional bittersweet moments — they all get richer the more you replay. It’s a genuinely strange and memorable experience.
Whether you’re here for the platinum or for the story, you’ll come away thinking “yeah, that was worth it.” Personally, I’d recommend it to both longtime series fans and complete newcomers.
◆ Personal Overall Score: 8.2 / 10
(Hinako’s character and the addictive loop pushed this way up. The bug situation was a real bummer though.)
1. Platinum Trophy Difficulty Summary
Spoilers ahead. Skip if you haven’t played yet.
- Playtime: 38 hours (actual)
- Platinum Difficulty: 3 / 10
- Stress Level: 3 / 10
- Satisfaction: 6 / 10
◆ What Worked
- Character writing centered on Hinako is genuinely thoughtful — great immersion throughout
- Hidden mechanics like the Spirit Sword and PP-8001 have satisfying depth to them
- The charm skill-building goes deeper than you’d expect — proper Soulslike build crafting vibes
- On the hardest difficulty “Gori Muchu,” the game becomes a fully-realized action title
◆ What Fell Short
- A bug made Sakiko’s Diary unobtainable at launch, causing a full trophy lockout (patched in a later update)
- Puzzle difficulty on Gori Muchu spikes hard in places — legitimately got stuck for real
- Charms and stat upgrades share the same resource pool, which gets annoying to manage
Overall impression: “This one goes harder on action and character than actual horror.” Boss fights especially felt high-energy and combat-focused.
2. Trophy List Overview
The trophy structure revolves around three pillars: collectibles, multiple playthroughs, and hard mode clear. The skill ceiling isn’t super high — minimum completion is doable in 4 runs. With careful save management, maybe 3?
That said, I personally struggled with some of the collectibles and ended up doing 6 total runs (including the UFO ending).
3. The Hardest Trophies
① Kami-Kakari no Miko (Collect All of Sakiko’s Diary Entries)
At launch, this trophy was completely bugged and unobtainable. I spent 4 full runs hunting for the diary entries and still couldn’t get it. Mentally, this was the hardest part of the whole platinum run.
After the patch it finally became obtainable, and I got it. But that hollow “I’ll definitely get it next run” feeling that never delivers? Yeah, that’s burned into my memory forever.
Tip: Post-patch it’s completely fine. Use a checklist to track your diary entries just to be safe.
② Thanks and Respect to the Fog-Breaker (Clear on “Gori Muchu” / Max Difficulty)
This is the real platinum wall. Going through the Normal Ending route makes it more manageable — red capsules as healing options go brrrr.
Before tackling this difficulty, I first secured all the endings, the Spirit Sword, PP-8001, and other hidden weapons. Here’s the route I used:
- 1st run: Normal Ending (Story Focus difficulty)
- 2nd run: Two alternate endings on Hard difficulty. Get the Spirit Sword first, save before purifying to branch into both endings — grab those two trophy pops
- 3rd run: Any difficulty, UFO Ending route
- 4th run: Hidden Ending route on Story Focus (I wasn’t confident enough to do this on Gori Muchu)
- Note: You need to kill the final boss under 10 minutes for the related trophy — Story Focus is way easier unless you’re speedrunning
- 5th run: Gori Muchu on Normal Ending route — red capsules allowed here, making it a bit more manageable
That final Shiro Muku fight? Full-on FromSoftware vibes. For the trophy requiring a no-death kill, I missed it on my 1st run but managed it here no problem. (This run had no revival items.)
Read every attack, dodge — DODGE — DODGE!! Then counter with the Rabbit charm. There was nothing remotely horror about it at that point — it’s a high-level action game. (Hinako was in the track-and-field club, so her fast dodge makes sense. I wish I’d joined track, honestly.)
◆ My Charm Build (the setup that actually cleared it)
- Tanuki: Redirects damage to Spirit Power → shrines restore SP, so this saves your HP big time
- Rabbit: Parry-dodge triggers a powerful counter-attack
- Suzuran: Boosts parry window success rate (if you’re comfortable with timing, swap for Tsubame for more DPS)
- Kawausu (Hinako sections only): Weapon durability maintenance — super handy
- Weapons: Spirit Sword + PP-8001 + Kitchen Knife — rock solid combo
5. Pain Points & Stress During the Run
- Puzzle difficulty on Gori Muchu spikes wildly — some sections are genuinely brutal
- Charm purchasing and upgrading share the same resource pool → most efficient method is “save → stack gold → buy charms → grab trophy → reset”
- Camera in some areas goes absolutely feral in tight spaces
- The atmosphere is great, but it leans more toward “jump scare placement” than actual sustained fear — horror execution felt uneven throughout
7. Final Summary: For Anyone Going for Platinum
◆ Things to Watch Out For
- Learn the hidden weapon locations early in your first run
- Approach Gori Muchu as a build-crafting puzzle, not a horror gauntlet
- Don’t brute-force the puzzles — look things up early and save yourself the headache
◆ Prep That Makes Life Easier
- Template your charm loadout before each run
- Manage your ending-split saves carefully
- Figure out your healing item priorities early on
◆ This Game Is For You If…
- You’re into Soulslike games
- You don’t mind replaying the same game multiple times
- You want to follow the characters and story closely
- You’re into “unsettling atmosphere” more than outright horror
8. Final Thoughts: My Personal Take
I didn’t feel the same level of fear as Silent Hill 2, but this game has an oddly high level of polish as “a Soulslike starring a high school girl.” Before I knew it: 5 runs. 6 total. I haven’t replayed the same game back-to-back that many times in ages — this thing genuinely has addictive pull.
Hinako is a compelling protagonist, and you naturally find yourself wanting to see where her journey ends. That’s the game in a nutshell.
It’s a notable release — you owe yourself at least one playthrough. The fog will quietly part before you too.
🎮 Must-Have Gear: How I Saved on a PS5 Controller
During my hardcore Platinum Trophy grinds, the rubber on my PS5 thumbsticks finally tore off. I was dreading spending another $70 on a brand new DualSense… but then I tried these thumbstick caps as a last resort.
Surprisingly, they fit perfectly right over the torn rubber! I saved the replacement cost and used that money to buy another new game instead (lol).
If your thumbsticks are starting to peel or fall apart, I highly recommend this cheap fix to extend your controller’s life before you buy a new one!
(Amazon Associate / PR disclosure)
Leave a Comment