Since its 2022 announcement, a primary question surrounding Silent Hill f has been its connection to the wider series. After considerable anticipation, the answer has finally emerged.
Warning: Spoilers for Silent Hill f follow.
Players who have completed Silent Hill f will recall its startling initial ending. It unveils that the Hinako navigating Ebisugaoka is, in reality, a young adult experiencing severe drug-induced psychosis. What appeared to be a typical day for a high school student transforms into the horrifying revelation that, on her wedding day, Hinako has spent hours brutally murdering her friends and family. While horrific, these actions become clearer upon closer examination of the game`s lore.
It`s revealed that Hinako consumed Kakura-Makakura, a natural remedy derived from ground Hakkokusou seeds, presented in small red capsules. Her friend Shu, an apprentice apothecary, provided it for her tension headaches, seemingly without fully understanding its risks or reputation. Shu`s journal entries suggest he prescribed it to reduce her dependence on traditional medicine, noting its composition included peony and kudzu root. Further documents found throughout the game`s town and spirit world offer deeper insights into this mysterious substance.
Research papers in Silent Hill f refer to Hakkokusou as `the flower of the gods.` Folklore suggests that consuming its seeds grants individuals the power to communicate with deities, traverse their realms, and unlock latent abilities – experiences mirrored by Hinako. The papers also highlight Hakkokusou`s extreme rarity and difficulty in cultivation, requiring specific environmental conditions. This explains why it is exclusively found near Shu`s apothecary and home within the game.
Near Shu`s house, a small pond hosts distinctive large white flowers. These flowers are the crucial link to the broader Silent Hill series. While named Hakkokusou in Silent Hill f, fans will immediately identify them as White Claudia—a perennial, water-dwelling herb with white blossoms and hallucinogenic seeds.
White Claudia has been a significant element throughout the Silent Hill series. In the inaugural game, Harry Mason discovered documents detailing the cultists` use of the flower`s seeds in their rituals, which partly accounted for their erratic conduct. At the town`s hospital, he also encountered a shattered bottle of Aglaophotis, a potent red liquid later identified as refined White Claudia.
In Silent Hill 3, Heather Mason cherishes a pendant from her father, its item description mentioning a `jewel inside, like a little red tablet.` This jewel is later revealed to be a small vial of Aglaophotis. More recently, the Silent Hill 2 remake by Bloober Team introduced a new ending where James consumes the substance, hallucinating his wife Mary before her terminal illness.
Further reinforcing this connection is Aglaophotis, White Claudia`s liquid derivative. The Fandom Silent Hill wiki notes that Aglaophotis might be linked to the European peony, a connection supported by the Greek physician Dioscorides. This aligns with Shu`s journal entries, where he describes using peonies in his Kakura-Makakura preparation. Moreover, the Agura no Hotei-sama, a crucial item for Silent Hill f`s `Fox Wedding` ending, is a medicine bottle containing a red liquid reminiscent of Aglaophotis. Hinako eventually consumes this refined `flower of the gods` to stabilize herself within the spirit world.
While Silent Hill f may not be set in the iconic town itself, it undeniably exists within the same universe, exploring familiar themes and lore established by its predecessors. Notably, the game has been critically acclaimed, with reviews hailing it as `a visual spectacle, a mastercraft in psychological horror, a work of narrative brilliance, and a new benchmark for the Silent Hill series.`