- ‘These Things Aren't New and Exclusive to Soulslike Games' — Silent Hill f Producer Wants to Set the Record Straight on Combat

Does Silent Hill f’s Dodge and Counter System Make it a Souls-Like Game? The Devs Don’t Think So and I Agree

Originally posted on Total Apex Gaming
By Nicole Azucena | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 9:57 PM ET

Silent Hill f is set to release next month, and the hype is real. Game footage was revealed during Gamescom this year, and people swear it’s another Dark Souls game. However, the devs have something else to say about that. The term souls-like is circulating the internet in many gaming circles, comparing too many games to Dark Souls, a game infamous for its high difficulty. Why do people think Silent Hill f is another souls-like game, and what made them think that? Here’s a breakdown of everything.

Souls-Like Games

Dark Souls is iconic for its high difficulty and challenging gameplay that everyone loves to hate. Recently, gamers and critics alike have compared many games to Dark Souls, calling them souls-like if the difficulty is as hard as Dark Souls. Death in these games are also punishing as well as mastering gameplay mechanics. However, nowadays, there are way too many people calling games souls-like, and some people generally dislike the term because of its overuse and improper use of the word when players describe some games.

It seems like Silent Hill f is the newest game to”join” the roster of souls-like, according to some players who have seen the gameplay footage. People who have seen the gameplay footage, meaning everyone, are saying Silent Hill f is souls-like because of the melee combat, timed dodges, stamina management, and challenging boss encounters. Now, if this is the criterion players are basing their statements on, I think it’s safe to say that it’s just way too early to make such a judgment.

I also watched the trailer during Gamescom, and it felt like your standard Silent Hill game. I’m just saying the term souls-like is just way too overused, and I think it’s understandable that devs are getting a little tired of hearing it. There are a lot of factors that can indicate whether a game is souls-like, and it’s kind of unfair to categorize a game that hasn’t even fully released yet.

What the Devs Say

Screenshot of Silent Hill f, Courtesy of Konami

Because of all this talk, the devs have spoken out on all the flak and are pushing back. According to Motoi Okamoto,

“This is one of the things that we see—the term soulslike—being thrown around on the internet quite a bit… And I think it’s a label that’s a little bit disingenuous. Modern plays will see like ‘Oh, there’s a stamina meter, there’s a dodge, and they’re like, ‘Okay, it’s a soulslike.'”

Okamoto has said, and is adamant that Silent Hill f will be an action-horror game that pulls different mechanics from previous games. And I agree. It’s too presumptuous to say this game is souls-like when the full game hasn’t released, and I’m more interested in listening to what the developer has to say about the game than what people think they saw in a 2-minute trailer. Silent Hill f will release on September 25 this year on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC. It’s only one month exactly until release, and I know I am about ready to experience this game in full.

This article first appeared on Total Apex Gaming and was syndicated with permission.

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