If you're a true Silent Hill fan, then you know that these games always have something to offer on their second playthrough. Whether it's new weapons, cutscenes, or new endings, there's a lot you can gain from taking another trip to Silent Hill, and Silent Hill f is no different in that sense. However, in this game a new game plus playthrough is not only recommended, I'd say that it's mandatory for anyone that actual wants to understand what is going on in this game. Having played the game twice, I can definitely say that anyone who has only done one playthrough has only gotten about half of the story. There is so much that is revealed here, not just through new cutscenes and dialogue, but through new items, notes, and endings that can only be unlocked through new game plus. Even with all of that, I still think that there is so much left unanswered, and I've already started another NG+ playthrough just to get closer to the answers I seek. For now, let's focus on some of the observations I had during this second playthrough.

Gameplay wise, combat is still clunky, but I've gotten used to it and I found it a lot more managable. You unlock a new difficulty that's harder than the highest difficulty, and it's mainly because enemies do more damage and seem to be in larger numbers in certain areas. However, I found myself dying less simply because I had a better understanding of how everything works. I know when to run away and when to fight, and I know how to take advantage of the game's mechanics to avoid some of the combat's shortcomings. It helps that you can unlock a fourth omamori slot in NG+, so you have more perks for your second playthrough, which definitely helps. With the ones I had equipped, I was able to conserve focus and weapon durability, giving me less to worry about when it came to being unarmed. It was a less stressful experience, but in some ways it did still accentuate the worst parts of the combat, since I was more aware of how it works and how it can go wrong. One on one duels are fine, but fighting 3 or more enemies at once is less overwhelming and just more annoying than anything. In terms of puzzles, the game actually changes up some of the puzzles so that the items aren't in the same spots they used to be, meaning that you have to actually pay attention to the new hints so that you can figure out how to solve them again. It's a good way to keep the player from relying on their old notes. There's one new puzzle that is added to a new section of one of the otherworld segments that I thought was really well done, it was very rewarding to solve it.

The biggest change in gameplay comes in the form of the statues hidden throughout each real world segment of the game. There's five in total, and all of them require you to find a specific item hidden in the town, or in whatever part of the game you're in. You're given a clue on where to find it, and it's not hard to do so if you just pay attention. You get a pretty sweet reward for doing it, and it's important for deciding which of the endings that you want to go for. I liked having these statue segments since they added a lot to the side-story about the shrines, and they made the new playthrough feel different. However, I can't help but wish that they had been in the main game, since it would have been cool to find this weapon on my first playthrough. It also leads to another problem that I'll get into later.

The part that makes NG+ really worth playing through is the new story cutscenes, dialogue, and notes that the game throws at you, and it is a lot. Right from the beginning, after the opening cutscene, Hinako's parents start arguing about a different topic than before, and it really reinforces the theory I had at the end of my first playthrough. From then on, I'd say about 60% of the cutscenes are brand new, with characters revealing new information that clears up what exactly is going on in the story. There are also new notes that add a lot as well, especially when it comes to the lore of Ebisugaouka, and it's residents. There's a lot to read through, and there's a lot that you can learn about Hinako's friends and their reaction to her situation. What this playthrough really cemented for me was that the story and Hinako are a little more nuanced than I initially thought. Hinako is placed in a very un-enviable situation, where she has to make a choice that she isn't really sure about. The story could have easily had her be in favor of one choice over another, but Silent Hill f seems to be aiming for something a little more complex. Hinako has a genuine struggle with this choice, not only because of what it will force her to do, but also because of how it may change her. Obviously she doesn't want to be forced to change, but the thought of staying the same forever is also a scary concept to her. She is open to change, but is this really the one she wants? Is she who she wants to be, or what society wants her to be? Who does she want to be? I feel that this question is at the heart of the story, and it makes Hinako such a fascinating character to watch. The ending I went for had Shu as it's central focus near the end, and it finally cleared up one of my biggest questions from the first playthrough: what does Shu really have to do with any of this? We finally get to see how he feels about everything going on, and we get a very bittersweet ending that gets very sour once you watch the mid-credits scene. There's a war going on in Hinako's mind, and she needs to choose which side she's on before someone else does.

With all of that said, there are still a lot of questions that I have that still have not been answered. The two biggest ones being about Junko and Fox Mask. We get some lore on who Fox Mask is and what he really means to Hinako, but we really don't see what his full intentions are. There are hints, but they never really get explored, and we get nothing by the end. Junko is also a confusing figure in this narrative, at the beginning she's show to be very nice to Hinako, but she acts as an antagonistic force throughout the game. Is she in favor of Hinako losing her free will? If so, why help her at all throughout the game? Is it to get her closer to Fox Mask? Why turn on Hinako? Finally, I'd just like an answer on if the other world in this game is actually real or not. There are some hints that it isn't, but there is also so much lore that says otherwise. I'm not sure if I'm meant to believe that this is all in Hinako's head, or if it's really happening? Perhaps a mix of both?

This leads me to my biggest problem with NG+, it still isn't enough. There's still so much to learn about, and that wouldn't be a problem if it was just supplementary stuff to help flesh out the plot and world. The problem is that it isn't just lore, it's endings that are VERY important to the story, many of which I feel should have been in the first playthrough. However, I fee that wouldn't have been a big issue if there was actually more variation to the gameplay in NG+. Games like Nier Automata also have important story stuff locked behind subsequent playthroughs, but that game features almost entirely new stuff on each playthrough, at the very least you get a new perspective to play from. They also have gameplay that is so much fun on it's own, especially combat wise. Silent Hill f doesn't really have that, it has some clunky melee combat that doesn't really get more interesting on a second playthrough. The maps, level layout, and objectives all remain the same, so you really aren't getting much on that front either. I appreciate them allowing you to skip certain sections in the latter half entirely, but there's still so much of the first half you have to get through first. Other Silent Hill games had you replay the entire thing to, but those games were like 9-10 hours max on you first run, with subsequent runs taking about 4-6 hours. Silent Hill took me about 14-15 hours for both playthroughs, which means the bad parts just stuck out more a second time. If you're going to tie important story content to NG+, either make the game short, or make the mechanics (such as transversal and combat) more interesting and engaging to play with. You can't just do neither, because now you have an experience that feels more exhausting than it should since you're doing a lot of same stuff you just did. The only reason I am forgiving of this at all is because it was my second time playing the game ,and I had a lot of fun spotting all the differences and doing the extra stuff. But that leads to another problem: the third playthrough.

I have enjoyed this game, but I wont' lie. I am not excited at the possibility doing that all over again just to get another ending. In past games, you were given items and shortcuts to help you blitz through the game, and this time I hope that I can just rush through it and get to the new parts that really interest me. If you're thinking that I should just reload a past save file and make a different choice, this ending can only be unlocked after beating the game twice, so it looks like there's nothing you can really do about that. This game is fun, but the combat leaves a lot to be desired, and it's hard to get excited about exploring when you've seen almost everything. If I have to find all of the shrines and their items again, I think I'll pass on the third playthrough, I will not be doing that.

I'm not done with Silent Hill f (at least I hope not), I still have a lot of lingering questions on my mind. I just wish that they had decided to approach this differently. If they were going to add all of this stuff in, they needed to make the main story faster to get through or at least change it up in some way (reverse the town, make it look a little different, switch up the order of the chapters, add a new enemy or two, SOMETHING). I just think that it's a shame that people will play this game once, and not understand any of the deeper themes or character moments that exist in a second or third playthrough. I hope the game has more in store for me, and not just more of the same.