New Silent Hill f update tackles combat frustrations with fewer forced battles and an easier difficulty setting

Konami and NeoBards have just answered the prayers of many with new Silent Hill f patch notes that target the most divisive part of Hinako's adventure: its notoriously awkward combat. While there's certainly a case to be made that the clunky battles contribute to the overall atmosphere of one of the best horror games this year, there are times when they shift from thematic to frustrating and threaten to pull you out of the experience rather than deepen your immersion. If you've been feeling that way, this Silent Hill f update has the answers.

Danielle had a lot of good things to say in our Silent Hill f review, hailing it as "an instant horror classic" and praising everything from its narrative, themes, and atmosphere to the soundtrack, and even the combat. The awkward battles certainly haven't been to everyone's liking, however; they're the most common complaint I've seen, and one of the few aspects that has been driving some players away from the game. Silent Hill f patch 1.10 makes some core changes across board to fix this, along with a new difficulty setting.

First, Hinako's stamina will replenish slightly faster, giving you a bit more space to recover when things go wrong. Developer NeoBards Entertainment has reduced the enemy count "across multiple sections" of the game, and has also reduced the number of encounters that are unskippable. For those playing on hard, the damage Hinako takes when hit is "slightly less" than before.

Alongside this comes the introduction of a new action difficulty, 'casual.' This is available to choose when starting a new game or loading a new game plus save file. If you're already on the 'story' action difficulty or higher, you'll be offered the chance to switch to casual if you find yourself at the game over screen multiple times.

Certain sections in the new game plus mode have been given an optional skip feature. For example, this will activate after solving the Silent Hill f mural puzzle and going through the door, offering you the chance to jump forward to the scene where Hinako awakens in the Dark Shrine corridor for the second time. Note that, while this does not impact branching paths or endings, you won't get any of the items you've passed, and some achievements are disabled.

Silent Hill f patch 1.10 is out now. It also includes more than a dozen notable bug fixes, plus some smaller adjustments. You can check the full list courtesy of Konami if you want to see them in detail.