In a recent interview with Dengeki Online, Silent Hill f writer Ryukishi07 and producer Motoi Okamoto shed some light on the religious background of the latest series entry, and talked about a scrapped initial idea for the game’s lore. As Ryukishi07 explained, the development team’s initial plans for the story were to make it more like past Silent Hill entries, complete with a mysterious doomsday cult pulling the strings behind the scenes. However, with the latest title being set in Japan, the devs decided to scrap the idea in favor of a more “authentically Japanese” approach.
“One of our earliest ideas was to make a literal Silent Hill set in Japan, with a religious cult operating behind the curtains, just like in previous series entries. However, when I was working out the initial idea with Mr. Okamoto, we came to the conclusion that, rather than just setting the game in Japan, we should write a story that can only be written in Japan. So, I decided to go all in with the Inari mythos and all other legends unique to Japan,” said Ryukishi07.
But despite packing the story with numerous motifs that would only make sense to Japanese people or those who are well-versed in Japanese tradition and mythology, the devs didn’t fear this would impact how the game performed in the West. In fact, Ryukishi07 says the team didn’t have any doubts that overseas fans would appreciate the switch of focus towards a Shinto-oriented worldview. “Of course, we were certain that overseas fans of the Silent Hill series would be able to digest the mythology behind it – we expected and trusted them to understand it,” he commented.
“The understanding of religion differs in Japan and overseas. Previous Silent Hill titles are based on the Christian world, a religious outlook which states that there is a so-called one true God,” Okamoto added. With the story taking place in Japan, the developers wanted to fully leverage the Japanese polytheistic mythology and religious motifs. “There’s probably a portion of people who have a solidified image of what kind of god is the God of Silent Hill, but remember, the Western and Eastern gods are different. Being created with the Eastern understanding of God(s) in mind, that might be one of the most distinct characteristics of f,” he explained.
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