Australia Temporarily Blocks Silent Hill f for Being Excessively Terrifying

Sorry Australians, you can’t confront the horrifying psychological manifestations of your inner turmoil. It would be too much for you, according to the government. The country’s classification board recently refused to grant upcoming horror game Silent Hill f an age rating, essentially preventing it from being sold in the country unless certain elements of the game are toned down or altered by Konami. But it’s possible the developer will do just that, as the classification board has retracted their ruling. At least for the time being.

Exactly which parts of the game the Australian government found sketchy wasn’t mentioned in the rating board’s summary of the decision, made on March 14th. The game was simply handed an “RC” which stands for “refused classification”, as shown in a screenshot saved by Automaton. But it’s likely scenes involving drug use and specific acts of violence against minors are to blame. Silent Hill f’s Steam page contains an extended warning about contents that would clash with Australia’s typically tough ratings process.

“This game contains depictions of gender discrimination, child abuse, bullying, drug-induced hallucinations, torture, and graphic violence,” it says. “This game is set in Japan in the 1960s and contains depictions based on the customs and culture of that time. These depictions do not reflect the opinions or values of the developers or any individuals involved.”

It’s possible Konami will now make changes and reapply for classification. The Australian governmental body has already retracted the official notification of the decision, and confirmed that move to Automaton. (The page where the decision was detailed now just reads “You are not authorized to access this page”).

All this suggests there’s time for the developers to make a version that is more palatable to the government, a process that’s not that unusual. Fallout 3 did it back in the day, as noted by PC Gamer. Although sometimes developers stick to what they’ve got, as in the case of Hotline Miami 2 and Sludge Life – both of which remain technically banned in the country but in reality are still available to buy digitally on PC.

Silent Hill f was announced less than two weeks ago, and it is abandoning the usual setting of the misty US town for which the series is named. Instead, it’ll be set in a fictional town in Japan called Ebisugaoka, where school girl Shimizu Hinako is plagued by crimson petals and unsettling roots, in contrast to James Sunderland’s classic rust and grime from Silent Hill 2. It features writing from Ryukishi07, author of visual novel series When They Cry, and creature design by illustrator Kera, who has some form in this regard. The game’s release date hasn’t been announced yet.