Silent Hill f review

Going through trauma to pay respects

Image credit:Konami / Rock Paper Shotgun

Silent Hill f marks a big change for the survival horror series with a new setting, time period, and combat focus, but it still delivers strong scares and a lot to think about - even after you’ve stopped playing.

• Developer: NeoBards Entertainment
• Publisher: Konami
• Release: 25th September 2025
• On: Windows
• From: Steam
• Price: $70/£70/€80
• Reviewed on: AMD Ryzen 5 4500, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, 32GB RAM, Windows 10

Is there anything left that Silent Hill can offer us? Last year, I felt the answer to that question was a resounding no. The series’ comeback game The Short Message , a short teaser of a horror experience, landed far, far away from my tastes, and last year’s Silent Hill 2 was a remake of a game that needed one perhaps less than any other. This year is different though, because it has a true, full-sized, and most importantly new entry to bring this question back to the forefront. And Silent Hill f is a game that has, annoyingly, put me in my place.

The game’s series-first setting, 1960s Japan, feels quite well positioned to deal with some pretty big themes outside of the usual guilt and grief - in particular, gender inequality. Going into it, this is probably what made me the most nervous. Having now played it, that anxious feeling has quietened, as I think what it does have to say is in part worth saying in the first place, but also worth engaging with - even if I have some caveats. An intriguing turn of events for Silent Hill revival sceptics like myself.

Silent Hill f starts us off with teen girl protagonist Shimizu Hinako bailing on an argument with her alcoholic, abusive father to go see some friends, including Shu, her male (that’s important) best mate. That classic fog starts to roll in soon after her arrival, another friend turns into flowers, and a monster gives chase, sending the remaining lot of them into a surreal, twisted version of the place they call home. Same shit, different country.

Immediately, I felt surprised by how it did all feel like ‘a Silent Hill game’ . For one thing, Hinako is introduced with precious little context for her life and backstory: she’s just thrust into the mess of it all and forced to deal with whatever trauma she’s been keeping bottled up. It’s a similar trick to the one Silent Hill 2 pulls early on, withholding details on why James has come to town, and Silent Hill f is certainly successful at spinning the intrigue on who Hinako is and why she’s in this position herself.

Image credit:Konami / Rock Paper Shotgun

Its more important accomplishment, though, was having me Scooby-Doo-style spinning my legs in the air in an attempt to run away in terror. SHf’s monsters, beasties, and physical manifestations of [insert interpretations here] were truly horrid to look at, and worse to have snarling up in your face. Some of them move erratically, which makes their violent lunges harder to predict, and while bigger enemies are slower and more lumbering, they still move with an domineering sense of threat. All of which makes the more Souls-influenced melee combat interesting, if still likely to prove divisive.

Hardware ed James, for one, wasn’t the biggest fan when he played at Gamescom last month. I don’t know if any tweaks were made since then to tighten up the bludgeoning, but I had no problems with it myself. Missing a swing generally felt like my fault, the impact of steel pipes and axes always landed with a satisfying thunk, and nothing - be it my arsenal or the fog’s monsters - felt imbalanced for an action-horror adventure.

It’s just.. it is quite actiony. You have a stamina meter, which depletes with weapon swipes as well as dodges, though perfect dodges will restore that stamina while slowing down time. Combined with a parry-ish move that stops enemies in their tracks so you can launch into a counterattack, the fighting is rarely bad, but it never feels very Silent Hilly (Shilly?).

As it happens, the reasoning behind Hinako’s rage is something that Silent Hill f manages to explore with both zero subtlety and a surprisingly amount of nuance, whether it’s focusing on Hinako herself or exploring why her dad is such an abusive drunk. Ultimately, Silent Hill f isn’t about dash-dodging around yokai: it’s about expectations of gender.

See, there are two other things to know about Hinako. The first is that she has an older sister, Junko, whose youthful kindness and playfulness faded away once she got married - not that it hurt her position as their parents’ favourite daughter. The other is that Hinako is seen as quite masculine by her friends and family. She’s a bit rough and tumble; she doesn’t care for dolls, but she does like playing Space Wars with her platonic “partner” Shu.

Now, I’m not saying that in the year of 2025 we’re entirely free to express ideas around gender as and how we like, but it certainly was a damn sight worse in the sixties, and Silent Hill f doesn’t shy away from that. It’s immediately apparent that there’s an expectation placed upon Hinako that she must fit into society and, just like her sister, eventually find a man to settle down with - notions she wholly rejects. Shu’s just her partner , people.

Image credit:Konami / Rock Paper Shotgun.

Even so, they’re notions she can’t seem to escape, even when she’s repeatedly plucked from the ‘real’ world to another, more mystical one, as this is a realm where tradition reigns supreme. There are torii gates. There are old lanterns. There are Zen gardens and Shinto temples. At my most cynical, this is where Silent Hill f’s presentation of its new setting seems to teeter on the edge of Thing, Japan a little too precariously. It’s not without purpose, however. The trials that Hinako endures here certainly feel tantamount to being forced to fit into society, and it’s something that I think that might even strike a chord with gender non-conforming folks out there.

I don’t want to spoil too much of what textually happens, because Silent Hill has always been its best when you’re interpreting its themes for yourself. Likewise, it’s hard to examine the effects of writer Ryukishi07’s signature approach to structure without giving too much away, even if it’s executed wonderfully. But for me, it’s a game about figuring out who you are when the people close to you (and society at large) have such narrow expectations for you. There’s even an eyebrow to be raised here at Hinako’s mother, a parental figure you’d think, or hope, would be more protective than she is shown to be in such a world. Nuance! All of this is a powerful thing to feel and experience in a game, and a fresh one for Silent Hill specifically.

I still hold complicated feelings on Silent Hill f. There’s a big part of me that wanted to resist it, simply because of the industry’s current overreliance on wringing out (and recycling) existing series. And yet here I am, constantly thinking about it, what it’s saying, dealing with how I’ve been confronted with messy emotions and upsetting realisations. It is, in fact, interesting, and games being interesting is more important to me than how they fall on a simple good/bad scale.

So yes, Silent Hill does still has something to offer, and right now I can’t stop thinking about the game that provides it. Or talking about it! I’m excited for my partner, a fellow Silent Hill lover, to play it, so I can dig into its themes with them. And then grab my friend, who’s only just got into the series, and do the same with them.

There’s nothing I love more in life than a piece of art that triggers a desire for discussion, and in the face of my own assumptions, Silent Hill f has done that for me. Its combat, its new setting, or even its subject matter might not do that for you, but the bottom line is, it turns out that even after all these years, Silent Hill can still strike up an exciting conversation.

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Silent Hill f

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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