Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards

The Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards is an annual awards ceremony hosted by Japanese gaming media outlets Famitsu and Dengeki Game and is one of Japan’s largest game awards with voting from both players and fans. For this year’s 7th annual Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards, SILENT HILL f has received nominations in 7 categories and won both Game of the Year and Voice Actor – Konatsu Kato

🌐 List of Winners: https://www.famitsu.com/article/202603/68740

📺 Awards Livestream (March 14, 2026, 19:00 JST): https://shorturl.at/CEN7h

Game of the Year 

Voice Actor (Konatsu Kato) 

SILENT HILL f is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Epic Games, Microsoft Store (Windows), and GOG.

©Konami Digital Entertainment

About Us

NeoBards Entertainment was founded in 2017 by a group of industry pioneers with over 20 years of experience from various Eastern and Western cultural backgrounds. Our portfolio includes collaborations with Capcom on Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, Resident Evil Re:Verse, and Resident Evil: Resistance. We also developed Dynasty Warrior M, a mobile game licensed by Koei and published by Nexon, and participated in the development of Square Enix’s Marvel’s Avengers and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth by Square Enix. Stay tuned for future news as the studio also has several titles currently in development.

We take pride in integrating international talent and resources to deliver high-quality, premium game products for established IPs and original properties alike. Committed to development, we embrace both the challenges and joys of the creative process.

The fog descended again with the official release of SILENT HILL f on September 25, heralding a new chapter for the series. If you’re curious about the stories and creative process of the title, these Behind the Scenes videos shed insight to the dev team’s ideations. From world building, giving concrete form to psychological horror, to the details of combat and character design, we pop the hood on the creative journey and production of SILENT HILL f. Click any of the titles below to watch a video and learn more:

• 『SILENT HILL f』BTS#1『Designing the World of SILENT HILL f』
• 『SILENT HILL f』BTS#2『Embodying Horror』
• 『SILENT HILL f』BTS#3『Combat and Character Design』

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『SILENT HILL f』BTS#1『Designing the World of SILENT HILL f』

On June 12, during KONAMI PRESS START, Konami Digital Entertainment (KONAMI) officially unveiled the behind-the-scenes feature: “Designing the World of SILENT HILL f.”
SILENT HILL Series Producer Motoi Okamoto, Scriptwriter Ryukishi07, and core members from NeoBards shared the origins, design concepts, level design, and narrative vision behind this new title.

The concept for SILENT HILL f originated from producer Motoi Okamoto at KONAMI.
He noted that the original Japanese horror themes had faded from the series over time, and envisioned a title that would fully capture the essence of Japanese psychological horror.
Believing a Japanese or Asian team would best represent this vision, he ultimately chose NeoBards—a seasoned studio with a proven track record.

KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT SILENT HILL Series Producer – Motoi Okamoto

NeoBards Game Producer Albert Lee shared that many of the team have worked together for nearly 20 years, and that this collaboration with KONAMI is both meaningful and challenging. As long-time fans of SILENT HILL and Ryukishi07, the team aimed from the beginning to honor the series’ psychological horror legacy while fusing it with Japanese cultural aesthetics to create something fresh and terrifying.

NeoBards Game Producer – Albert Lee

Game Director AL Yang described the core concept as “Find the Beauty in Terror.”
While preserving the series’ signature psychological horror elements, the game also introduces an entirely new combat system—designed to maintain a strong narrative atmosphere without becoming overly complex. He also revealed that the Showa era was chosen as the setting because it combines the familiar with the unfamiliar, reinforcing the game’s persistent sense of unease.

NeoBards Game Director – AL Yang

Renowned scriptwriter Ryukishi07, the game’s writer, chose the Showa period to highlight stark contrasts with the modern world, deepening the thematic impact.

He hopes players will immerse themselves in this forgotten age, shaped by superstition and fading traditions.

Scriptwriter Ryukishi07

Level design was led by Kaiyu Chang, who drew inspiration from the real-life town of Kanayama in Gifu Prefecture. By incorporating Showa-era elements such as dagashiya, schools, and shrines, the team created an environment rich in local atmosphere.

The traditional SILENT HILL concept of the “Otherworld” was preserved and reinterpreted, with psychological stress woven into the level design.

NeoBards Lead Level Designer Kaiyu Chang

Grey Hu led the cinematic direction, emphasizing the use of camera language and composition to enhance storytelling and emotional impact.

With a shift from Western to Eastern horror sensibilities, he aims to create a cinematic experience that lets global players fully immerse themselves in the world of SILENT HILL f.

NeoBards Lead Cinematic Director Grey Hu

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『SILENT HILL f』BTS#2『Embodying Horror』

On Friday, October 10, Konami Digital Entertainment’s (KONAMI) YouTube channel released the latest SILENT HILL f video, Behind the Scenes #2: Embodying Horror.

SILENT HILL f is centered on the core concept of “coexistence between beauty and horror” and marks the first time the series is set in Japan. For NeoBards, the team needed to redefine the classic franchise’s soul by balancing the familiar and unfamiliar. Every detail, from the world’s setting, art style, level structure, and animations had to be centered around a single crucial proposition: How to make players truly feel “horror.”

Game Director AL Yang stated that compared to other titles in the series, SILENT HILL f’s Japanese setting brought creative challenges and a brand new cultural atmosphere for the game. While preserving the core spirit of the franchise, the team also focused on recreating the game’s unique psychological horror and eerie atmosphere, carefully navigating the boundary between “reality” and “fantasy” to ensure the game’s overall atmosphere was not broken.

NeoBards Game Director – AL Yang

Lead Level Designer Kaiyu Chang highlighted that scenes are more than just in-game environments, but an important medium for driving the narrative. The structure and pacing of each level was carefully designed around the protagonist’s mental state – whether it’s confusion, feeling oppression, or terror. Through cleverly arranging spaces, lighting rhythm, and flow of exploration, the levels guide players and subtly influence their emotions, gradually immersing them in the unique and oppressive atmosphere of SILENT HILL f.

NeoBards Lead Level Designer Kaiyu Chang

Art Director Box Shih stated that in SILENT HILL f, the team fused Japanese aesthetics and psychological horror using elements such as exquisite masks, endless corridors, or torii gates to craft a mysterious and oppressive atmosphere that leaves players with a sense of unease and loneliness. The iconic “fog” also makes a reappearance – it limits the player’s vision, creating a sense of disorientation and isolation, further heightening the layers of horror. Monster designs keep with the series tradition of representing the subconscious stress, guilt, and trauma of characters, becoming the manifestations of their psychological horror. Box emphasized the “coexistence of beauty and terror” as the core spirit of SILENT HILL f. The title forgoes jump scares in pursuit of an artistic expression with morbid elegance – maintaining a fragile balance between beauty and danger to evoke an ineffable emotional resonance deep within players.

NeoBards Art Director Box Shih

Looking back at the development process, Lead Concept Artist Ant Hsu remembers the brainstorming session where they quickly reached a consensus on choosing a “school” as one of the main stages. Schools are both a familiar environment and a place that carries memories of oppression, making them perfect for resonating emotionally with players. In order to recreate the atmosphere of that era, the team visited multiple abandoned schools, thoroughly studying the architectural structure and furnishings of the time, and incorporated them into the game’s environments. Posters on the wall, student drawings, and old photos in the hallways contain clues to the world and character backstories. Each of these details allow the player to explore and gradually piece together the secrets of Ebisugaoka.

NeoBards Lead Concept Artist Ant Hsu

Character animation design is a key component of the game experience. As an ordinary person, Hinako’s animations need to be authentic and consistent with the image of a normal person. This sense of realism allows players to feel her fears and struggles more profoundly. Associate Design Director Capra Shih noted that renowned author Ryukishi07 designed Hinako with a specific background: she enjoys playing with boys, was a member of the track and field club, and is confident in her stamina; while she has quick reaction time, real combat still overwhelms her at times and that’s when her clumsy side slips through. These traits became the core principles of her animation design, allowing players to capture her inner tension and anxiety through subtle movements, thereby forming a deep emotional connection with her.

NeoBards Associate Design Director Capra Shih

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『SILENT HILL f』BTS#3『Combat and Character Design』

Today, Konami Digital Entertainment (KONAMI) released the latest SILENT HILL f video, Behind the Scenes #3: Combat and Character Design. Innovative breakthroughs were made in the combat system, puzzle design, and character cutscenes of this title, resulting in a more realistic game experience with greater psychological depth. The production team used protagonist Hinako’s character concept as the core and combined it with advanced motion capture technology to provide players with a profound experience of her inner world and an intense sense of horror.

NeoBards Game Director AL Yang, who was in charge of the combat system, shared the team’s decision to base the protagonist on an ordinary person due to the story taking place in the Showa era of the 1960s. This resulted in a brand new and more realistic combat experience.

NeoBards Game Director – AL Yang

NeoBards Associate Design Director Capra Shih expressed how Hinako’s combat style was defined as “fighting skills that ordinary people can perform.” This includes using Focus Attacks and Counters, and temporarily boosting her stamina in dangerous moments with an adrenaline surge. Players can find objects that serve as makeshift weapons throughout the town of Ebisugaoka. Each weapon’s varying handling and rhythm, combined with Omamori charms to boost Hinako’s abilities, allows for many different styles of combat.

In terms of monster design, the dev team focused on integrating their behaviors and symbolism, ensuring they have a close and meaningful connection with the story. The boss battles were also tailor-made and designed by kera to fully convey the captivating storytelling of Ryukishi07 and fully embody the unique “beauty in terror” aesthetic. In a moment of levity, Associate Design Director Capra Shih also joked that he’ll leave the secrets held by these monsters and bosses for players to discover on their own.

NeoBards Associate Design Director – Capra Shih

Puzzles play a crucial role in the game and Lead Level Designer Kaiyu Chang shared how they were designed according to the psychological state of Hinako. For example, a rural puzzle was designed with the theme of “feeling lost or disoriented” to craft a puzzle experience which embodies psychological confusion and seeking the path forward.

Center: NeoBards Lead Level Designer Kaiyu Chang, Right: Lead Programmer Rachel Wu

Lead Concept Artist Ant Hsu added that scarecrows were selected as a symbolic character to guide players. The scarecrow, based on monster designs by kera, combined student uniforms and symbolic masks to present an eerie and unsettling atmosphere. Visually, the level shifts through the seasons, ultimately becoming a desolate, fog-filled environment to signify how the protagonist is gradually entering a deeper psychological state. Kaiyu emphasized that the puzzles not only act as a storytelling device, but exposes the characters’ emotions and subconsciousness, thereby carrying on the franchise’s signature psychological horror.

NeoBards Lead Concept Artist  – Ant Hsu

NeoBards Art Director Box Shih shared the insights on the motion capture process. Hinako is an emotionally delicate and introverted teenager who suffers from the pressures of Showa era Japan’s society and her family. Konatsu Kato, the actress invited to play Hinako, was able to faithfully interpret the layers of emotions felt by our protagonist through the use of Photoscan and motion capture technology.

NeoBards Art Director  – Box Shih

Tiffany Tsou, a member of the NeoBards production team, expressed that local actors were hired when filming in Japan to ensure the authenticity of their culture and sentiments. The title’s more than 90 minutes of cutscenes, including script, storyboards, and post-processing were unprecedented challenges for NeoBards. The entire process was conducted in close cooperation with KONAMI, the actors, and production company.

From left: NeoBards Cinematic Artist Michael Lee, Producer Tiffany Tsou

Lead Cinematic Designer Grey Hu explained that game design was still in the process of fine tuning during the motion capture phase, forcing the team to be extremely accommodating and adapt to changes. Actors were asked to perfectly interpret their characters with limited information while directors were on hand to provide guidance. Tiffany added that transforming Ryukishi07’s complex scripts into specific scenes required an in-depth understanding of the text and a lot of back and forth verification. Using the instant playback technology of motion capture, Konatsu Kato observed her performances on-site and adjusted her scenes with other actors to ensure the quality of their performances.

From left: NeoBards Producer Tiffany Tsou, Lead Cinematic Designer Grey Hu

Konatsu Kato who plays the protagonist, Hinako, shared her experience doing motion capture for the first time. Filming on-site without any physical sets required imaginative performances and Ms. Kato admitted that the greatest challenge was the precision required for every line. While she has a habit of ad libbing certain lines, this was a performance that required her to accurately stick to the script.

The most memorable aspect for Ms. Kato was performing the multiple endings. Because she had spent so much time with Hinako, the intense swell of emotions she felt from the character has become a precious experience in her acting career. The most difficult scene was when two versions of Hinako faced off; at the time, she completely lost her sense of self to the point of tears, forcing a temporary halt to filming. While the filming process was both moving and sad, she felt a boundless sense of pride and excitement when, for the first time, she saw herself as the protagonist in this gaming masterpiece. Sighing with emotion, Ms. Kato expressed how strange and surreal it is to know that even after she’s gone from the world, players will still be able to experience her performance.

Konatsu Kato plays the protagonist Hinako

Critically acclaimed SILENT HILL f is available on PlayStation 5, XBOX X|S, Steam, Epic Games, Microsoft Store (Windows), and GOG

• SILENT HILL f Official Website
• PlayStation
• Steam
• XBOX X|S
• Microsoft Store (Windows)
• Epic Games
• GOG

©Konami Digital Entertainment

About Us

NeoBards Entertainment was founded in 2017 by a group of industry pioneers with over 20 years of experience from various Eastern and Western cultural backgrounds. Our portfolio includes collaborations with Capcom on Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, Resident Evil Re:Verse, and Resident Evil: Resistance. We also developed Dynasty Warrior M, a mobile game licensed by Koei and published by Nexon, and participated in the development of Square Enix’s Marvel’s Avengers and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth by Square Enix. Stay tuned for future news as the studio also has several titles currently in development.

We take pride in integrating international talent and resources to deliver high-quality, premium game products for established IPs and original properties alike. Committed to development, we embrace both the challenges and joys of the creative process.