Silent Hill f Page Removed From Australian Classification Board Website

Silent Hill f’s page in the Australian Classification Board website was recently removed, possibly to overturn a “Refused Classification” it received on March 14. There is no news on when the board will officially rate the game.

On March 23, various outlets including Eurogamer and IGN have reported about Silent Hill f being banned in Australia because it received a “Refused Classification.” IGN’s report in particular explained that this might be due to the tool the Australian Classification Board uses for rating games.

Australia uses an online questionnaire tool maintained by the International Age Rating Coalition to rate the games that are going to be distributed in the country. However, this can also cause some rating mistakes from the tool, which the developers can appeal in hopes of obtaining the correct rating.

With that being said, Silent Hill f seems to have pulled out all the stops in terms of horror as it became the first Silent Hill game to be rated CERO Z by Japan. This means that only ages 18 and up are able to buy the game.

Looking into the game’s website a big “Please Read Before Playing” notice can be found. It says: 

“This game contains depictions of gender discrimination, child abuse, bullying, drug-induced hallucinations, torture, and graphic violence.

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.

If you feel uncomfortable at any point while playing, please take a break from playing or speak to someone you trust.”

With a warning like this, the game might receive the Silent Hill: Homecoming treatment from Australia. Silent Hill: Homecoming was refused classification due to a “high impact torture scene,” which essentially banned the game in Australia. The game was released later in the country after the developers censored the scene. This was before the R18+ rating was adopted by the Australian Classification Board, however.

Silent Hill f is set to come out this year for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam, and the Epic Games Store.