Silent Hill f's Kato Konatsu claims he lost consciousness while playing Hinako

The following article contains spoilers for Silent Hill f.Silent Hill f is a surprising return to the series, taking us out of the town of the same name and into rural Japan in the 1960s. The game reflects the systematic misogyny of the era, with protagonist Hinako Shimizu gradually losing her sense of self as the narrative progresses.

According to Hinako's actor and face model, Konatsu Kato, the recording process was extremely psychologically difficult for Hinako as well. She spoke about her experience playing the role of Hinako in an interview with Famitsu (translated by Automaton).

extreme stress

An image of Hinako with her face removed from Silent Hill.

Kato says her experience playing Hinako started off well, but unlike Hinako's experience in Ebisugaoka, the process gradually became more challenging.

Kato had to record the same scene multiple times to account for different player choices and cutscene differences found in New Game+, which left the actress wondering “What am I, what is Hinako doing now, and where?”

The actress was responsible for playing both versions of Hinako, which added complexity to the scene as Kato had to act out both parts of the dialogue.

“There were times when I burst into tears without even thinking about it. The longer I was face to face with Hinako, the more confused I became. I remember there were days when I felt like I was going crazy,” Kato explained.

An image from Silent Hill showing Hinako wielding a pipe.

In fact, after reflecting on the experience, Kato realized that she only remembered a fragment of herself playing Hinako. These are classic symptoms of extreme stress. The actor said his strongest feeling while playing the character was “not knowing where I am or who I am.”

Suzie Yeung played the role of Hinako in the English version of Silent Hill f. In promotional material for the game, Yeung explained how she drew on her personal experiences while playing Hinako.

“I think Hinako is very rebellious at this stage in her life, especially in 1960s Japan, and I felt an immediate connection with her, because as a young woman, she doesn’t understand why all this pressure is being put on her,” Young said.

Silent Hill f is one of the most critically acclaimed games of the year, receiving an average critic score of 85 on Metacritic.