‘Silent Hill f’ Is Not Banned In Australia, After All, Despite Initial “Refused Classification” Reports – Earns A Surprising MA 15+ Rating
Silent Hill f was initially refused classification by the Australian Classification Board (ACB), and therefore banned from sale. However, the Board then refuted such reports by the press, and over a week later, the game was rated MA 15+. This may be surprising, given the content laid out by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and its prior bans.
The ACB released their conclusion over Silent Hill on March 14th, marking it as “Refused Classification” and, therefore, banning it from sale and import. Yet, under “Reason for Refused Classification,” they only stated, “For further information regarding the reason for this decision, please contact us.”
The lack of information was somewhat revealed after the ACB refuted reports that the game had been banned. Speaking to PC Gamer, an ACB spokesperson stated, “Silent Hill f is not currently classified as ‘Refused Classification’ in Australia. The 14 March 2025 entry on the National Classification Database has been removed. A classification decision will be published to the National Classification Database ahead of the game’s release.”
Sure enough, the webpage was updated on March 25th, now stating the game is rated MA 15+. The consumer advice section states, “Strong Horror Violence.” The reason for the initial decision (or error) was not specified.
Similar had occurred with other games, but where the ACB only gave their reasoning discreetly to the press. This can be seen with Hunter × Hunter: Nen × Impact. The details are not on the website at this time, but a spokesperson told Polygon it “contains a scene of a visual depiction of implied sexual violence, where an adult male exposes himself to persons under the age of 18 years,” and “not justified by context.”
Other games classified as far back as 2020 still don’t have a publicly displayed reason, such as Sludge Life. The reason being, as speculated by the press, is the game’s depiction and use of drugs. In other cases, the cited reason was a lengthy but vague quote on why any game gets refused classification.
Including the above, other content includes “crime, cruelty, violence, or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency, and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified,” or when the above involves a character who appears under 18 (“sexual activity or not”).
The Australian government only approved of the R18+ rating in 2012 (coming into effect the following year), allowing some banned games to be released. But even then, they usually demand censorship, such as State of Decay, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Wasteland 3.
With South Park: The Stick of Truth and Wasteland 3, their classification pages note that the version is “modified.” As such, we should be able to rule out Silent Hill f being censored in Australia, as its version is listed as “Original.”
This is especially surprising, given what the ESRB has revealed about the game and why games have been banned in Australia before.
The following section will contain spoilers for Silent Hill f!
The ESRB explains, “This is a survival-horror action game in which players assume the role of a student confronting supernatural entities in a 1960s Japanese mountain town.” Strike one, protagonist Hinako Shimizu is a teenager (as per the official website for Silent Hill f), magnifying any offensive content that happens to her.
“From a third-person perspective, players explore the town, solve puzzles, interact with characters, and battle enemy creatures (e.g., humanoid monsters, mutants, mythical creatures). Players use axes, crowbars, knives, and spears to defend against and kill enemy creatures in melee-style combat,” the ESRB continues.
Gore is an element that the Australian government bans, as seen with Silent Hill: Homecoming. It seems Silent Hill f doesn’t let up either.
“Blood-splatter effects occur frequently as characters are attacked; several areas depict large bloodstains in the environment and near corpses. Some enemy attacks can result in players’ characters getting impaled in the neck and/or getting their faces ripped apart,” the ESRB warned.
The rating board further detailed, “Cutscenes sometimes depict gore and more intense acts of violence: a character burned alive inside a cage; a woman branded by a hot iron; entrails and sinew displayed on serving platters in fantastical celebration/ceremony; a character sawing off her arm; a character slicing off portions of a character’s face during a ritual.”
“Concept art depicts a nude mannequin-like character, with exposed buttocks and partially exposed breasts; the character appears in a creature-like form throughout the game.”
So we have horrific gore happening in the vicinity of and directly to someone under the age of 18. The Steam store page for Silent Hill f and the game’s official website provide one last piece of information, under Mature Content Description and “Please Read Before Playing,” respectively.
“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.” Strike two, drugs.
The trifecta is complete: violence, drugs, and both inflicted upon or near someone under 18. Strike three, you should be out. Yet, Australia only gives Silent Hill f a 15.
Spoilers end here!
The content warning also concluded, “If you feel uncomfortable at any point while playing, please take a break from playing or speak to someone you trust.”
This led to a discussion on X if Silent Hill f’s warning was overly cautious for what is supposed to be a horror game. Others highlighted how prior games in the series had similar warnings, albeit usually vague about what would happen, and not warning against playing the game. Silent Hill Origins, however, did provide links to suicide crisis hotlines.
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