Kato says she often recorded the same scenes repeatedly, each take showing subtle — and sometimes drastic — shifts in tone and emotion. Those variations are echoed by Silent Hill f’s New Game+ mode. She describes moments of disorientation in the booth, asking herself, “What am I? What is Hinako doing now? Where?” — an unsettling confusion made worse when layering two versions of Hinako interacting.
At times she found herself losing the boundary between actor and character. “There were times when I would burst into tears without even thinking about anything,” Kato said. “The more time I spent facing Hinako, the more my confusion grew. I remember there were days when I felt like I was going crazy.” Her clearest memory, she adds, is of not knowing where she was or who she was.
Despite the strain, Kato admires Hinako’s complexity — noting her maturity and layered perspective even as a high school student — but she says she would never want to meet the character in person, nor step into the bloodstained world of Ebisugaoka. The idea of encountering Hinako there, she insists, would unhinge her instantly.
Hearing Kato describe the role makes it easy to understand why her performance feels so intense: carrying the story as the protagonist amplifies the emotional weight of the game’s darker themes.
Looking for something else to play after Konami’s latest release? Check out our quick roundup of the most exciting new games arriving this year and beyond.
Source: gamesradar.com
