Silent Hill f’s new patch 1.10 update has only been out for a few hours, but fans in Japan have already given its easiest setting a new nickname after Hinako’s IRL actress.
Casual mode is quietly being called “Kato Mode,” a nod to Konatsu Kato, the actress behind protagonist Hinako Shimizu, whose viral playthroughs have become a phenomenon of their own.
The popular actress has been streaming Silent Hill f on her official YouTube channel, revisiting the nightmare she helped bring to life. Since starting her playthrough on October 24, Kato’s broadcasts have regularly pulled in thousands of viewers and have taken off across social media, with many fans egging her on as she tackles the fog-filled town of Ebisugaoka.
However, things have been far from smooth, and Hinako’s IRL actress has often struggled playing through the game on her PS5. Well, it’s this learning curve that has become part of the fun and is now inspiring the community’s new nickname for the new casual mode.
Silent Hill f fans dub casual mode “Kato Mode”
Kato’s latest stream saw her face off against Sakuko, one of the game’s toughest early bosses, and despite fans cheering her on in real time, the actress has been having a tough time. Well, on November 13, as if to answer Kato’s prayers, Konami released a Casual mode that makes the game much easier.
The Casual action difficulty will be selectable upon reaching the Game Over screen multiple times, so Kato may finally find some much-needed relief if she chooses to select it. As you can imagine, this has quickly taken the community by storm.
While fans have playfully dubbed the mode after the actress, many commenters believe that Kato will
double down on beating the game on Story mode. “For someone who’s never played games at all, a controller is just some incomprehensible tool. Even if this mode comes along, Kato-san would probably choose to fight,” said one viewer.
“She’d probably say something like ‘As if I could change it now’ with a sense of bravado,” replied another.
Kato’s involvement has been a major draw since Silent Hill f released, where the actress has been praised for her performance as Hinako. As we previously reported, Kato has admitted that embodying Hinako pushed her to the edge at times, saying she felt her sanity “almost slipping” and playing her was “the hardest moment of her life.”
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