Who is Silent Hill f writer Ryukishi07, and why are fans so excited?

gamesradar.com:

Last night's suite of Silent Hill announcements came with the reveal of some impressive developmental pedigree, and fans are extremely excited.

Arguably at the top of the list is Silent Hill f. Featuring "an entirely new story" set in 1960s Japan, the game has been written by acclaimed visual novelist Ryukishi07, a name that's already generating serious buzz within the Silent Hill community.

Over on the Silent Hill subreddit, one user (opens in new tab) described Ryukishi as "creator of two of the most acclaimed [visual novels] of all time, and an incredible story teller," dubbing Konami's hiring efforts "amazing." The novels the community has highlighted - Higurashi When They Cry and Umineko When They Cry - have cult followings, regularly appear on lists of the best visual novels of all time, and boast glowing reviews on platforms like Steam. On Reddit, one fan said (opens in new tab) that Ryukishi's involvement alone had "shot me into the stratosphere."

Helping bring Silent Hill f to life are two lesser-known but equally interesting names. Nintendo veteran Motoi Okamoto, who leaned into the creepy in his time at the company with the releases of Luigi's Mansion and certain aspects of the Pikmin series. Over on the art team, Konami's highlighting the work of its character and creature designer, Kera. While little known the artist has contributed to Square Enix games, as well as the cult classic Spirit Hunter visual novels.

While Silent Hill f boasts some impressive names behind it, it's not the only one of last night's announcements to do so. Silent Hill: Townfall is an entirely different game, this one coming from NoCode, the developers of the deliciously spooky Stories Untold and the 2001-inspired Observation. And