Konami intends to release a new Silent Hill game every year, and it seems this goal has gained some credence after the success of last year’s Silent Hill f. Still, it’s reasonable to question if Konami can keep this momentum going, now with Silent Hill: Townfall being the next in line to release.
Like the last several games in the series, Konami operates as merely the publisher for this title. Scottish studio Screen Burn developed Silent Hill: Townfall, and Annapurna Interactive joins Konami as a co-publisher. After playing through this immersive horror experience, I can confidently say the approach of bringing in new talent with fresh perspectives, all in order to create new games within the franchise, is very much working in Konami’s favor.
Who Knew Scotland Could Be So Scary?
Sticking to the series norm, storytelling in Silent Hill: Townfall is highly symbolic and metaphorical. It tackles heavy themes involving regret, loss, and disaster, among others. It throws in medical horror for good measure, making this an uncomfortable but captivating experience. Silent Hill: Townfall is not for the faint of heart, but for those who wish to discover and unravel the mystery at hand, you’re rewarded with an immensely memorable experience.
For most of Silent Hill: Townfall, players take control of Simon Ordell. Having just washed up on a dock in the Scottish seaside town of St. Amelia, Simon is tasked by a man named Richard to “set things right.” You’ll eventually learn to understand the meaning of Richard’s words, but to do so, you’ll have to push past the horrors that await you in this unassuming town.
To put it simply, Silent Hill: Townfall is one of the most immersive horror experiences on the market. This is the first game in the series to play from a first-person perspective. This change might be jarring for longtime fans, but it feels right at home for Silent Hill.
Shrouded by a blanket of fog, the atmosphere is oppressive. The town of St. Amelia, despite being completely empty, feels weirdly alive. Screen Burn created an immaculately detailed world in Silent Hill: Townfall, meaning every street you explore, and every building, has this uncanny aspect of being well-lived in despite also being vacant. The vast emptiness of it all feels even more terrifying, knowing that these spaces could have been occupied with people just seconds before.
Set during the 1990s, everything has this period aesthetic that feels familiar to me, being a 90s baby myself. From chunky computers to payphones and dial-up internet, I appreciated how these now — frankly ancient — technologies were accurately recreated. Often, players will have to engage with said technology, so it’s not uncommon to find yourself dealing with floppy discs or dialing on landline phones more than a few times. In fact, the only way you can save is by dialing from a landline or phone booth, adding to the immersion.
Also staying true to the era is a little pocket television called the CRTV. This crucial piece of equipment plays a pivotal role in Silent Hill: Townfall, allowing Simon to tune into frequencies to help him unravel the mystery of the town. It’s not quite the same, but it reminds me of this old, grainy TV no bigger than the size of my hand that my grandma used to have.
Hiding, Not Fighting, For Your Life
While I would have loved to examine every detail of the town and explore freely, the town of St. Amelia is, unfortunately, quite terrifyingly filled with monsters. Simon is not a fighter by any means, so attacking these monsters is risky. Much of your time in Silent Hill: Townfall is filled with evading these monsters, making this game “hide-and-seek horror” in the truest sense.
One of Silent Hill: Townfall‘s key features, then, is the ability to hide. It sounds simple enough, but there’s a leaning mechanic that really emphasizes that sense of playing the most dangerous game of peekaboo. You’re able to lean or peer around with a great deal of mobility. You can lean just a little bit, or take a riskier peek by exposing more of yourself. The system is very flexible.
Combine this with the CRTV’s ability to essentially track enemies within a certain range. Once enemies are close enough, you can tune into their frequency and see them through the screen. This gives you X-ray vision, of sorts, allowing you to track enemy movement even when you’ve locked yourself in the bathroom of someone’s disheveled apartment.
CRTV in hand, I often lowered myself as much as I could, like a cowering child, just so I could maximize the amount I’m hiding while still being able to look around and keep an eye on enemies. Of course, levels are cleverly laid out so you can take full advantage of this mechanic, with plenty of natural barriers to hide behind and even areas like closets to fully obscure yourself.
Believe me, there’s nothing scarier than running into a dark apartment knowing you’re being chased by a monster, hiding in the first closet you find, only for that monster to slowly shamble on over. It’ll walk up to the closet just inches away from your face on the other side, and you just can’t help but hold your breath. But if you’re lucky, the monster eventually walks away and allows you to safely emerge. These tense and terrifying moments are very frequent throughout the 12-or-so hour campaign.
However, there were a few times when it felt like the AI cheated a bit. For example, I’d run into a room and, just to be safe, hide in a closet, even though I’m almost certain I wasn’t seen. Even so, an enemy would walk in, look around, and give me a small heart attack as I hoped it wouldn’t actually see me. It feels like the AI is sometimes just scripted to walk in on you if you’re hiding, but I could never fully confirm this theory as fact.
The awareness of enemies can be a tricky concept to grasp, as it seemed a little inconsistent. Usually, the music helps give players a hint that they might want to hide, so that helps, but other times you can feel a bit cheated for reasons already mentioned. This is especially true when an invincible, hulking monster throws open the closet you’re hiding in and kills you without a chance to fight back.
Speaking of fighting, well, you do have a few items at your disposal. Combat is definitely not the focus in Silent Hill: Townfall, as there’s a resource scarcity far more severe than, say, Silent Hill 2. You’re not going to be able to shoot your way through every situation, so the scarcity really encourages careful play.
You’ll gain access to a few weapons. Primarily, a pistol, which can dispatch enemies with around two headshots or four body shots. The problem is, the noise of the pistol attracts other enemies, so it’s usually a bad idea to be all gung ho with what limited ammo you have. You’re also able to pick up planks or pipes as melee weapons, which have limited durability.
Combat is clunky in Silent Hill: Townfall. With melee, you’re trading blows, hitting, then blocking and repeating that process several times — it’s very, very basic. Gunplay felt a little difficult to aim with the controller, leading to more than a few missed shots. The unrefined nature of combat actually discouraged me from getting into scrapes.
While I only died a few times, you’re given the opportunity to make a few mistakes. Other than using regular healing items, Simon has an IV bag attached to his arm. Upon death, Simon actually revives, giving players some grace for slipping up. Though, you’ll have to refill the bag again with more IV fluid, making it a valuable resource.
Wild and Perplexing Puzzles
As with any good Silent Hill game, you have plenty of puzzles. In Silent Hill: Townfall, you’ll have to put your brain in overdrive to solve some of these. I found myself performing medical procedures in one puzzle, conducting X-rays and allocating the correct amount of medicine to a patient. In another, I was basically an industrial engineer, operating machines I have absolutely no experience with. Figuring it out is just part of the fun.
Puzzles are primarily solved by interacting with these pieces of 1990s tech, which are intricately recreated by what I can only assume is actual technology (I don’t know, I’ve never performed surgery in the 90s. I was a toddler). These are immensely creative puzzles while also feeling a bit more grounded in reality, differing from something more abstract like rotating giant cubes in Silent Hill 2.
Many of Silent Hill: Townfall‘s most perplexing conundrums involve finding the right item or code to unlock the next door or safe. This is where I felt some frustration, in that you can very easily miss the solution to a puzzle and find yourself walking in circles for 30 minutes to an hour. Make sure to examine your surroundings. More often than not, the solution is right around the corner.
Silent Hill: Townfall Review | Final Thoughts
Players will get the most out of Silent Hill: Townfall by engaging with the stealth mechanics rather than trying to brute force through things with weapons. Hiding from enemies rather than trying to kill every single one makes it a much scarier, cinematic experience. In a similar vein, the solution to puzzles is counterintuitive to the nature of the game; exploring and keeping an eye out for crucial details is key.
I say this because on my second playthrough, I was much more aggressive with my playstyle. Rather than soaking in the atmosphere, I knew exactly where to go and what the solution to each puzzle was. Of course, this is a natural byproduct of beating the game and knowing exactly what I needed to do, but I found myself missing that same experience I had during my first playthrough.
Nonetheless, Silent Hill: Townfall is an excellent horror game. Despite its change in perspective and the unfamiliar setting, Silent Hill: Townfall stays true to the heavy, psychological themes and confounding puzzles that make the series what it is, and this feels like a worthy new entry.
Silent Hill: Townfall was reviewed on PC via Steam, with a copy provided by the publisher over the course of 20 hours – all screenshots were taken during the review.
