Filthy environments, terrifyingly warped monsters, psychological horror, and a positively miserable experience? Yep, Silent Hill: Townfall is a Silent Hill game, all right. With its innovative approach to familiar series staples, it feels like a game that can please both newcomers and veterans to the franchise. That is, if you can stomach the first-person view.
The story of Silent Hill: Townfall takes place not in the titular town, but in the Scottish island hamlet of St. Amelia. Something awful clearly happened here, but what? Well, whatever it is, Simon Ordell has been beckoned here to set things right. He crosses paths with Zoe Ellis, a nurse with a connection to him and her own skeletons in the closet. He also runs into Richard, a mysterious man who promises to help him in exchange for something. In true Silent Hill fashion, their fears and past torment them both mentally and physically, as they deal with monsters lurking in the dark and the fog.
Silent Hill: Townfall is a remarkable first-person horror that feels quite accessible, but in terms of physical accommodation. Half of the game takes place in dark, claustrophobic environments, and you often have to spin in a small room to look for items. Those who get motion sick easily might have a rough time.
To be frank, I dislike first-person view games if they aren’t walking simulator-adjacent. Perhaps thanks to the emphasis on stealth, rather than open violence, Townfall was surprisingly easy to pick up and master. (Even for a first-person view hater like myself!) When you do need to shoot something, your target is usually big and predictable, making it easy to hit. The skill threshold necessary to clear the game felt welcoming.
That being said, shooting is more of a last resort. Fighting is risky! Enemies can take massive chunks of health. Melee weapons break easily and aren’t always in ready supply. Guns attract unwanted attention. Simon’s CRTV allows you to see the number and direction of enemies, as well as where they’re facing. While not infallible, this gives you enough information to sneak past threats. Waiting for the right moment can be an exercise in patience. Sometimes, there might not even be a window to take advantage of. Which enemies are worth killing? Knowing when to be bold or to play it safe is the key to survival.
In hindsight, the game was incredibly generous with items. So long as you’re playing smart, you can end it with way too many resources. Simon can even collect IV bags that revive him if killed, meaning you can be even more reckless. If you’re the type who hordes items and prefers a challenge, I recommend playing on hard.
Between the aesthetics and themes, this game brought to mind Silent Hill 2 more than once. You get to see and experience the otherworld is for Simon and other characters as well. Think of it as 2 letting you play as Angela and Eddie. This opens up new gameplay styles, such as Zoe’s pager, and narratives that Simon is not privy to.
Speaking of Zoe, she is unfortunately a weaker part of the game. I thought that Screen Burn underutilized her, despite her role in the greater scope, and she could have benefited from more screen time. I also absolutely despised playing as Zoe. Her pager doesn’t let her know what direction a monster is facing, and everything roaming in her levels can attack from afar. This lack of specific information can leave unexpected monsters seeing and jumping you with no time to dodge. So it says a lot that I hated playing as her, yet still wanted more of her levels.
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