Silent Hill: Townfall is the latest project from Konami's current resurrection of the survival horror franchise. Developed by Screen Burn in partnership with the IP holder and Annapurna Interactive, the game is a new tale that cleverly explores the psychological dread of surviving in a town covered in fog while digging ever deeper into its past.
Simon Ordell wakes up at the shore of St. Amelia, a small fishing island that seems to have been abandoned, unsure of what's going on and with some mysterious liquid running through his veins. Beneath its heavy fog, however, he finds a community that has faced tragedy and many secrets left behind.
A major point of the experience of this survival horror title is how the places we explore transform over time. Not only do we get to open up new areas, but those we already know become something much more eerie over time with enemies lurking around searching for the player.
This is but one of the parts that helps create the unease of the general experience, as the town twists around the player, bringing new threats along with hints of the past. For this to be so foreboding, however, there has to be more work in properly making this dread encompass the experience.
This atmosphere of constant unease is the strongest suit of Silent Hill: Townfall. With a first-person perspective, we go around exploring areas that range from realistic rooms that feel lived-in like a time capsule to the '90s to dark areas inside facilities that look industrial and decayed. Even familiar sights become something that evokes fear over time.
While the detailed visuals are nice, the true star is the great use of sound. This is a staple in the genre, but there's nothing more paranoia-inducing than being hit by many sources of noise that you just don’t understand well enough. Is it a monster or just the fact you walked over a puddle? Are you making enough noise that the creature will come back and find the character’s location?
To make matters worse, the player has a pocket CRTV to pick up enemies’ noises as well as hints about where to go next. This item is helpful in locating them and being able to tell their walking patterns, but it’s also a constant source of noise. Over time, it’s only natural to become anxious and grow suspicious of absolutely every road as you try to move forward.
As a survival horror experience, there are many elements to keep in mind for Silent Hill: Townfall. The first is that it’s easy to get lost and be unsure of how to progress, especially at the beginning. The pocket CRTV does point the way after you get it and there’s a “Hinted” difficulty mode that highlights text connected to puzzle solutions, but progression can still feel ambiguous at times, especially if the player ends up missing an item or room while exploring, for instance.
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