Silent Hill: Townfall is a terrifying new take on the series that feels like P.T. reborn
Silent Hill: Townfall is the most atmospheric and frightening survival horror game the series has delivered in years. It feels different from any other game that I’ve ever played, in fact. Perhaps the closest comparison would be the 2015 demo P.T. which, as we all know, was never released as the full planned game Silent Hills.
However, Silent Hill: Townfall most certainly follows the spirit of P.T. and perhaps gives us some hint as to what Silent Hills could have been like.
Following 2025’s Silent Hill f, this new entry once again leaves its familiar American setting behind, this time taking us to St. Amelia, a fictional fishing town on the coast of Scotland. Its setting and story should feel particularly close to home for UK horror fans, while its first-person perspective gives Townfall a very different feel from previous games in the series.
The story of Silent Hill: Townfall follows Simon Ordell, who mysteriously finds himself back in St. Amelia. However, he soon realises that something isn't right. An unnerving fog has swarmed the town, while this once-bustling location is now eerily quiet.
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Simon must uncover fragments of his past if he is to understand why he has returned, but the memories he is forced to confront may be even more harrowing than the grotesque monsters now roaming the streets of this once-peaceful, close-knit community.
Let's take a look at all the good and bad of Silent Hill: Townfall.
Everything we loved about Silent Hill: Townfall
Silent Hill: Townfall nails its unsettling atmosphere and turns 90s nostalgia into a living nightmare
Silent Hill: Townfall oozes atmosphere, a key ingredient for any successful Silent Hill game. What makes St. Amelia so eerie is that, as you explore, you find clues about how vibrant this once-cosy fishing town was before something sinister happened. The town is too quiet, and that’s one of the most unsettling aspects of the game. What has happened to St. Amelia's poor residents?
This is another welcomed period piece too. Silent Hill f was set in 1960s Japan, whereas Silent Hill: Townfall is set in 1996. While many gamers may have happy, nostalgic memories of the 90s, developer Screen Burn has done an amazing job ensuring that your time spent in St. Amelia warps that nostalgia. After all, Silent Hill has never been about sunshine and roses.
Silent Hill: Townfall is even more terrifying in first-person, with exceptionally tense combat encounters
The first-person perspective makes Silent Hill: Townfall more terrifying. No doubt, much like the original trilogy, this game would still be scary in third-person, but there’s something more visceral about exploring St. Amelia and seeing its horrific creatures through the eyes of the protagonist. Not taking into account the aforementioned P.T. and the 2024 freebie Silent Hill: The Short Message, Silent Hill: Townfall is the first retail release in the series to be played from this perspective.
Silent Hill: Townfall does feature direct combat. However, it would not be wise to take on every monster you see. For starters, you will most likely take heavy damage, even when you block. You can use wooden planks to attack monsters, but they will degrade quite quickly. There’s even a gun, but ammo is very scarce. That being said, if you do decide to take the shot, you'd better get ready to run, because nearby monsters may be alerted.
For the most part, your best strategy would be to avoid combat altogether. Sometimes a monster might block your path, but you can use bottles and bricks to distract it. I appreciate that Silent Hill: Townfall has combat. A protagonist shouldn't always be completely useless, because just about anyone can defend themselves to a degree. But Silent Hill: Townfall makes you question every approach, for better or worse - and such situations always remain tense.
Make sure to use the ability to lean and peek, just so that you don’t fully expose yourself to danger. If all else fails, turn and run as fast as your legs can take you.
Silent Hill: Townfall looks stunning graphically
Developer Screen Burn has done a great job creating Silent Hill: Townfall, and that includes its stunning yet disturbing visuals. St. Amelia looks like many typical fishing and seaside towns across the UK, and has been created with an impressive level of detail.
From the buildings to the parks, cobbled paths, mouldy Otherworld, and shrouded fog, everything in its world is so well put together, and that’s not even taking into account the level of detail for its leading characters, Simon and Zoe - and, of course, the horrendous monsters that are manifestations of those characters' psyches.
The realistic nature of the visuals, especially in the first-person perspective, reminds me very much of the 2024 horror game Still Wakes the Deep, which coincidentally is a Scottish game too.
One last thing to note on graphics: by default, Silent Hill: Townfall is played with horizontal black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, just like a movie. If you don't like that, you can change it in the settings. What’s more, there are also graphics and performance modes. On my base PS5, the 30 frames-per-second was very noticeable, but even on performance at 60fps, Silent Hill: Townfall still looks fantastic.
Silent Hill: Townfall’s CRT TV is an essential survival tool and ties in nicely to well-built puzzles
Throughout the game, Simon will rely heavily on his portable CRT TV to help solve puzzles, reveal clues about the story, and roughly reveal the location of a nearby enemy. This is done through a very static screen and a silhouette of said enemy. In its own kind of way, it’s a little similar to the radar sensor Amanda Ripley uses in Alien: Isolation to help give a rough estimate of how close or far away the Xenomorph is.
The CRT TV not only fits the 90s aesthetic brilliantly, but it’s also a novel way of helping to decide how to approach an enemy without revealing too much. There’s also something unnerving about seeing a monster on its small static screen, and the same can be said for the clues it reveals. Even though it's a helpful tool, you will still need to rely on making the right judgment call, and there’s every chance you’ll make the wrong one, which is all part of the fun.
One of the most focal traditions of the Silent Hill series is its clever puzzles, and Silent Hill: Townfall is no exception. Some you may solve with ease, but you’re bound to find at least one that will have you scratching your head in frustration (in a good way), and without giving anything away, they not only play into the world brilliantly, but some feel like a part of the character's psyche as much as the monsters in St. Amelia.
Silent Hill: Townfall boasts excellent music and audio design
The audio design of Silent Hill: Townfall is superb, which will come as no surprise to returning fans of the series. Konami’s survival horror franchise has always delivered when it comes to environmental sounds, which can be just as tense as anything else in the game. The music is not only wonderfully eerie, but perfectly timed to help tell the current story and manipulate your emotions. I absolutely commend composer Pilotpriest, as well as the lead actors, Jovan Adepo (Simon) and Kezia Burrows (Zoe), along with the entire supporting cast for their performances.
I'll also quickly mention the price tag. Silent Hill: Townfall is a AA title that'll set you back $49.99/£44.99 for the standard edition and $59.99/£49.99 for the deluxe edition, so it's reasonably priced compared to AAA offerings.
Silent Hill: Townfall has multiple endings for great replayability
Another returning feature of the series that will no doubt be pleasing for fans is that Silent Hill: Townfall has multiple endings that are determined by your in-game actions. While I’ve not achieved them all yet and I will absolutely not reveal any spoilers, Silent Hill: Townfall has three main endings, with one being achievable per playthrough, and two secret endings through New Game Plus.
Also, depending on your playstyle, Silent Hill: Townfall can last anywhere between 10 and 20 hours. It took me just shy of the 20-hour mark, but I’m the kind of gamer who likes to explore everything and use stealth.
The one area where Silent Hill: Townfall fell flat
The stealth sections can become tedious
This is where we have to get a little picky. After all, no game is truly perfect. There’s always some room for improvement, no matter how small. I felt that some of the stealth sections in Silent Hill: Townfall went on a little too long. Sure, you can go on the attack, but there’s every chance that decision will dramatically backfire. So, in most cases, slowly but surely is the best approach, and this is where a few of those stealth sections can grow tedious, especially when the last auto-save was some time ago.
Final Verdict
As a fan of Silent Hill, I was always looking forward to Silent Hill: Townfall, but a big part of me was concerned that it wouldn't look as good as it was presented in the trailers. Thankfully, that concern was eradicated in the first 15 minutes. I’ve been playing this series since the very beginning. Nothing will quite compare to the original trilogy or the 2023 Silent Hill 2 remake. Last year, it’s fair to say that Silent Hill f took many fans by surprise with how good that game was considering it's somewhat of a departure for the franchise. Silent Hill: Townfall, I suspect, may share much of the same sentiment, and I consider it to be one of the best games in the series. With this being another standalone story, as much as returning fans will find joy in it, it should also appeal to new fans jumping into this legendary series for the very first time.
Pros: St. Amelia oozes atmosphere and tension, fantastic visuals, incredible audio and acting, fun puzzles, disturbing monsters
Cons: Some stealth sections can drag a little too long
For fans of: Alien: Isolation, P.T., Still Wakes the Deep
9/10: Exceptional
Silent Hill: Townfall will be released on September 24, 2026 on PlayStation 5 (version tested) and PC. A review code was provided by the publisher. Read a guide to our review scores here.
Topics: Reviews, Silent Hill, Konami, PT