Even having played the game through twice, Silent Hill: Townfall is full of so much mystery that I’m gagging to dive back in for a third, fourth and fifth run if I have to. It’s the kind of game where I don’t just want, I need to understand everything.
There are two things Townfall does very well. Firstly, it might be the most forthcoming Silent Hill game when it comes to explaining the mythology behind the mysteries of the fog and the Otherworld. Silent Hill as a series has often been one of those franchises that requires interpretation, understanding and focus to get the best out of its stories and themes. It’s why I love it so much, but it’s also the reason why it can be bewildering to newcomers. Sure, they might find it scary, but do they really know what’s going on?
Townfall does a good job of explaining some of this more clearly than previous Silent Hill entries, and I quite like that about it. If this helps to pull in new players to the franchise, it might give them a reason to go and explore the other games.
The second thing Townfall does very well is make you feel very scared, and very uncomfortable. In fact, this might be the scariest Silent Hill I’ve played. That shift to first person really makes things harder to deal with, and there’s an enemy later on that you can’t kill. Sound familiar?
Having to avoid that enemy in tight corridors was a terrifying experience. There’s something about not being able to see what’s behind you that makes every footstep, every noise and every dark corner feel like a potential death sentence.
You do have weapons with which to fight back against other enemies, but they can still mess you up very quickly. Even when you get the revolver, enemies move erratically, so hitting your shots requires precision. There are limited bullets and, since guns make pretty loud noises, using them attracts everything in the vicinity towards you. You are therefore heavily encouraged to play stealthily, or at least with some caution.
At least Simon has his trusty CRTV, which can also be invaluable when dealing with monsters. This not only acts as a sort of evolution of the radio from previous games, but also provides story clues and is used as a conduit to solve certain puzzles. Some of this leans on the motion sensing controls of the DualSense to tune the radio to a specific frequency – I struggled with this at Gamescom, but it felt much easier to control in the comfort of my own home.
There are some sections where you have no weapons at all, such as when you play as one of the other characters…
That’s right, Silent Hill: Townfall sprang this lovely and intriguing surprise on me. I had assumed that Zoe Ellis and Richard were characters there to supplement Simon’s story, but you actually get to spend time in their shoes as well, enough to make their sections meaningful and to understand their individual plights.
Zoe has only one melee weapon that I found throughout both my runs. Generally, she is mostly using bottles and bricks she finds lying around to try and distract monsters. This made her sections the most terrifying of all because you cannot really defend yourself, just watch in horror as an enemy closes in.
Richars is another matter entirely. Before even properly encountering enemies, he gets his hands on a meaty shotgun and happily blows his way through monsters in a very significant section in the game. There’s a nice balance between the three characters in the way each plays, which I think says more about their personalities and situations the deeper you look.
As with any survival horror game, there’s that natural curve of having more resources towards the end game, and the same is true here. I don’t mind this, as a lot of monster dodging was genuinely stressful – good stress, if you know what I mean. I also appreciate that, on my second run, I had access to a weapon that sped things up significantly, changing up how I approached some encounters, but without completely removing the tension.
There are, of course, the puzzles, and these really do make you think. Even if you play on the ‘Hinted’ difficulty, you only get pieces of the puzzle highlighted for you and still need to work out the rest for yourself.
It really is just a case of looking and absorbing all the information around you. One particular puzzle I enjoyed is needing to operate on a patient – yes, you heard me – having to keep tabs on readings for things like blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels. The first time around, I forgot to read a document and ended up guessing my way through it, but the information was there for me, if I looked.
That said, there was one puzzle near the end of the game that gave me a bit of trouble. I felt like common sense was required to make sense of it, and maybe I just wasn’t getting it, but it killed the pace a touch and gave me a little frustration. Once I had passed it, I could see the underlying logic, so others might not have this same issue.
I also can’t talk about this game without mentioning how excited I’ve seen Scottish players and fans get about finally seeing their part of the world represented in Silent Hill. Townfall feels unmistakably British in its setting. The streets, signs, buildings and general atmosphere feel like a recognisable part of the UK rather than some vague interpretation of it. There’s something oddly satisfying about seeing a Silent Hill game filled with locations that feel much closer to home.
The three main voice actors – Jovan Adepo, Kezia Burrows and Terry O’Quinn – deserve plenty of praise, each of them bringing so much passion to their respective roles and making each character’s plight feel believable. There’s a lot of emotion running through Townfall’s story, and their performances really help sell the pain, fear and trauma each of these characters is dealing with. I do wish at least one of the main characters were Scottish, but that’s more of a nitpick than a criticism. Pretty much every character outside of the main three is Scottish, and I hope that’s enough for the excited fans.
Graphically, Screen Burn Interactive has done a top-tier job of making Townfall look stunning. The streets, the fog, the lighting and the detail on the characters’ faces are fantastic. Sometimes the game can be a little too dark, but it’s a minor complaint.
The atmosphere is really something to behold, and I’ll give props to the game for being in first person because there’s just something about walking through those streets, with that red hue shining off every surface, that really immerses you in what Townfall is trying to bring to the table. Couple that with Townfall’s sombre soundtrack, and you have a really strong immersive experience that tells a tragic tale of the town of St Amelia.
