For over twenty five years ever since the very first game was released, the Silent Hill series has constantly found ways to reinvent itself and present new ways of delivering a unique survival horror experience to gamers looking for a good scare. Since the franchise was resurrected in recent years thanks to Konami, there has been a resurgence of popularity and demand for newer entries in the series – with the free to play game Silent Hill: The Short Message and last year’s Silent Hill f both being set away from the eponymous town and in different countries and time periods. The mainline games are still given priority and attention, with Silent Hill 2 getting the remake treatment in 2024 and bringing back one of the series’ most beloved storylines and giving it a complete makeover with modern graphical enhancements and new gameplay mechanics.
Released this past September for PlayStation 5 and PC, Silent Hill: Townfall is the latest and third consecutive new Silent Hill game Konami has released and is a fantastically terrifying first person horror game that rightfully deserves your attention. As another standalone spin-off title in the series not set in the namesake town, players are instead transported to the fictional Scottish town of St. Amelia in 1996 where strange and bizarre events have transpired leading to its denizens all but disappearing from the face of the earth. The familiar sight of fog and an empty town set in and paint an eerie backdrop for players to explore, leading to strange encounters with bizarre creatures and nightmarish locations that are certainly not for the faint of heart.
Players start the game off by taking control of a man named Simon Ordwell – who washes up ashore on the island of St. Amelia with no recollection of how or why he got there. As you progress through the game’s six chapters, you soon take control of other characters with their own unique storylines that eventually converge to an overall narrative that interconnects and leads to multiple endings that can be unlocked depending on the choices made through the course of the game. Like previous Silent Hill games, this adds replay value and incentive for players to try different paths and choices that lead to very different outcomes for Simon, whether it be for better or for worse.
Unlike past entries that focus on third person perspective and give you a view of the characters you control, Silent Hill: Townfall doubles down on the scares and intensity by being in first person view during gameplay – literally putting players in the front seat and forcing them to plan their moves carefully in order to survive its somewhat convoluted yet very straightforward horror story. Exploring the town of St. Amelia is no cakewalk as it can be both claustrophobic and frustrating to explore, but as with all survival horror games it’s essential to understand the fundamentals of playing smart and effectively. Resources such as medical supplies and weapons are scarce and need to be conserved properly, and there will be key items and puzzles players need to find need to find and solve in order to progress through the story.
While most Silent Hill games use a radio or buzzing noise to signal that monsters are close by, Silent Hill: Townfall introduces a CRTV handheld device that Simon can use to help detect enemy locations through walls or obstacles. This works hand in hand with the game’s heavy emphasis on using stealth and sneaking tactics, as the monsters are no pushovers and can take a lot of punishment before they go down for good. The CRTV also allows players to tune into frequencies that hold clues to where your next destination lies. This is a crucial new gaming mechanic to learn and master properly in order to solve puzzles and help Simon through the course of the adventure.
Of course this wouldn’t be a survival horror game without weapons, and Silent Hill: Townfall has a number of them. Characters start off with melee weapons such as planks and pipes that wear out as the player uses them to attack or block, but later on you gain access to firearms and other ranged weapons like a pistol and shotgun that need bullets to use. Again, resources are scarce so using them effectively or saving them for a tough boss fight will be the best options to consider when going through the different versions of reality St. Amelia throws at you. It’s also important to save your progress whenever you can, and there are a number of phone booths and locations you can use to call a hotline number to save – very important in case you mess up and lose your life to one of the many monsters you encounter in the game.
Much like what Hideo Kojima intended with “P.T” and the cancelled “Silent Hills” game more than a decade ago, Silent Hill: Townfall is a terrifying and unique first person survival horror game experience that uses scares and tension to maximum effectiveness. It may not be as iconic as Silent Hill 2 or the other past mainline games in the series, but it holds true to the spirit of those games and is one of the best horror game projects put out by Konami since they decided to concentrate on making actual video games again. While the company’s focus next is on the highly anticipated remake of the first Silent Hill game, this game will certainly tide fans over and give newcomers something to talk about.Highly recommended for those looking for some scares and frights, and Halloween is just around the corner so you’ll definitely get your money’s worth with this low key standalone spin-off entry in the critically acclaimed survival horror franchise.
Rating: VERY GOOD
