Three Hours of ‘Silent Hill: Townfall’ Left Me With More Questions Than Answers

Three hours wasn’t enough to understand Silent Hill: Townfall, but it was enough to convince me that’s exactly the point. The best Silent Hill games have never been interested in handing players effortless answers. More than just asking you to survive the monsters lurking in the fog, they ask you to question the people around you, the places you’re exploring, and sometimes even the protagonist you’re controlling. Every revelation tends to create even more questions, leaving players to debate symbolism and hidden meanings for years after they’ve finished the game.

That’s a arduous balance to strike. Lean too far into ambiguity, and a story becomes frustrating. Explain too much, and the psychological horror loses its power. After spending roughly three hours with Silent Hill: Townfall during a recent hands-on preview, I’m sanguine that Screen Burn and Konami have found that balance. By the time my session ended, I was unsettled, fascinated, and more than a little confused about what I’d just experienced. Instead of wanting immediate explanations, I wanted another three hours to find them myself. If that feeling sounds familiar, that’s because it’s exactly what I (and many other fans) want in a Silent Hill game.

‘Silent Hill: Townfall’ Makes St. Amelia Impossible To Ignore

The St. Amelia sign in ‘Silent Hill: Townfall’Image via Konami Digital Entertainment

Set in the fictional Scottish coastal town of St. Amelia, Townfall immediately distinguishes itself from previous entries while still feeling unmistakably Silent Hill. It’s the first mainline game to fully embrace a first-person perspective, a shift that could have easily felt like the series chasing up-to-date horror trends. Instead, it makes every empty street, abandoned storefront, and fog-covered shoreline feel eerily personal on a level Silent Hill has never accomplished before. Simply walking through St. Amelia became one of my favorite parts of the preview, because the town is stunning. Thick fog rolls over the waterfront while weathered buildings hint at decades of economic decline. Every environment is dense with detail, rewarding players who sluggish down long enough to actually look around instead of sprinting toward the next objective.

That authenticity isn’t accidental. During a roundtable interview at the event, writer and director Jon McKellan explained that the team chose Scotland because they wanted to build a place they genuinely understood. “You write what you know,” McKellan said, adding that Scotland’s coastal towns naturally share many of the feelings associated with Silent Hill: isolation, creeping fog, and communities struggling to survive. He even went as far as calling the town itself the story’s main character. That philosophy is immediately apparent during the opening hours. Rather than rushing from set piece to set piece, Townfall encourages players to absorb the atmosphere while searching St. Amelia for clues surrounding the disappearance of Zoe. The result is a feeling of slowly peeling back layers of a place that’s actively hiding something from you.

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The CRTV Is the Best New Mechanic in a ‘Silent Hill’ Game in Years

The CRTV in ‘Silent Hill: Townfall’Image via Konami Digital Entertainment

If St. Amelia is Townfall’s greatest character, the handheld CRTV is its most compelling gameplay addition. The portable device serves multiple purposes throughout exploration. Players tune into different frequencies scattered throughout the world to uncover hidden signals, reveal clues, and solve environmental puzzles that gradually point Simon toward Zoe’s whereabouts. It never feels like a gimmick. Instead, the CRTV becomes central to how you interact with the world. Finding the right signal often means discovering pieces of the narrative you otherwise would have missed, making exploration feel consistently rewarding. Even better, it doubles as an critical survival tool by helping identify nearby threats before they find you.

That single mechanic naturally reinforces Townfall’s emphasis on caution. Barging into every up-to-date location is something I rarely do when it comes to a up-to-date game, but even more than normal with Townfall, I found myself slowing down, checking frequencies, scanning my surroundings, and planning how to move through each area safely. The CRTV creates tension without relying on low-cost jump scares because you’re constantly aware that something could be nearby even if you can’t see it yet. And if you ignore the CRTV, there will be jumpscares as well. The puzzles themselves also strike a satisfying balance. They’re rooted in the narrative rather than abstract logic tests, asking players to interpret information they’ve discovered instead of just matching symbols or pushing blocks around. While I heard other attendees mention getting stuck during certain sections, I never felt the game crossed into being unfair.

Combat Feels Great, Which Makes ‘Townfall’ Even Scarier

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• Discovering the gun in ‘Silent Hill: Townfall’Image via Konami Digital Entertainment
• An enemy in ‘Silent Hill: Townfall’Image via Konami Digital Entertainment
• A monster in ‘Silent Hill: Townfall’Image via Konami Digital Entertainment

One of the biggest surprises from the preview was how polished combat felt. The opening hours primarily encourage stealth, with developers explicitly advising players not to come out swinging. After experiencing the demo firsthand, that’s advice worth taking. Enemies are genuinely intimidating. Melee combat carries satisfying weight, while a later sequence showcasing firearms demonstrated that gunplay feels just as natural and intuitive. Controls are responsive, animations are immaculate, and I never found myself fighting against the mechanics. Ironically, that’s exactly why combat works. Even though fighting feels good, I rarely wanted to do it. Every encounter carried enough danger that avoiding confrontation usually seemed like the smarter decision. The monsters never become disposable obstacles, preserving the vulnerability that has always defined Silent Hill at its best.

The creature designs also made a mighty first impression. Without spoiling specific encounters, one massive figure briefly emerging through the fog prompted me to scribble one very scientific observation in my notebook: “What in the Cloverfield fuck?” When I repeated that reaction during the roundtable, McKellan laughed before joking that it was “a good reference.” Humor aside, he also explained that the team’s approach to monster design intentionally prioritizes psychology over gore. Every creature represents something tied to the story, though those meanings may not become apparent until much later in the game. The team wanted monsters that remain unsettling because they still feel strangely human beneath their impossible appearances, not just deliver excessive violence. That restraint comes across during the preview.

Collider Exclusive · Horror Survival Quiz
Which Horror Villain Do You Have the Best Chance of Surviving?
Jason Voorhees · Michael Myers · Freddy Krueger · Pennywise · Chucky

Five killers. Five completely different ways to die — if you’re not sharp enough, speedy enough, or self-aware enough to avoid it. Only one of them is the villain your particular set of instincts gives you a fighting chance against. Eight questions will figure out which one.

🏕️Jason

🔪Michael

💤Freddy

🎈Pennywise

🪆Chucky

TEST YOUR SURVIVAL →

01

Something feels wrong. You can’t explain it — you just know. What do you do?
First instincts are the difference between the survivor and the first act casualty.

ALeave immediately. I don’t need to understand a threat to respect it.
BStay serene and observe. If I can see it, I can understand it. If I can understand it, I can avoid it.
CStay awake. Whatever this is, I am not going to sleep until I feel safe and sound again.
DConfront it directly. Fear grows in the obscure — I’d rather know what I’m dealing with.
ECheck everything, trust nothing. The threat might be closer than I think — and smaller.

NEXT QUESTION →

02

Where are you most likely to find yourself when things go wrong?
Setting is everything in horror. Where you are determines which rules apply.

ASomewhere remote — a cabin, a campsite, off the grid and away from people.
BA serene suburban neighbourhood where nothing ever happens. Except tonight.
CIn my own head — the most threatening place of all, depending on what’s already in there.
DWherever children are — because something about this place attracts the worst things.
ESomewhere ordinary — a house, a toy store, a place where the last thing you’d expect is a threat.

NEXT QUESTION →

03

What is your most reliable survival asset?
Every survivor has a quality the villain didn’t account for. What’s yours?

APhysical fitness — I can run, I can swim, I can outlast something that relies on brute persistence.
BSpatial awareness — I always know the exits, the hiding spots, the fastest route out.
CPsychological resilience — I’ve faced my worst fears before. They don’t have the same power over me.
DEmotional steadiness — I don’t panic. Panic is what gets you caught.
EScepticism — I don’t underestimate threats because of how they look. Size is irrelevant.

NEXT QUESTION →

04

What kind of fear is hardest for you to fight through?
Knowing your weakness is the first step to not dying because of it.

AThe unstoppable — something that will not stop, cannot be reasoned with, and is always getting closer.
BThe imperceptible — a threat I can feel but can’t locate, watching from somewhere I can’t see.
CThe psychological — something that uses my own mind and memories against me.
DThe unknowable — something age-old, shapeless, that feeds on the fear itself.
EThe mundane — a threat so ordinary-looking that no one will believe me until it’s too overdue.

NEXT QUESTION →

05

You’re with a group when things start going wrong. What’s your role?
Horror movies are brutally clear about who survives group situations and who doesn’t.

AThe one who says “we need to leave” first — and means it, even when no one listens.
BThe one who stays serene, watches the others, and figures out the pattern before anyone else does.
CThe one who holds the group together when panic sets in — because someone has to.
DThe one who asks the questions nobody wants to ask — because ignoring them gets people killed.
EThe one who takes the threat seriously when everyone else is laughing it off.

NEXT QUESTION →

06

What’s the horror movie mistake you’re most likely to make?
Honest self-assessment is a survival skill. Denial is not.

AGoing back for someone — I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t leave them behind.
BAssuming I’m safe and sound once I’ve found a hiding spot. That’s when it finds me.
CFalling asleep when I absolutely cannot afford to. Exhaustion is its own enemy.
DLetting my curiosity override my instincts — I always need to understand what I’m dealing with.
EDismissing the threat because of how it looks. That’s exactly what it wants.

NEXT QUESTION →

07

What’s your best weapon against something that can’t be stopped by conventional means?
Every horror villain has a weakness. The survivors are always the ones who find it.

AThe environment itself — I utilize the terrain, the water, the geography against it.
BPatience — I wait, I watch, and I strike at the one moment it doesn’t expect.
CLucidity — if I can stay in control of my own mind, it loses its primary weapon.
DCourage — facing it directly, refusing to run, taking away the fear it feeds on.
EImprovisation — I utilize whatever’s at hand, however unconventional. Creativity over brute force.

NEXT QUESTION →

08

It’s the final scene. You’re the last one standing. How did you make it?
The final survivor always has a reason. What’s yours?

AI kept moving. I never stopped, never hid for too long, never let it corner me.
BI figured out the pattern before anyone else did — and I used it against the thing following it.
CI stayed awake, stayed lucid, and refused to give it the one thing it needed most.
DI stopped being afraid of it. And the moment I did, everything changed.
EI took it seriously from the start — and I never once made the mistake of underestimating it.

REVEAL MY VILLAIN →

Your Survival Odds Have Been Calculated
Your Best Chance Is Against…

Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.

Camp Crystal Lake · Friday the 13th

Jason Voorhees

Jason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit.

• He moves in straight lines toward his target. He doesn’t strategise, doesn’t adapt, doesn’t outsmart. He simply pursues.
• Your ability to keep moving, utilize the environment, and resist the panic that freezes most victims gives you a genuine edge.
• The Crystal Lake survivors were always the ones who stopped running in circles and started thinking about terrain, water, and distance.
• You think like that. Which means Jason, for all his indestructibility, would face someone who simply refused to be where he expected.

Haddonfield, Illinois · Halloween

Michael Myers

Michael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it’s too overdue for anyone who isn’t paying close enough attention.

• But you are paying attention. You notice the shape in the window, the car parked slightly wrong, the silence where there should be sound.
• Michael’s power lies in the invisibility of ordinary suburbia — the fact that nothing ever looks wrong until it already is.
• Your spatial awareness and instinct to map every room, every exit, and every shadow before you need them is precisely the quality Laurie Strode had.
• You are not a victim waiting to happen. You are someone who already suspects something is wrong — and acts on it.

Elm Street · A Nightmare on Elm Street

Freddy Krueger

Freddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised.

• You are harder to destabilise than most. You’ve faced uncomfortable truths about yourself and you haven’t looked away.
• The survivors on Elm Street were always the ones who understood what was happening and chose to face it rather than flee from it.
• Freddy’s greatest weakness is that his power evaporates in the presence of someone who refuses to give him the fear he feeds on.
• Your psychological resilience — the ability to stay grounded when reality itself becomes unreliable — is exactly the quality that keeps you alive here.

Derry, Maine · It

Pennywise

Pennywise is age-old, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it.

• The Losers Club didn’t survive because they were braver than everyone else. They survived because they faced their fears together, and faced them honestly.
• You ask the questions others avoid. You look directly at what frightens you rather than turning away.
• That directness — the refusal to let fear fester in the obscure — is Pennywise’s worst nightmare.
• It chose the wrong target when it chose you. You are exactly the kind of person whose fear tastes like nothing at all.

Chicago · Child’s Play

Chucky

Chucky’s greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it’s already too overdue. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is.

• You don’t have that gap. You take threats seriously regardless of how they present — and you never make the mistake of underestimating something because of its size or appearance.
• Chucky relies on surprise, on the delay between recognition and response. You close that delay faster than almost anyone.
• Your instinct to treat every unfamiliar thing with appropriate scepticism — rather than dismissing it because it seems absurd — is the exact quality that keeps you breathing.
• Against Chucky, not laughing is already winning. You are very good at not laughing.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

‘Silent Hill: Townfall’ Understands Questions Matter More Than Answers

‘Silent Hill: Townfall’Image via Konami Digital Entertainment

Perhaps the most encouraging part of the preview came after I set the controller down. During the roundtable, I asked McKellan and Silent Hill series producer Motoi Okamoto what they hoped players would be thinking about after finishing the game.

“I want them to feel something. I hope it gets people to think about things, and just take a moment to kind of take in what they’ve just played and the stories… I hope that people take the time to unpack it. Take a moment to actually consider what they’ve done and discuss it with someone else and have a different opinion.”

I think McKellan’s answer perfectly captures why Townfall left such a mighty first impression on me. I left my preview with countless unanswered questions. I don’t fully understand Simon’s role in St. Amelia. I don’t know where the story is ultimately heading. I’m still trying to figure out exactly what I saw disappearing into the mist. Normally, uncertainty after three hours might concern me. Here, it left me eager to keep playing. If the full game can maintain that tender balance between mystery, atmosphere, and genuinely satisfying gameplay while delivering answers worthy of the questions it’s asking, Silent Hill: Townfall could become one of the series’ strongest entries in the series. After three hours in St. Amelia, I’m ready to go back into the fog.

Silent Hill: Townfall releases September 24, 2026.

Released

September 24, 2026

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood, Strong Language, Violence

Publisher(s)

Annapurna Interactive, Konami

Franchise

Silent Hill