For the second time this year, I’ve experienced genuine fear while playing a video game. The first was Resident Evil 9. The second is Silent Hill: Townfall, a game that had me white knuckling my controller so tightly I’m surprised it didn’t break — and genuinely questioning why I willingly put myself through this.
The answer, according to my wife, is that I’m insane.
Yeah. She’s probably right.
Freaky, foggy and f****** beautiful
From the moment protagonist Simon steps into the fog-shrouded streets of St. Amelia, Townfall is absolutely breathtaking.
Its rain-soaked roads, eerily realistic homes, abandoned parks and dimly lit interiors create one of the most convincing Silent Hill settings the series has ever produced.
The shift to first-person is a huge reason why it works. Aside from 2024’s A Short Message, we’ve never really experienced a Silent Hill game from this perspective, and it adds an entirely new layer of vulnerability.
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I’m fine. This is fine.
The game’s quiet opening doesn’t stay quiet for long.
Before long, axe-headed freaks begin stalking the streets, forcing you to either fight or desperately sprinting for cover. Technically, you can take them head-on, but I’d advise against it. They’re relentless, and weapons can break… And they’re scary.
That said, I found the game’s many hiding spots slightly undermined some of the surprise. Once you notice wardrobes, cupboards and conveniently placed hiding nooks scattered throughout buildings, they almost become little warning signs that something horrible is about to happen.
I guess it’s strangely comforting.
Eventually, you’re handed a revolver. Ammo remains incredibly scarce, but simply having it tucked away feels like carrying a tiny security blanket through the nightmare.
Sprinting through a door, slamming it shut, twisting the lock, then watching an axe-headed monster mindlessly hack away at the glass while I caught my breath on the other side. The relief was almost euphoric.
A HUGE weight on my shoulders
As scary as those zombie axe freaks are, they’re nothing compared to The Weight.
Teased in the early moments of the game, when you finally come face to face this grotesque monstrosity completely changed the way I was playing. The peeking mechanic becomes essential as you slowly lean around corners, checking hallways before committing to every step.
If it catches you, it’s over. Dead. You can’t fight back.
The creature grabs Simon, slams its crushing body onto his head, and kills him instantly. Unless you’re carrying a spare IV bag, which revives you on the spot and gives you one frantic chance to escape.
I’ve played plenty of horror games over the years, but the helplessness I felt while hiding from The Weight genuinely rivalled Grace’s infamous basement sequence in Resident Evil 9. It’s relentless, unpredictable, and easily the standout horror encounter in the game.
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Yellow paint and puzzles
Townfall also deserves praise for refusing to treat players like “idiots”. After waves of complaints in recent games, some of you can relax.
Yellow paint? Never heard of it.
There are no waypoints telling you where to go, no glowing objectives, and very little guidance beyond environmental audio, your map, and the notes Simon scribbles throughout the journey. You’ll constantly find yourself reopening documents, rereading clues and digging through your inventory for information you picked up hours earlier.
The game, which is set in the 90s, uses a portable CRT TV to receive messages and also reveal the location of the ghouls that inhabit St. Amelia. As enemy numbers grew, this little device became my saving grace. It’ll also let off a little static noise when an enemy is in range, which occasionally gave me more of a fright than the enemies themselves.
The CRT also used in some puzzles, with a cryptic video message revealing answers to puzzles and directions on where to head next. The pharmacy puzzle made me feel like Sherlock Holmes, tuning into a random video broadcasting various posters on the pharmacy walls. These posters shared the order and numbers for the pharmacy safe code. No obvious instruction, just a gut feeling to find the answers.
One puzzle had me completely stumped until I realised the solution had been sitting in my inventory since the opening chapter. It’s the kind of design that can be frustrating in the moment, but immensely satisfying once everything clicks into place.
Some of these puzzles are genuinely tough — and that’s exactly why solving them feels so rewarding.
Admittedly, I turned down the difficulty to move through the game faster. There’s a range of accessibility settings to help with gameplay. That said, I don’t think it’s necessary. The game feels really balanced regardless of your settings, you’ll just be able to survive a few more hits from the creatures.
Horror minus the blood and guts
Despite its disturbing imagery, Townfall isn’t an especially gory game.
A lengthy hospital sequence revolves around operating on a patient, yet there isn’t a speck of exposed guts in sight. Enemies bleed thick black fluid rather than blood, and even brutal pipe attacks avoid becoming graphic spectacles.
That restraint somehow makes everything even more unsettling. The horror comes from atmosphere and implication rather than shock value.
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Stay in your lane
My biggest criticism is how little you can actually interact with St. Amelia.
As incredible as the town looks, it often feels surprisingly static. You can’t smash things with your pipe, knock plates from tables, bash abandoned cars. Outside of puzzle objects, highlighted drawers and collectible items, the environment is largely untouchable.
It’s a shame, because the visual realism constantly tricks you into expecting more physical interaction than the game actually offers.
There are also moments where enemy attack animations are wonderfully grotesque, yet Simon’s own knockdowns and deaths feel oddly abrupt. The monsters are memorable; the player reactions, less so.
Should you buy Silent Hill: Townfall?
Silent Hill: Townfall delivers some of the most effective psychological horror I’ve experienced in years. Its phenomenal visuals, haunting atmosphere and genuinely terrifying enemy encounters. Its puzzle design also confidently trusts players to think for themselves.
It just doesn’t evolve much beyond that. The limited environmental interaction and fairly one-dimensional gameplay loop stop it from reaching the very top tier of survival horror.
Even so, if your goal is to feel stressed, vulnerable, and overwhelmingly relieved every time you only just manage to escape the clutches of a monstrous creature, Silent Hill: Townfall absolutely succeeds.
Quest Daily scores Silent Hill: Townfall:
8/10
Silent Hill: Townfall is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Access to Silent Hill: Townfall was supplied to QD by the publisher.
