Stepping into the shoes of the main protagonist, Simon, we’ll be exploring an island that is both new and yet… strangely familiar to him. Using a portable CRT television, you’ll have the ability to see hints as to where to go, clips from times you don’t remember, and even enemy locations. While I didn’t get hands-on, our theater demo was extremely interesting and gave us a solid look at gameplay as well as a small look at the main story.
Slow and methodical is the goal of this game. You’re wanting to stay as careful as you possibly can while still moving forward. You have your normal aspects of a horror game such as combining items to make new items, searching for batteries, and trying to not die. However, something that really caught my eye was their usage of things such as reel to reel recording to provide a “real” looking video on the CRT Simon uses. There’s something extra creepy that other games that have used a similar feature didn’t capture nearly as terrifyingly.
Silent Hill: Townfall trailer from Annapurna Interactive
Combat is as intense as you make it. Seemingly you can avoid MOST conflict by sneaking around. As I mentioned, the CRT actually can help guide you to where the enemy is so you can avoid them altogether. However, if you’re wanting some action, there’s plenty of opportunity to pick up an item and just smash them into the enemies. Something to keep in mind though, these enemies are violent and some can be extremely quick. Pick your battles wisely. It all comes back to “slow and methodical.”
The story seems like a classic narrative Silent Hill but in a new looking area. This town is absolutely terrifying in the mist and dark. Every corner could hide something horrifying and leave you with your blood pressure spiking. The first-person only gameplay adds to the extremely scary ambiance and allowed for the team to add more to every scene as they didn’t have to account for a body being in the way.
We had a look at the house of someone who clearly knew Simon well enough to have his photo on the table, but Simon doesn’t necessarily remember. In this home, you have two levels to explore, finding multiple items. Some items you could use in the house right there and some you clearly needed to come back later when you had more information. That’s where Simon’s inner thoughts come in handy.
Gallery of scenes from Silent Hill: Townfall
On the screen, at certain moments, text will show up such as, “there’s no answer,” which is the game’s way of telling you, “it’s okay, just keep going.” You’ll also have moments where there are codes and Simon will be able to remember if he has them or not. On top of that, your map might be the most important item in the game as it will have concepts, names, codes and more added as you go. You won’t want to forget to check the map often.
If you’re a fan of Silent Hill, this should be a lot of fun to run through. The graphics looked solid through the demo, but again, it was a theater demo controlled by one of the team members from the game. If the game looks and plays as well as it did in the demo, we’re truly in for a horrifying treat.
You can play the game September 24, 2026 on PS5, Xbox, and PC through the Epic Game store.
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