Review: Silent Hill Townfall
What's hidden in the fog this time?
THE GAME
Silent Hill: Townfall is a horror game developed by Screen Burn and published by KONAMI and Annapurna Interactive. Without knowing why, Simon Ordell, our protagonist, finds himself in St. Amelia, Scotland. With the classic foggy setting, the town streets are seemingly empty and the houses abandoned. Simon has some connection to the place and the people of St. Amelia, but, like him, we will have to discover what is happening. Equipped with a CRTV, a portable television that picks up signals, Simon must explore St. Amelia cautiously, as strange creatures lurk in the fog and make life difficult for our protagonist. Be stealthy, but engage in combat if necessary, so that you can survive the horrors that unfold in the town.
MY IMPRESSIONS
My initial highlight goes to the tension that Silent Hill: Townfall masterfully creates. Even if nothing is happening, walking through the town of St. Amelia, with all the atmosphere it has built, makes the player feel watched or in imminent danger. And speaking of the environment, Silent Hill: Townfall uses the entire setting, both visual and auditory, in an incredible way. The streets and houses, even abandoned ones, are full of details, telling a story in themselves, without saying a word. The soundtrack is fantastic, using music at just the right time to build incredible moments. The sounds, both from enemies and your CCTV or the environment, heighten the player's tension, as the town itself is silent, which helps to create moments of simple terror, but with a great impact on the player.
The town may seem large, but it's a sufficient area to be explored extensively, as there are many houses that the player can enter and explore or even have action sequences inside. You also won't want to run through the streets because of the imminent risk of threats that may appear, so walking around the city will be a slower pace, without taking you away from the tense experience that is the game. Simon, our protagonist, has a CRTV, a portable television that picks up signals, which is extremely creative and important for the gameplay of Silent Hill: Townfall. With it, in addition to receiving visual clues about where to go at certain times, it also indicates when there are creatures nearby and, if tuned correctly, shows where these creatures are. The way these visual clues are presented on the CRTV is, in a way, disturbing, as it looks like one of those found footage films, which adds a lot to the experience. Speaking of clues, Silent Hill: Townfall is a game full of puzzles and, for me, that's the best part. Through exploration and analysis of found documents, you will advance through very fun and well-thought-out puzzles, which are not limited to just the area where they were found, often requiring the player to explore other places in the city to get what they need to complete the puzzle. It's worth remembering that the game helps you in a way by indicating when you have clues about what needs to be done through the game's inventory, but if you're not so astute in this type of game, there's the option to play with hints, which will highlight important information in documents and clues, which is great for all types of players.
As for the action, with Simon, you'll have a balanced playstyle, being able to completely stealthily navigate the creatures you encounter, but if necessary, you can engage in combat using improvised weapons like pieces of wood or pipes, always remembering that these weapons wear out and eventually break with use. Keep in mind that how you play influences the game, since Silent Hill is a series that, admittedly, has multiple endings. Without going into too much detail to avoid spoiling the experience, you play with two other characters who slightly change the balanced dynamic you have with Simon, as one of them will force you to play completely stealthily while the other will allow you to be completely aggressive against the creatures. I confess that the stealth aspect of Silent Hill: Townfall doesn't appeal to me as much, but that's because stealth gameplay in first-person has never appealed to me. Exploring and solving puzzles far surpasses the action parts, but that's just my personal taste.
The story is very intriguing, and you feel as lost as Simon when he arrives in St. Amelia, in a good way, obviously. Exploring and trying to understand how everything is connected in that story is what makes Silent Hill: Townfall so interesting. The game is in Brazilian Portuguese, which helps the player follow the story, read documents more easily, and facilitates understanding the clues without losing their original meaning. Silent Hill: Townfall will immerse you in the story, as if you were there, walking through St. Amelia, building tension at every corner you turn, even though there's no real danger. Silent Hill fans will enjoy what they get playing Silent Hill: Townfall, and for those who have never played any game in the series, it's a great entry point into the franchise.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Although they may not seem that complex, the achievements in Silent Hill: Townfall will require some effort from the player, since Silent Hill is known for its various different endings, and this game is no exception. Obviously, each ending has a different achievement, and this fact alone will make the player replay and finish the game several times. In addition, there's an achievement for finishing the game in under four hours, which will require the player to learn more optimized ways and endings to complete this feat. Aside from this more laborious part, exploring the game will be quite important, as you'll have to collect all available documents and call all possible phone numbers. Finally, exploring certain mechanics and performing specific actions, such as distracting ten enemies using radios or defeating enemies using all types of weapons, will be necessary to achieve 100% of the achievements. Certainly, you'll have to spend a lot of time in St. Amelia and soon you'll know the game like the back of your hand.
CONCLUSION
I'm not that used to playing horror games, but I don't avoid them either. When well-made, a game of this genre holds my attention because it's interesting, and Silent Hill: Townfall managed to do that for me. The tension created by the game is very good, so much so that I often found myself looking all around or even crouching, even though the CCTV hadn't indicated any danger nearby. The way the CCTV is used is very cool and creative, as are the clues to advance in the puzzles. Many times I felt that combat with the creatures wasn't even necessary, because the atmosphere of the game alone was enough to horrify. The stealth aspect of the game didn't appeal to me as much, as I mentioned before, and the mechanics themselves aren't that enjoyable, but nothing that detracts from the fun of the game. The game faces some optimization problems, with some FPS drops and visual stutters, but I believe that will be corrected in the future. Silent Hill: Townfall is a great entry point for new players to experience the Silent Hill series and is a great game to continue this franchise.
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