by Game of Review Team · published 2026-09-24 · updated 2026-09-25
What Townfall actually is
Townfall follows Simon Ordell, who heads back to the island town of St. Amelia to "put things right," and ends up wading through tense evasion sequences, sudden bursts of violence, and puzzles that peel back the truth about the place. It's built by Screen Burn and published by Konami alongside Annapurna Interactive, which is an interesting pairing on its own since Annapurna usually sticks to smaller, more experimental games.
Unlike some of the recent Silent Hill entries, Townfall runs in first person, which reviewers say makes the encounters feel more claustrophobic and the puzzle-solving more hands-on. Combat takes a back seat here too. Supplies are scarce, so sneaking past threats is generally the smarter move over fighting them head-on.
Early reception: solid, not perfect
Critic scores are landing in the low-to-mid 80s on average, which puts Townfall a notch below both the Silent Hill 2 remake and last year's Silent Hill f, but still comfortably in "good horror game" territory. Player sentiment on Steam is sitting at Mostly Positive, and the game shot straight onto the trending and top-selling charts in its launch week.
What people are liking
- The gloomy, detail-heavy setting of St. Amelia
- Puzzles that are genuinely tricky instead of hand-holdy
- A first-person view that ramps up the tension
- A narrative that borrows familiar Silent Hill beats but isn't afraid to go its own way
What's holding it back
- Stealth and combat mechanics that reviewers describe as janky, with enemies that don't always react sensibly
- A slow-burning opening stretch that tests patience before things pick up
- Some technical hiccups at launch and a rockier, more combat-heavy final act
Should you jump in now
If janky enemy AI is a dealbreaker for you, it might be worth waiting for a patch or two before diving in. But if you're after atmosphere, a genuinely creepy setting, and puzzles that make you think, Townfall is already delivering on the parts that matter most for a Silent Hill game.
This one's for horror fans who care more about mood and mystery than combat polish, and for anyone who's been enjoying Konami's slow rebuild of the Silent Hill name over the last couple of years.
Our take
Townfall matters less as a standalone horror game and more as proof that Konami's Silent Hill revival has legs beyond one big comeback title. Splitting the series across different studios and genres was a real gamble, and having Screen Burn's first-person, puzzle-heavy take land at "Mostly Positive" instead of falling apart suggests that gamble is paying off. The stealth and combat complaints sound like real friction rather than nitpicking, so this feels like a game that's one or two patches away from being a clear recommendation rather than a cautious one. Worth watching how it holds up over the next few weeks as the initial launch-week bugs get sorted.
Games mentioned
SILENT HILL: Townfall
$49.99 · 70% Steam