Developer Screen Burn and publisher Konami have celebrated the critical acclaim garnered by Silent Hill: Townfall with the release of a brand-new trailer. The trailer, which you can check out below, comes in at just over a minute and a half in length, and shows off various scenes from throughout the game, some of the horrors players will get to face, and what critics have said about the horror experience since its release.
Silent Hill: Townfall is the latest release in Konami’s larger attempts to revive the horror franchise alongside games like Silent Hill f and Silent Hill 2 Remake. The title takes place in the year 1996 and puts players in the shoes of Simon Ordell, who finds himself in St. Amelia, Scotland. He is drawn to the town to “put things right”, referencing a dark past where Simon’s actions may have had major effects on the Scottish town.
Along with classic horror gameplay in first-person where players explore their surroundings, solve puzzles, and even take on some creepy monsters, Silent Hill: Townfall also has major emphasis on the technology of the mid-1990s. This means that things like blocky CRT TVs and boxy computers play a major role in not only the aesthetics of the title, but in gameplay as well, since players will have to interact with these technologies as they make their way through the game.
Writer for the game Jon McKellan discussed the studio’s decision to go with 1996 as the main setting for Silent Hill: Townfall, calling it the perfect setting for horror since players don’t have access to modern technology that can help them avoid trouble and even escape from precarious situations.
“It’s almost like the perfect time for horror where you don’t quite have enough technology to help you. You don’t have a smartphone. You don’t have maps on your device to help you get around, but it’s also not so far back that you don’t have anything at all.”
McKellan also spoke about the team’s history of incorporating analogue technology into its games, which extends into Silent Hill: Townfall thanks to its setting. “Especially, like, Screen Burn’s history, our games are quite, you know, dealing with archaic technology and old computers, and we were able to bring some of that into Townfall by setting it in a period where that kind of tech is new for Silent Hill, but not too modern.”
“It feels like the right time period for that. A couple of different factors all made the ’90s feel like the right time for horror.”
Silent Hill: Townfall is available on PC and PS5. The title also marks Konami’s larger strategy of having the concept of Silent Hill evolve beyond taking place in a particular geographic location. This was last discussed by Silent Hill f writer Ryukishi07, who said that “we came to the conclusion that Silent Hill is not just the name of a place; it is a phenomenon.”
In the meantime, the producer for the Silent Hill franchise, Motoi Okamoto, is already “looking at a number of projects” for second- and third-wave releases for the franchise’s revival.
