Silent Hill: Townfall (PS5) review — CRTV tracking fuels horror

Konami assigned development of Silent Hill: Townfall to Scottish studio Screen Burn Interactive. The game is a first-person survival horror title on PS5 that follows protagonist Simon Ordell through the fog-blanketed seaside town of St. Amelia. The campaign runs about 15 hours and centers on a handheld CRTV device used to locate enemies.

St. Amelia opens as an apparently abandoned town. Environmental clues such as posters complaining about the Chapman Energy Group, handwritten notes, emails and notices at medical sites indicate recent unrest and strain on local health services. The game delivers background detail through these documents and in-game displays rather than through extended cutscenes.

Gameplay focuses on exploration and use of the CRTV, a hybrid television and radio. Players tune the device to different frequencies to view low-resolution video feeds and hear audio cues tied to enemy types. Each enemy corresponds to a specific frequency, requiring players to switch channels to detect multiple threats. The CRTV also provides directional signals and occasional visual hints for environmental puzzles.

The game introduces mechanics gradually. After the CRTV becomes available, enemy encounters increase, and the design emphasizes stealth and tracking over direct confrontation. Melee weapons such as a wooden plank and metal pipe can be used but will break after repeated use. Players gain firearms later, including a revolver and a double-barreled shotgun, both supplied with limited ammunition and a risk of attracting nearby enemies.

Townfall includes at least one enemy that cannot be defeated and has a one-hit-kill attack, requiring avoidance. The game features sections set in an Alternate world, a darker version of the town that changes layouts and enemy placement.

A second playable character, Zoe, appears in the game’s second chapter. Zoe is a healthcare worker who cannot use the CRTV or melee weapons. Her kit includes a pager with a simplified tracking function and throwable bottles or rocks to distract enemies. Her sections emphasize different movement and evasion tactics than Simon’s segments.

The review identified areas of criticism. Some late-game puzzles were described as ambiguous, and certain Alternate world areas have complex, maze-like layouts with very low lighting and few visual landmarks, which can make navigation difficult. The conditions required to unlock the game’s different endings were reported as unclear.

A review scored Silent Hill: Townfall 9 out of 10, citing the CRTV mechanic, the sense of place in St. Amelia and the way new mechanics and threats are introduced across the campaign.