There’s something about a spine-tingling atmosphere and the fear of being scared that draws me into playing horror games. There’s something captivating about removing the power fantasy some video games have and putting you into a more vulnerable, hunted situation, and Silent Hill’s tension makes those frightening shenanigans even more terrifying. When I saw Silent Hill: Townfall was changing the formula by Resident Evil 7-ing the franchise, I was intrigued, and now I can wholeheartedly recommend it. Best of all, you can get a Steam key for cheap at launch.
Despite the first-person perspective giving me the aforementioned RE7 vibes, playing Silent Hill: Townfall is a lot closer to Alien: Isolation or Outlast—which, thankfully, are some of my favorite horror games of all time. Set in 1996, you play as Simon Ordell, who finds himself in the fog-covered Scottish town of St. Amelia. Stop me if any of this sounds familiar, but wait—he’s in Scotland, not the United States of America. So, it’s slightly different.
Thankfully, you’re not just skulking around this fog-smothered location without a helping hand. You’re armed with an old handheld CRTV, which functions as an enemy locator and a helpful tool for puzzles, a la Alien: Isolation’s Motion Tracker. Less sci-fi, more old-school. As Simon, you’re not some warrior who can shred through monsters, but you can fight back, opting for melee weapons like trusty pipes to help you do your dirty work.
