Silent Hill has absolutely seen a modern resurgence over the last few years. We got Bloober’s remake of Silent Hill 2 in 2024, Silent Hill f in 2025, and now, for the third year in a row, a new Silent Hill game will release in 2026. This time, Screen Burn and Annapurna Interactive have partnered with Konami in Silent Hill: Townfall.
Screen Burn is best known for Observation and Stories Untold, and the team was founded by former Alien: Isolation developers. Tackling the next Silent Hill entry is no small feat, but Screen Burn seems well-equipped to deliver a unique experience unlike anything we’ve seen before in the franchise. Townfall is unique as it is the first full-length game in the series to be in a first-person perspective, which completely shakes up what many longtime fans have come to expect.
At Summer Game Fest: Play Days 2026, I had the chance to experience a 30-minute hands-off preview of Silent Hill: Townfall ahead of its launch this September. I have quite a few questions that still haven’t been answered, though I guess that’s probably a good thing for a new Silent Hill entry.
Atmosphere is everything in Silent Hill, and Screen Burn has chosen to embrace that with a fresh location for the series. Townfall takes place in the fictional St. Amelia, Scotland, and there’s been incredible attention to detail here. Everything in this town has been created with authenticity at the top of mind, as that was priority one for the team. Every building you’ll find has been crafted in a way to align with Scotland and also the year 1996. This ideology even extends to puzzles. During the live preview, Simon found an old energy panel in the house that he needed to turn on. To get it working, you needed to find an electricity card and plug it in, which is apparently an actual thing in Scotland.
Another distinct feature in Townfall is the CRTV, which is Screen Burn’s new and original take on the radio. You can tune into a signal using the CRTV at any time, and this is used to deliver narrative elements, clues to puzzles, locations you need to go to, and much more. The team actually recorded the footage in-game, brought it outside, passed it through analog, and put it back in for an authentic effect as you scroll that really helps sell it. We saw the CRTV being used to scrub and find footage of a strange apartment, which was actually where Simon needed to go next. Additionally, it can locate and track enemies through buildings and walls, which is critical for survival.
Beyond the CRTV and the obvious cutscenes, another way Silent Hill: Townfall aims to help deliver its narrative is through Simon’s inner monologue, which is unspoken and written on the screen with his handwriting. The Screen Burn team described this as a method to deliver objective comments and in a narrative-centric way, as we normally wouldn’t get to know what the protagonist is thinking in a specific situation. It really helps bring you into the atmosphere and into Simon’s shoes as he navigates this weird town.
Many mechanics have been built around perspective. Since the game is in first person, Townfall can let the protagonist, Simon, peek around corners and cover in ways not possible with a third-person perspective or camera. I also found it interesting hearing the team explain how rooms in homes are actually built at a 1:1 scale because of there not being a third-person camera.
Combat wasn’t a focus of our preview, but we did see Simon acquire a weapon. I am interested to see if combat does end up being as much of a focus as in previous games, as right now it feels like there is an emphasis on sneaking around instead of bashing through enemies. Interestingly, you walk around with an IV inserted into your left arm the entire time, and it was revealed that you can be revived after death once without losing your life.
As it stands now, I definitely want to see more of Silent Hill: Townfall. I’m a huge fan of the atmosphere I’ve seen so far, as well as the setting, but I do want to see more combat and how that fits into things. Townfall takes a lot of big swings, so we’ll have to see if all those land when the game launches in September.
Silent Hill: Townfall is set to release on September 24 across PlayStation 5 and PC.
