The fog is lifting, but what’s underneath is more unsettling than we imagined. After years of cryptic teasers and radio silence, Konami finally pulled back the curtain on Silent Hill: Townfall during the February 12, 2026, Silent Hill Transmission.
Developed by Screen Burn Interactive (formerly No Code, the masters behind Stories Untold) and published by Annapurna Interactive, Townfall is looking like the most experimental and atmospheric entry the series has seen in decades.
Here is a deep dive into the St. Amelia reveal, the new protagonist, and why this “purgatory” feels a little too close to home.
Welcome to St. Amelia: A Scottish Nightmare
One of the biggest surprises of the reveal was the setting. Moving away from the traditional American Northeast, Townfall takes place in St. Amelia, a desolate coastal harbor town in Scotland.
The developers at Screen Burn mentioned that the town is inspired by real-life locations like St. Monans. By using the “Haar” (a thick sea fog common in Scotland) as a visual reference, the team has managed to make the classic Silent Hill atmosphere feel fresh yet familiar. The isolation of a dying fishing village provides the perfect backdrop for the psychological horror the series is known for.
Who is Simon Ordell?
The Transmission introduced us to our new protagonist, Simon Ordell. Simon arrives back at St. Amelia, encountering a town lying quiet beneath a heavy fog, seemingly abandoned but not at rest. The trailer shows him wearing a hospital wristband and carrying an IV bag, leading fans to speculate that Simon might be trapped in a medical or psychological purgatory.
Simon isn’t a soldier or a superhero; he’s a man weighed down by a heavy secret. His dialogue suggests a deep-rooted guilt, a core theme that aligns Townfall with the narrative DNA of Silent Hill 2.
The CRTV: Modernizing the Radio
In classic Silent Hill, your radio static warned you of monsters. In Townfall, we have the CRTV—a handheld “Pocket Television” that uses retro VHS-style aesthetics to help you survive.
Director Jon McKellan explained that the CRTV isn’t just a radar. It’s an interactive tool used to:
- Tune into unstable signals to solve puzzles.
- Detect threats through visual static and audio distortion.
- Uncover fragments of the past through grainy video playback.
A Terrifying Shift: First-Person Perspective
In a departure from the recent Silent Hill 2 Remake, Townfall is experienced entirely in first-person. This shift makes the close-quarters exploration of St. Amelia’s crumbling buildings feel suffocatingly intimate.
However, don’t expect a “walking simulator.” The developers confirmed that Townfall features traditional combat and puzzles. While evasion and stealth are highly encouraged, Simon will have access to a limited set of tools and weapons to defend himself against the “blade-headed” and “IV-drip” monsters seen in the trailer.
When Can We Play It?
While Konami stopped short of giving an exact day, they confirmed that Silent Hill: Townfall is slated for a late 2026 release.
The game will be available on PlayStation 5 and PC (Steam/Epic). If you’re a PS5 player, the team promised heavy integration with the DualSense controller, using haptic feedback to let you “feel” the entities as they draw near Simon in the fog.
The Elephant in the Room: Where was Final Fantasy?
While Townfall stole the show, many fans (myself included) left the 85-minute State of Play feeling empty. Despite rampant rumors of a Final Fantasy IX Remake and the official reveal of the FF7 Remake Part 3 title, Square Enix was completely silent. In a week where the “fog” was supposed to lift, it seems the future of Final Fantasy is still very much obscured.
The Bottom Line
With Silent Hill f having launched in 2025 and the SH2 Remake still dominating conversations, Townfall represents the “experimental” side of Konami’s yearly release strategy. It’s gritty, it’s retro, and it feels like the kind of psychological horror that made us fall in love with this franchise in the first place.
What do you think of the move to Scotland? Is first-person the right call for Silent Hill? Let us know in the comments!