The New Silent Hill Is Building Off One of Silent Hill f’s Best Ideas

Silent Hill: Townfall is set to bring players into a new horrifying location, seemingly continuing a direction for the series that Silent Hill f leaned into. The trailer for Silent Hill: Townfall is full of the kind of dread and horror that fans have come to expect from the long-running series, but the reveal that the plot is taking place in the seabound town of St. Amelia came as something of a minor surprise. While Silent Hill f had forgone the usual setting of the New England town, other recent entries like the Silent Hill 2 remake leaned heavily on the original location and its sense of atmosphere.

However, that was one of the most intriguing and effective elements of Silent Hill f, which proved the core concept behind the series could be applied to different locations and tell different kinds of stories. Silent Hill f felt wholly unique from the rest of the series as a result, even if the tone of the game’s narrative and style of scares felt consistent with the larger series. Silent Hill: Townfall is seemingly following a similar trajectory, which is a promising development for the series and its future. This approach could really help justify Konami’s apparent plans to continue to release more entries in the series than ever before, all while keeping fans happy but giving developers room to tell their own stories.

Silent Hill Is A State Of Mind Instead Of Just A Town

Silent Hill: Townfall seems to be set outside of the borders of the titular town, which may actually be a good sign for the future of the franchise. In the early games in the series Silent Hill, it was very much a specific location, drawing people in either through circumstance (such as Henry Mason’s car crash) or through past trauma (when it plays on the happy memories of James Sunderland to draw him into its grasp). While other games had toyed with the idea of setting their adventures in other locations, many Silent Hill games were truly committed to the idea that Silent Hill is both a specific geographical location and a mysterious space in between the world.

However, the games have always benefited from highlighting how it’s also a state of mind above all else, with that approach informing the characters, story, and themes. Silent Hill f did that more than ever before, relocating the action to Japan. In the process, the game did a great job of infusing the franchise’s well-worked approach to horror with the cultural touchstone and unique elements of a 1960s Japanese village.

Silent Hill: Townfall seems to be doing something similar, introducing the seaside town of St. Amelia, with an apparent emphasis on Simon Ordell’s inability to fully comprehend the circumstances around his life and the connection to the town over any lingering questions of lore about the original Silent Hill town. The trailer for the game, revealed at the Sony State of Play presentation, suggests that the title will use the natural isolation of the setting to full effect. It also sets an intriguing precedent for the series that could pay real dividends for future games.

Silent Hill Doesn’t Need To Be Set In Silent Hill

One of the things that makes Silent Hill an effective example of horror storytelling is its mysterious qualities. Each person’s experiences with the town are shaped by their own histories and traumas, leading to all sorts of unique monsters and unsettling visuals. The connective tissue of the foreboding fog serves as a great collective signifier for the town’s influence, but keeping players locked into that singular American location was eventually going to force the series to primarily remain in that setting.

Silent Hill f proved that the overarching tenor and tone of the series can be adjusted to fit different places and cultures, even trading in the traditional and timeless American vibes for a specific era and confronting cultural norms. Silent Hill: Townfall already seems to be doing something similar, rooting itself firmly in the 1990s and introducing monsters that seem to be rooted in some sort of medical emergency — befitting a main character who the trailer hints has been in a hospital recently.

It’s a good move for the series that could seriously help the games avoid repetition, a serious concern now that the Konami series is set to have a more regular release schedule. It’s also an approach that could benefit different developers coming in and putting their own stamp on the franchise, similar to how NeoBards Entertainment used Silent Hill f to tell a story consistent with the overarching franchise but still undeniably their own. Especially if fans want Silent Hill to continue to evolve, this element could be key to ensuring that each new entry feels fresh – and it’s a promising development to see at the heart of Silent Hill: Townfall.