Silent Hill: Townfall is set to deliver a distinctly Scottish take on the acclaimed horror series, with developer Screen Burn aiming to embed the game's unsettling psychological horror into the fabric of its Highland setting. Glaswegian studio Screen Burn, previously known as No Code, has focused on creating a believable and tangible environment in the fictional town of St. Amelia, drawing deeply from their own upbringings and past experiences.
"We wanted St. Amelia to feel like a real place," stated game director Jon McKellan. "And I think, as with most writing, you write what you know, and it made sense for us to dig deep into our upbringings, into our past, and try and build a place that felt believable. To make the player care about this place, you need it to be believable."
The game's authenticity is bolstered by meticulous attention to detail, incorporating elements familiar to many in the UK, such as charity boxes and even specific products sourced from period-accurate Argos catalogues. Set in the 1990s, Townfall deliberately eschews modern technology, relying instead on analog tools like a portable CRT television to solve puzzles and navigate the environment. This choice enhances the horror by limiting the player's reliance on infallible tech.
"They're kind of frail, they're unreliable," McKellan explained about the game's technology. "I think all of that speaks really well to horror because you get these tools and they help you, but they're never going to be good enough to get you out of a jam. Relying on the analogue, it allows you to play within those limitations, which work well with horror."
The game also incorporates Scotland's famously inclement weather, which contributes to the dour and atmospheric tone of St. Amelia. This weather, often a source of national identity and even pride for Scots, is used to create a sense of unease, making indoor spaces feel safer in contrast to the mist-shrouded, potentially hostile streets.
Unlike more superficial portrayals of Scotland in media, Townfall opts for an understated authenticity. The developers have drawn parallels to the grittier aspects of Scottish life depicted in films like Trainspotting, exploring themes such as medical trauma, the decline of small communities, and the social impact of historical events, rather than relying on clichés. "The medical trauma is something that Simon's clearly involved with," McKellan noted. "Without going into too much detail, I think again you kind of write what you know, and a lot of the experiences that Simon and the characters have have come from a real place and come from something that's pretty authentic in terms of how we cope with those things."
These harrowing themes are presented in visceral ways, such as a scene involving a character connected to a large tube, evoking a sense of both cosmic and psychological dread. McKellan emphasized the importance of relatability in horror: "The more you can relate to a problem, the more you can understand it. The more you can be frightened of it. The more you can be affected by it."
The narrative centers on Simon, an American outsider, which mirrors the player's experience of discovering St. Amelia's mysteries. This shared perspective ensures that both the player and Simon uncover the town's secrets in tandem. The first-person perspective is crucial to this immersive approach, fostering a sense of intimacy with the environment and heightening the horror by placing the player directly in Simon's shoes.
"It gives us a kind of intimacy with the environment that is hard to do in third-person," McKellan said. "With the environments we've got, because we're in first-person, we didn't have to scale everything up. We didn't have to make the doors wider to let the camera through with you. We could keep everything to the right scale and make it feel quite dense and claustrophobic."
Despite playing in a bright, busy environment, the atmosphere of St. Amelia, its detailed environments, and the unsettling blend of the familiar and the horrifying captivated the previewer, making them feel as though they were experiencing the horror story firsthand. Silent Hill: Townfall is scheduled to release on September 24.