During yesterday's State of Play broadcast, KONAMI and Annapurna Interactive have unveiled the first gameplay trailer for Silent Hill: Townfall. The spin-off psychological horror game was announced back in 2022, and this is the first time we learn anything concrete about it. Meanwhile, the development team, originally known as No Code (the same ones behind Stories Untold and Observation), has rebranded to Screen Burn.
More information was revealed in the subsequent Silent Hill Transmission, where the game was described as a full-length, self-contained adventure set in cold Scotland and played entirely in first-person, marking a significant shift from the series' usual third-person perspective.
Writer and director Jon McKellan said:
Our main objectives were to make a game that could feel specific to the team who made it, to bring something new to the series in terms of setting and to really think about what Silent Hill, both in concept and gameplay, could look like through a Screen Burn lens.
According to Screen Burn, the first-person perspective fundamentally reshapes how players experience Silent Hill's horror. Lead Game Designer Graeme McKellan emphasized that the limited field of view creates tension through what happens off-screen, noting that what happens off-screen is sometimes even scarier than what happens right in front of the player.
Combat offers familiar tools to players, such as planks of wood, pipes, and firearms, but also introduces meaningful choices between confrontation and evasion. A peeking gameplay mechanic allows the protagonist, Simon Ordell, to lean carefully around corners and over walls, assessing threats before committing to action.
Screen Burn's signature analog technology aesthetic manifests in the CRTV, a handheld pocket television that reimagines Silent Hill's iconic radio. Players physically bring up the device and manually tune through frequencies to discover narrative content and detect enemy positions. Graeme McKellan added:
We really wanted the player to bring it up and actually use it. The analog tech, that's kind of been my visual calling card. Most of the things we've done, even in our previous games, has been as close to real-life technology as we can get.
The developers have described the main character of Silent Hill: Townfall as a layered, uncertain, and deeply human being who returns to the island town of St. Amelia after receiving a mysterious phone call asking him to come to the island and put things to rest.
Jon McKellan confirmed guilt serves as a central theme, explored through different manifestations:
Guilt is a strong theme throughout Silent Hill's many stories, and I wanted to dive deeper into the various different ways that guilt can manifest. Where it comes from, what it can do to people, and how, if you can, come to accept or resolve it.
The narrative maintains Screen Burn's signature mystery-driven storytelling, with players gradually uncovering both small details and major reveals as they meet other characters whose connections to Simon prove crucial. Some mysteries resolve as the game progresses, while others will only deepen, inviting players to explore every corner of the town.
The inspiration for St. Amelia draws heavily from real locations along Scotland's east coast, particularly fishing villages like St Monans. The development team conducted extensive location scouting, capturing not just visuals but the atmosphere, smell, wind, and sound of these coastal settlements.
A key inspiration came from the so-called Haar, a dense fog that rolls in along Scotland's east coast. Jon McKellan recalled an early research trip where the fog became so thick that he and his brother lost sight of the coast and couldn't determine which direction it was. The fog is, of course, a fundamental element of mystery in the whole series, so it was a perfect fit for Silent Hill: Townfall, too.
Screen Burn only employs around 30 developers, but this is still going to be a full-length game, and publisher Annapurna Interactive said it's going to be one of the biggest games they've published yet.
Silent Hill: Townfall is in development for PlayStation 5 and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store). While the press release listed a "To Be Announced" release date, the store pages specifically mention 2026.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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