Silent Hill: Townfall - a stealth horror set in British ruins, disturbing and promising

Rock Paper Shotgun played *Silent Hill: Townfall*, the new installment in the franchise developed by No Code. A stealth horror set in the ruins of an ordinary England—and that’s exactly what the series needed to rediscover.

A franchise that had been gasping for breath for years

Since the disappearance of Silent Hills in 2015 and Hideo Kojima’s departure—along with the cancellation of one of the most anticipated projects in video game history—the Silent Hill franchise has endured a desert crossing worthy of the fog that envelops its streets. Konami has tried repeatedly to revive it (Silent Hill 2 Remake by Bloober Team, Silent Hill f in Japan, Ascension), with mixed results. Townfall was perhaps the project on which everyone pinned the most hope—and anxiety.

Developed by No Code (the Scottish studio behind Stories Untold and Observation), Silent Hill: Townfall moves away from the mythologized America of the original games to take root in something unexpected: an ordinary England. Abandoned suburban houses. Disused office corridors. Banality as a source of dread.

What RPS’s impressions reveal

Rock Paper Shotgun describes an experience of stealth survival horror—you avoid threats more than you confront them, slipping through confined spaces, listening. What stands out is the deliberate contrast between the latent violence of the creatures and the prosaic, almost comforting setting (hence the article’s title: “I found solace”). British banality—peeling wallpaper, 80s carpet, dishes piled in a sink—serves as the backdrop to something irrational and threatening.

It’s precisely the approach that made the early Silent Hill games brilliant: the horror doesn’t come from the spectacular monster, but from what the ordinary environment makes you feel when it starts to warp.

No Code: the right studio for this project?

No Code has proven with Stories Untold and Observation that it can generate atmospheric tension in confined spaces with minimal visual means. The studio knows how to work with psychological discomfort. Less certain is whether it can scale up to a Konami production—will Townfall be the coherent vision of an indie studio, or a diluted hybrid product?

Early impressions suggest No Code has maintained its identity. The pacing is slow, atmosphere is paramount, and stealth seems better thought out than in most genre clones.

Our preliminary verdict

We’re excited. The art direction is bold—choosing ordinary England over a ghostly America is a strong editorial gamble, and the first images suggest it works. No Code is among the rare indie studios capable of building an atmosphere without resorting to cheap tricks.

Keep a close eye on this one. No release date has been confirmed yet—but Townfall has climbed back onto our list of the franchise’s most anticipated titles since the original Silent Hill 2.