The Final Chapter | Silent Hill: townfall

We finished Silent Hill: Townfall tonight, and unfortunately the finale brought back almost everything that had been frustrating me throughout the game. After Chapter 5 finally gave me more agency and made the gameplay feel fresh again, Chapter 6 returned to the constant hiding, waiting, and running from enemies that had been wearing me down for most of the playthrough. The atmosphere was still excellent and the story was still interesting, but the gameplay kept killing the momentum. Most of the puzzles were manageable, although one late-game puzzle finally forced me to get some help. The final boss was also pretty difficult, but thankfully I looked up a few strategies beforehand and avoided getting completely stuck at the finish line. We ended up getting the middle/mediocre ending, and afterward I learned that the best ending requires you to avoid killing enemies and find more clues. I found 75 of 85 clues, but killed 81 enemies — which means the game essentially wanted me to lean even harder into the exact stealth-heavy playstyle I liked the least. We watched the good ending afterward, and honestly, it didn’t change my feelings much. Townfall had so much going for it: incredible atmosphere, a compelling mystery, strong environments, and some genuinely good puzzles. But the core gameplay mechanics undermined too much of that for me. Final impression: around a 4/10, and maybe even a little lower after learning how the ending system works.