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SILENT HILL: Townfall is a Fever Dream of Dead Tech

RagnarRox

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SILENT HILL: Townfall is out today, September 24th, and I got to play it early.
Steam: https://guilly.net/RagnarSTH
PS5: https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/c...

This video is my launch review: what it gets right about Silent Hill, why its fascination with old, humming machines resonated with me so much, and why the CRTV is the secret protagonist of the game for me.

We'll wander through its dense atmosphere, puzzle-design, its liminally unsettling dialogue, and the parts where Screenburn Interactive, formerly No Code really shines—when it feels like Silent Hill meets Stories Untold in the best of ways.
Light on spoilers, no major story reveals.

So dim the lights, grab something warm to drink, and let's take a walk through the fog.

[Chapter Timestamps]
00:00 Introduction
04:12 Review Beginning
11:40 When Screenburn Gets to Shine
12:57 Liminal Dialogue
14:09 What I don't like
16:05 Verdict
17:36 Why is this a Silent Hill?
21:22 Closing Words

[Links]
Support the channel:
www.patreon.com/RagnarRoxShow

[Production Credits]
Writing: Ragnar Ulricson
Captions (en): Mira Cox
Thumbnail art: hotcyder

[Music Credits]
Due to licensing, this video only uses footage and music from Silent Hill: Townfall and my own original or commissioned tracks and self-developed games.

Tracks played in the video:

Pilotpriest (SH: Townfall OST): Apology
Ragnar Ulricson: The Sliver, A Warm Place
Cecil Opia: Stains, Room, Sister with a Motherloving Firearm, Shame

20 Comments

@orangepoler 6 days ago

2:35 Hearing you say "six seven" unironically, in a normal and serious context, gave me the chills

@vohkaru131 5 days ago

4:32 "This image was removed at the publisher's request" :(

@felixrowan646 4 days ago

There are a few repeated dialogue lines that gave me the good kind of shivers down my spine throughout the game. Words that shift with context to be applicable to situations that seemed unrelated at first. There is a quiet horror in the connections made beneath the calmer moments that makes this game "feel" like a Silent Hill to me. More than the twitchy monsters or unsettling environments.

@unchpunchem8947 6 days ago

Not totally related to this specific video, but I love the way you use your NIN covers in your videos. They always fit so well

@ascension230 6 days ago

Richard’s part is amazing one of my favorite silent hill levels

@aria5614 6 days ago

Konami should have just Greenlit Silent Hills. It would have been a runaway smash success whether it was good or not.
Not to say this game is or isn't great. Just that Konami has doomed these games to forever live under that shadow.

@BlackIronPrison 6 days ago

When I was playing this it took a while for me to realise this is pure stealth, alien isolation and outlast style, I like that but I knew oh shit no one is going to like this

@Athlynne 5 days ago

I love the Red Squares email, that was a nice touch. Great vid as always, Ragnar, thanks!

@AniMana21 4 days ago

13:30 I honestly don't mind the non diagetic sounds because after a point in the game for me it was the main indicator I had for whether an enemy had spotted me and I needed to run.

@3ndlessL00p 5 days ago

In ma restless dreams, I see that toon
Mary Hill

@aliceberry2811 5 days ago

I love the cover of A Warm Place.

@ceri1341 5 days ago

12:25 Such a banger of a song.

@kenisss9352 4 days ago (edited)

It got me hooked as well. The sound design, the music, and the atmosphere is out of this world. I found the story a treat to unravel as well. Some people have negative things to say about the stealth but with patience it really does pay off in the end. I'd like to end my comment with a subtle nod to the game without really spoiling anything... "That's not the worst way to go." 😉

@orangepoler 6 days ago

Excellent. I had already watched some gameplay videos, but your review convinced me to try it out myself

@ManaAsh122 6 days ago

Silent Hill f had some lore implications that tied it to Silent Hill ,the town, for the record. The flower.

@RhonwenBear 5 days ago

Two Ragnar videos in one month? I am thrilled!

@stitchfan93 6 days ago

Excellent work ❤😊

@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898 3 days ago

I celebrate that Silent Hill has finally embraced what it tried to embrace in the 2000s, becoming an anthology series. Silent Hill is the name of a town, but it is also the title of an anthology; like Tales from the Crypt, in which not every story takes place in the titular Crypt. I want more of that and less of the old thing. The old thing is sacred. Should not be touched, except for a widescreen remaster, but do not touch anything, and please, do not remake any of the the original games. Specially not 2, the absolute best game ever made. But make new games around the entire world! Not the US, please, but everywhere else.

@AngelofGrace96 5 days ago

I really enjoyed this one. It doesn't matter to me that it's not set in the 'real' silent hill because the depth of the story, the way it draws on such real tragedies and issues more than makes up for it. Horror is always more scary when it's based in real life fears. That's why 2 was the most popular, and it's why I can foresee this one lasting a long while as well.