SILENT HILL: Townfall vs SILENT HILL f: Which Should You Play
How Townfall and SILENT HILL f differ in length, structure, combat and horror style, and which one makes the better first Silent Hill for a newcomer.
The two newest Silent Hill entries are less alike than they look. Both are standalone, both were made by outside studios, and both split their audiences. The practical difference is in length, environment and how much of the game you spend avoiding a fight rather than winning one.
What each game is
SILENT HILL: Townfall is set in 1996 on the fictional Scottish island of St. Amelia, a fishing village with a real-world counterpart in Fife. You play Simon Ordell, returning to put something right, and the CRTV device is your main tool for reading the Otherworld. The developer has confirmed a structure with five outcomes.
SILENT HILL f released on 25 September 2025 and is set in 1960s Japan, in the secluded town of Ebisugaoka, following Shimizu Hinako. It was written by Ryukishi07 with music by Akira Yamaoka, and it shipped on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam and the Epic Games Store.
Where they actually differ
Length and pacing. Townfall is the shorter, tighter one, and its stealth sections carry the middle. SILENT HILL f spreads its horror over a longer story with more combat.
How you deal with threats. Townfall leans on evasion and hiding, with indestructible pursuers in the late game. SILENT HILL f gives you more weapons and more reason to fight.
Setting and tone. A wet Scottish coastal town against a rural Japanese village drowned in fog. They feel nothing like each other, which is the strongest argument for playing both.
Price. Townfall is the cheaper of the two, and IGN’s price estimate for f sat higher at launch.
Which to play first
Start with Townfall if you want the shorter, more modern-feeling horror and you are comfortable with stealth. Start with SILENT HILL f if you want a longer story, more combat and the series’ rural-Japan experiment.
Neither requires the other, and neither requires the older games. The series connection page covers where they sit in the wider order.
What both attract criticism for
Both titles drew complaints about performance at launch. Townfall’s developer shipped a shader precompilation fix on 30 September, covered on the performance page.
Reviews of Townfall also single out its stealth pacing. A review with more than 900 upvotes describes it as a test of how long a person will crouch behind a wall.
FAQ
Do I need either game to understand the other? No. Both are standalone.
Is Townfall a full-length game? It is shorter than f, and the full game question covers the pricing debate.
Which is scarier? That is subjective. Townfall leans on pursuit, f on atmosphere and story.