Accessibility Review: Silent Hill: Townfall – PS5 Pro
Hello, dear readers,
Fans of horror games have another Silent Hill adventure to enjoy as Silent Hill: Townfall was released on September 24, 2026, for PlayStation 5, PC via Steam, and the Epic Games Store. Developed by Scottish studio Screen Burn Interactive and co-published by Annapurna Interactive and KONAMI, this is the first full-length game in the series to use a first-person perspective, completely changing how the player experiences the world and the gameplay.
Sadly, I could not play the game because of its lack of accessibility, but Alina did, and we are ready to share our impressions.
Story
The action takes place in 1996 and the story takes us to St. Amelia, a remote Scottish island. Here we follow Simon Ordell, our main character, who returns to the island with a mysterious mission to “put things right.”
As Simon explores the fog-covered town, we discover clues about its past and his connection to the events unfolding around him. A portable television called the CRTV plays an important role in uncovering hidden messages and fragments of the island’s history. But more on that below.
Gameplay
Townfall follows the standard Silent Hill recipe by combining exploration, puzzles, stealth, and combat, but as I said in the introduction, the first-person perspective makes encounters more tense, as enemies can approach from outside our limited field of view.
The CRTV is one of the main gameplay gimmicks, and by tuning it to different signals, we can detect nearby enemies and discover useful information. We must also examine our surroundings to solve puzzles and progress through the story.
As weapons and resources are limited, fighting is not always the best option. Sometimes, sneaking past enemies or finding a place to hide is the safest way forward.
Presentation
The fog-covered streets, disturbing creatures, and unsettling environments create the treacherous atmosphere expected from a Silent Hill game, but sound is also important, as we must listen for threats that might be approaching from outside our field of view.
The English voice acting features Jovan Adepo as Simon Ordell, Terry O’Quinn as Richard, and Kezia Burrows as Zoe. All of them are doing a great job in bringing to life their respective characters. On PlayStation 5, the 3D Audio, DualSense haptic feedback, and adaptive triggers add another layer to the atmospheric and immersive experience.
Accessibility
Unfortunately, Silent Hill: Townfall does not follow universal design guidelines and accessibility principles well enough to make it playable for totally blind players like myself.
There is no text-to-speech functionality or navigation assistance to help us explore the environment, locate important objects, or navigate the game world. Many puzzles rely on visual details, and Simon’s thoughts sometimes appear as on-screen text instead of being spoken aloud. This is disappointing when the game already features strong voice acting.
Modern games demonstrate that accessibility features can make complex experiences available to more people, but, sadly, Townfall leaves totally blind players without the tools needed to experience the adventure. Blind, visually impaired, and other disabled players will face significant, insurmountable, barriers.
Conclusion
With an intriguing mystery, tense exploration, and an atmospheric presentation, we are sure that Silent Hill: Townfall will find an audience among fans of the series and those looking for a new first-person survival-horror adventure. Sadly, due to the lack of accessibility features, a lot of potential players will not be able to join in the horror.
Review copy provided by Konami via CD Media
Victor Dima
