New Silent Hill Game Inspired by Fife Fishing Village
The upcoming release in one of the world’s most renowned video game franchises draws inspiration from a small fishing village in Fife, Scotland.
Silent Hill: Townfall is set in the fictional town of St Amelia, which is modeled on the real village of St Monans located in the East Neuk of Fife.
The game was developed by Screen Burn, a Glasgow-based studio with approximately 30 employees, who described Townfall as their "biggest and most ambitious game yet."
The survival horror series has achieved global success, selling millions of copies since its debut in 1999, published by the Japanese multinational Konami.
The franchise’s most recent installment, a spin-off titled Silent Hill f, sold one million copies on its release day in September 2025.
With Townfall scheduled for release later this year, it is anticipated that up to one million players could virtually explore the streets of St Monans, a village with a real population of just over 1,100 residents.
Game Trailer Reveals Atmospheric Fishing Village
A trailer for Silent Hill: Townfall showcases a fishing village enveloped in haar, a cold sea fog typical of Scotland’s east coast.
The visuals include a harbour scattered with lobster boxes, boats gently floating on the water, and colourful bunting hanging along the dimly lit streets of St Amelia.
Signs near a monument display messages such as "let the ferries in" and "this town is ours," yet the village appears deserted.
Developer Insights on Setting and Storytelling
Jon McKellan, co-founder of Screen Burn, explained the team’s desire to introduce a new setting to the Silent Hill series.
In a recent broadcast on the Silent Hill YouTube channel, McKellan stated that the original plan was to keep the location ambiguous within northern Europe.
"There was a drive to create something that felt authentic to us and it kind of felt natural to bring it home."
He emphasized the importance of using the location to enhance the narrative, noting that the team carefully studied the village’s characteristics to authentically recreate it within the Silent Hill universe.
"It's the smell and the wind and the sound of the place, all of that together is what you're trying to recreate,"
McKellan added that the story’s development focused heavily on the town’s isolation.
"When I started to write the story about what this town was, what happened to this town, the isolation was a big factor.
There's like an existential dread that comes with that. Silent Hill has always had a sense of not being able to leave the town, and face why you're there."
He also highlighted the significance of accurately depicting the haar fog and how it obscures the player’s vision as a key atmospheric element.
Artistic Recreation of St Monans
Paul Abbott, the game’s art director, reflected on how the misty environment evoked memories of early morning walks to school in a small fishing village during his childhood.
"It's a beautifully epic, grey, drizzly environment and we're bringing that to the game,"
Abbott noted the team’s meticulous efforts to replicate identifiable features of the village, including winding alleyways and the textures of the piers.
Developer Reflections and Release Information
McKellan described the opportunity to contribute to the Silent Hill franchise as a "genuine honour."
"It's not an opportunity we ever thought we'd get, but it's one we knew we all wanted right away,"
The game is slated for release later in 2026.
