Silent Hill: Townfall Made Me Feel Guilty for Using a Shotgun

In Silent Hill: Townfall, one player's pacifist run turned into a guilt trip after discovering the tragic truth behind the monsters they gunned down.

Ever grabbed a shotgun in a horror game and felt like a total badass? That's the usual power fantasy, right? But what if the game made you feel like a monster instead? That's exactly what happened to me in Silent Hill: Townfall.

I'm the type of player who loves a good stealth challenge, so I spent most of my first playthrough avoiding weapons entirely. No pipes, no planks, not even a pistol—just my trusty CRTV and a whole lot of patience. My pacifist run was going great until I got my hands on the shotgun. You know the feeling: after hours of cowering and running, you finally get to be the danger. And I embraced it. Maybe a little too much.

In Richard's section of Townfall, you're climbing a 10-story office building, solving puzzles and fighting off a new monster called the widow. These creepy creatures have bloodied shrouds of flesh covering their faces and love to hide behind doors, under desks, or in any shadowy corner. They'll jump out, stab you with a knife, then scurry off to hide again. At first, their attacks didn't do much damage, so I figured I'd just live and let live. But soon, I couldn't take a step without one of them ambushing me. The final straw? They interrupted my loot hunting—a sacred pastime—so I decided to put that shotgun and my stockpile of ammo to good use.

I cleared every floor, making sure I could walk freely without being pestered. But then I looked down at the piles of dead bodies at my feet. Uh oh. I'd become the very monster Silent Hill warns about—succumbing to rage and perpetuating the cycle of anger and death. On closer inspection, these widows had photos of their deceased loved ones stapled to their bodies. People my character had indirectly, but essentially, killed due to his own greed and hubris. No wonder they were angry. Some of them might have even been hiding from me, and hunting them down with a shotgun wasn't exactly empathetic. Dammit—this is why I keep getting the bad ending.

Despite the moral crisis, this section ended up being one of my favorites. Screen Burn did an incredible job of crafting Richard in such a short time. Yes, he's clearly evil—pantomime levels of evil—but by the end, I genuinely believed he thought he was doing the right thing for the town and himself. Complex characters like this, who aren't built to be liked but to be examined, thrive in Silent Hill because of the nature of the curse. Richard has enough turmoil, inner strife, rage, and regret to power three different Silent Hills simultaneously. I would've loved to see more of how his twisted mind warped St. Amelia, but this section was enough for me.

Now, I don't think I'll ever look at a shotgun in a horror game the same way again. Have you played Silent Hill: Townfall? Did you feel guilty for blasting the widows, or did you embrace the carnage? Let us know in the comments!