How to get past enemies in Silent Hill: Townfall
Much of a first playthrough is spent avoiding things rather than fighting them. Enemies are quick, but they turn corners badly and open doors slowly, noise is something you can aim, and on the lower difficulties a plank and a well-timed block can get you out of trouble.
It comes up in reviews on both sides. One post on the Steam forum borrows a streamer’s line for the complaint, “the stealth here is a Waiting Simulator”, and it credits the line to MoistCritical; the tricks below are mostly about waiting less. Counted from Steam reviews, most recent in English · Thread: Steam discussions: Is stealth really that bad?
How being spotted works
Lean first, move second. The lean is free rather than locked to a few angles, so you can crouch and dip lower, or rise to look over a fence. An enemy that only half sees you stares before it commits, and that pause is the window to get back behind cover. Per IGN: 8 things we wish we knew before playing
Break the chase with corners and doors
IGN’s advice after finishing the game is blunt: “Enemies are fast in this game, but they don’t take corners well, and it takes time for them to open unlocked doors.” In a pinch, IGN says, a room with a lock on its door will do, not only the dedicated hiding spots. Two limits to plan around: you cannot read the map from inside a hiding spot, and “you cannot open a door while your portable TV is out”, so put it away before you run. Per IGN: 8 things we wish we knew before playing
Players on the Steam forum add the other half: some stretches are quicker to run than to sneak, but only past slow enemies. “Any enemy that looks like it’s fast at a patrol will be twice as fast trying to chase you and kill you.” Posted in Steam discussions: Is stealth really that bad?
Noise: what gives you away, and what you can use
| What you do | Noise | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Crouch-walking | Quieter | Muffles your footsteps when you have to follow an enemy past a gap. |
| Running near enemies | Noticed | The publisher's own tips warn about it. |
| Opening a door | Noticed | Doors make noise; do not open one right beside an enemy. |
| Gunfire | Noticed | It does alert enemies, but IGN found the reach smaller than expected on Normal. |
| A thrown bottle or brick | A lure | Throw it where you want them to look, or at an enemy to stun it for a moment. |
| A radio | A lure | Turn it on and step away; they come to it. |
| A car alarm | A lure | Hit the car, or throw something at it from a distance. |
The handheld television doubles as a radar. A new signal chirps, and it is often an enemy, so check it before you fire. What else the device does is on the CRTV page. Per IGN: 8 things we wish we knew before playing · Stun from IGN review · Radios from PowerPyx: trophy guide and roadmap · Running noise from Annapurna on Steam: Ten tips for Survival
Before you pick up a key item
Look for the nearest hiding spot first. IGN warns that “this game loves to spawn enemies the moment that item is in your inventory”. Saving at a phone before the pickup costs a few seconds; the game keeps autosaves, but the publisher’s own tips still say to save often. Per IGN: 8 things we wish we knew before playing · Saving advice from Annapurna on Steam: Ten tips for Survival
The one that will not leave
One enemy breaks the rules above: the large one you meet in the altered medical centre, around the two valves in chapter 8. After the first valve, VGC’s walkthrough goes back downstairs, throws a brick or bottle against the far wall to draw it down, then runs upstairs for the second valve while it investigates. The valves themselves are on the puzzles page. Per VGC: the blood bag transfusion door
- Shut it in, early. One player’s video does it right at the start of the section: they “ran directly to the room with the hole, lured him in, waited and locked the door behind him”. The uploader says to have an IV bag equipped, and commenters report it can turn up again later, so treat it as a head start rather than a fix. Shown in YouTube: locking the medical centre stalker in a room
- Stun it and run. A Reddit player reports that “the flare gun stuns him for 5-8 seconds”, and a pistol shot for about a second, which is enough to get past. The same thread says a thrown bottle or brick only holds its attention for a couple of seconds. Posted in Reddit r/silenthill: the stalker in the valve section
When fighting is the better call
Blocks and counters. The publisher’s tips put it plainly: “Most enemies will counter attack in melee, so get ready to block”. Ranged attacks can be blocked too. One player below Nightmare reports clubbing through most enemies with the planks lying around.
Clubs wear out: IGN says a plank takes out two enemies at most before it breaks, and blocking wears it too. Grabs cannot be blocked at all, and ammunition stays scarce. The same player switched to Nightmare to make hiding matter; the publisher suggests “go for Normal difficulty on your first playthrough”.
Per Annapurna on Steam: Ten tips for Survival · Durability from IGN: 8 things we wish we knew before playing · Players in Steam discussions: Is stealth really that bad?. Where every weapon is, and who can carry it, is on the weapons page; the difficulty settings are on the combat page.
Zoe’s stretches
Zoe’s first stretch gives you no club at all; a plank turns up in the medical centre in her second. Players disagree about how hard or how long those stretches are, and Zoe has only two of the 17 chapters. In New Game Plus she can pick up an axe near the start, and PowerPyx says her chapters become very easy with it; see the New Game Plus page. Her two chapters are also where one trophy forbids healing; the chapter numbers are on the chapters page. Per PowerPyx: trophy guide and roadmap · The disagreement, in Steam discussions: Is stealth really that bad?
Trophies for doing it well
- Isolating Experience: Wait in a hiding spot for 60 seconds. 38.7% of Steam players have it.
- Static Distractions: Distract 10 Enemies with a radio in the world. 12.2% of Steam players have it.
- Lured Off Track: Distract 20 Enemies with a bottle. 15.9% of Steam players have it.
- Alarmingly Effective: Successfully distract an enemy by setting off a car alarm. 22.7% of Steam players have it.
All four come from playing this way. The rest of the list, with a checklist, is on the trophies page. Rates from Steam global achievement stats