Updated

Updated · Polygon · Sep 21

Silent Hill: Townfall Scores 81 on Metacritic as Critics Praise Atmosphere but Fault Stealth

Updated

Updated · Polygon · Sep 21

Silent Hill: Townfall Scores 81 on Metacritic as Critics Praise Atmosphere but Fault Stealth

Q: Why are loyal fans being forced to completely start over on the highly anticipated Switch 2?

Loyal fans are being forced to start over on Switch 2 because Square Enix is treating several upgraded releases as separate products rather than simple next-gen patches. In the case of Dragon Quest XI S on Switch 2, the publisher has explicitly said there is no upgrade pack for owners of the original Switch version and no save-data transfer between Switch and Switch 2. That means players who already spent 50 to 100 hours on the original Switch edition cannot carry that progress into the new version, even though the Switch 2 release mainly adds technical improvements such as a 60fps performance mode at 1080p and a 30fps quality mode at 1440p, plus graphics optimizations. To access those enhancements, they must buy the game again and begin a new save. What is frustrating players further is that this is not a hardware limitation. Other games on Switch and Switch 2 have shown that free or paid upgrade paths and save transfers are possible. Even Square Enix has handled other titles differently, with some games offering more consumer-friendly treatment. That inconsistency has become the core complaint around Dragon Quest, Octopath, and similar releases. So the issue is not that Switch 2 cannot support continuity. It is that Square Enix has chosen, for some titles, not to provide it. For fans, the result is paying again for a separate Switch 2 version and abandoning existing progress just to get better performance on newer hardware.

3 articles · Updated · Polygon · Sep 21

Konami’s Silent Hill: Townfall opened to solid but mixed reviews ahead of its Sept. 24 launch, landing at 81 on Metacritic and 82 on OpenCritic.
Critics broadly praised Screen Burn’s first-person, Scottish-set spin on the series for its oppressive atmosphere, detailed St. Amelia setting and puzzle design, with IGN scoring it 8/10 and PC Gamer 89.
The main drag on scores was gameplay: several reviewers said crude stealth and instant-death encounters with The Weight broke momentum and turned initially tense monster sequences into frustration.
Townfall still trails last year’s Silent Hill f, which scored 86, suggesting Konami’s push into new locations and styles is winning interest more than unanimous acclaim.