Upcoming Silent Hill Game Draws Inspiration from Quaint Fife Fishing Village

The forthcoming installment in one of the world’s most prominent video game franchises takes cues from a charming fishing community located in Fife.

Silent Hill: Townfall unfolds in a fictional setting known as St Amelia, which is modeled after the actual village of St Monans in Fife’s East Neuk region.

Developed by Screen Burn, a Glasgow-based studio with a workforce of approximately 30, this title is described as their “most ambitious project to date.”

The survival horror franchise has achieved remarkable commercial success, selling millions of copies since its inception by the Japanese gaming giant Konami in 1999.

The last entry in the series, a spin-off titled Silent Hill f, made waves by selling a million units on its launch day in September 2025.

When Townfall is unveiled later this year, it could attract a virtual audience of one million gamers to explore the streets of St Monans, which boasts a real population of just over 1,100 residents.

A teaser for the game showcases a fishing village enveloped in haar, a chilly sea fog typical of Scotland’s eastern coastline.

The visuals highlight a harbor strewn with lobster traps and bobbing boats, alongside vibrant bunting strung across the shadowy streets of St Amelia.

Signs near a monument proclaim “let the ferries in” and “this town is ours,” yet the locale appears eerily abandoned.

Jon McKellan, co-founder of Screen Burn, expressed enthusiasm for integrating a fresh setting into the beloved series.

In a recent broadcast on the Silent Hill YouTube channel, he revealed that their initial vision was to keep the backdrop vaguely northern European.

However, he added, “There was a drive to create something that felt authentic to us and it kind of felt natural to bring it home.”

McKellan emphasized the importance of using the location to enhance the narrative, explaining that his team meticulously examined 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,” he articulated.

As he crafted the storyline, he found that the theme of isolation was pivotal.

“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 noted.

He mentioned that accurately depicting the haar and its ability to obscure vision is crucial to the gameplay experience.

Art director Paul Abbott remarked that the misty atmosphere in the game reminds him of his childhood strolls to school in a small coastal village.

“It’s a beautifully epic, grey, drizzly environment and we’re bringing that to the game,” he stated.

Abbott explained that the team painstakingly replicated recognizable aspects of the town, including its winding alleys and the texture of the piers.

McKellan described it as a “genuine honour” to collaborate with and contribute to such a storied franchise.

“It’s not an opportunity we ever thought we’d get, but it’s one we knew we all wanted right away,” he concluded.

The game is anticipated to launch later in 2026.