Silent Hill Townfall update nerfs The Weight stealth sections, weakens enemies and makes the final puzzle easier

Silent Hill Townfall has received a patch which could have a major impact on the game’s most frustrating moments.

Since the game’s release last month, players have been complaining about two sections in particular, involving a character called The Weight who appears in the middle and end of the game.

The Weight usually can’t be killed, and if it catches the player it triggers an animation in which they’re killed instantly. This, combined with its AI which doesn’t make it clear what catches its attention and makes it hang around near the player when they’re hiding, has led some players to describe these sections as frustrating.

Last week developer Screen Burn told players “we’ve heard you on struggles with The Weight” and said “gameplay balancing on its way ASAP”.

This has now arrived in the shape of the version 1.4.0 patch, which – on paper – should make The Weight substantially less annoying to deal with.

“Grab attacks [from The Weight] now deal heavy damage instead of causing instant death on Story Mode and Normal difficulties,” the patch notes read. “Searching behaviors have been improved to prevent The Weight from ‘camping’ in front of the player’s objective for long periods of time.

“Searching behaviors have been improved to prevent The Weight from repeatedly searching the same location and remaining there for long periods of time. Hunting behaviors have been improved to prevent The Weight from tracking the player too aggressively.”

As well as specific issues with The Weight, the new update also addresses all stealth in general, making enemies less sensitive to the sound of firearms, running and entering a hiding space.

Melee combat has also been tweaked. Now, when players hit an enemy with a melee attack, they’re less likely to quickly hit when a counter-attack. Enemies will also no longer grapple the player if they’re blocking with a melee weapon, and when a player is grappled, they now have more time to react after escaping it.

The other notable issue players have had with the game is the final puzzle, which involves entering numerous commands into a control console. The patch now adds a collectible manual for the console, which the player can look at for quick reference while using it.

VGC’s Silent Hill Townfall review said the game offered “outstanding horror” which was “marred by infuriating stealth”, referring specifically to The Weight sections, meaning this patch should in theory greatly improve the experience.

“Silent Hill Townfall provides players with one of the most hauntingly atmospheric and meticulously detailed settings in the series’ history, and delivers an engaging storyline to go with it,” we wrote.

“Where the game disappoints, however, is in the actual ‘game’ itself, specifically the stealth sections near the middle and end of the game which completely ruin the momentum and descend into frustration.

“Without these sections Townfall would be an absolute must-have, but their presence means it has to settle for being a flawed masterpiece.”