‘Silent Hill: Townfall’ CRTV Guide: How to Detect Enemies, Store Signals, and Solve Puzzles
· Vice
In Silent Hill: Townfall, a crucial component of the game is the CRTV, a little handheld device that helps the main character, Simon, navigate the fog-shrouded town of St. Amelia. It’s a departure from the traditional radio, so here are tips on how to use the device to detect threats, solve puzzles, and unlock lore.
How to get the CRTV
Simon arrives in St. Amelia with nothing but a red vest and a dream – or a nightmare, rather, considering the sinister scenario he has found himself in. He returns to town after a mysterious voice begs him to come back, saying Simon is the only one who can help. After making the mistake of answering a phone call from an unfamiliar number, Simon finds himself in a series of dark, water-logged passageways, which are deserted but about as welcoming as the average sewer.
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Navigating these shadowy corridors brings Simon to a hotel room of all places. Here, the player can pick up the CRTV, a handheld television that isn’t exactly showing reruns of Cheers. Instead, images shift across the screen between bursts of static, with a woman’s voice begging Simon to come back to her. Following the on-screen prompts, which use the L2/R2 buttons on a controller or the scroll wheel on a mouse, the player can tune the CRTV and switch between frequencies.
Detecting Enemies
Unlike previous iterations of the franchise, Townfall leans into stealth, encouraging players to avoid combat. Simon can eventually stumble upon weapons if needed, but the focus is on sneaking past enemies while navigating streets and hallways. This is where one crucial aspect of the CRTV comes into play.
When enemies are nearby, the CRTV emits a short burst of static, and the screen displays different frequencies, shown as little yellow lines at the bottom of the screen. The player can scroll through these using the tuning mechanic. The screen turns red and monstrous silhouettes appear, letting Simon stay hidden while getting a sense of where the creatures are. Several different frequencies may appear at once, indicating multiple enemies nearby.
Storing Signals
Using the CRTV to store signals unlocks hints about where Simon should go next. This time, tuning into the little yellow line brings up a blue rectangle with a yellow-and-black rectangle on a yellow line. A pip will be running from one end of the long yellow line to the other. When it lines up with the rectangle, players just need to hit the action button.
From there, small vignettes will play, black-and-white images that run on a loop. These short videos may not make much sense at first glance, but they’re important. Whether it’s a glimpse of a front door Simon needs to reach, or a poster on a wall that leads to solving a puzzle, these signals often bear closer scrutiny.
Radio Transmissions
Radio transmissions play an important role in solving puzzles, including one of the game’s early puzzles, which can be found in the Pharmacy. VHF transceivers are scattered around town, such as the one on the desk in the Pharmacy backroom. Interacting with the transceiver brings up a similar QTE to the one players have to complete when attempting to store signals.
The radio transmissions differ in the next step. A gray screen appears, similar to what a television shows when it loses its signal. In the middle are six colored rectangles inside a circle. On console, the player can tilt their controller side to side until the six colored rectangles line up with matching white outlines. PC users can do so using the mouse or the WASD keys. Once lined up, players must make sure the colored squares align with the matching colored lines.
Then the signal can be stored again, which will offer hints on how to solve the puzzle.
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