In Silent Hill: Townfall, you save manually by using telephones, not from the pause menu. Early reports published at the September 21 review embargo say that you dial 100 at a phone booth and confirm, or dial it on a landline and press the pound (#) key, and that you can save as often as you like. The game also autosaves, so a crash will not cost you hours (if the PC version keeps crashing, see our PC crash fix guide).
It is a very 1996 way to handle a very 1996 setting. Below we cover the manual save steps, how autosave works, where your save files are kept on PC and PS5, and the trophy that punishes saving at all.
How to Save Manually
- Find a telephone. Phone booths in the streets of St. Amelia and landlines inside buildings both work, according to the early reports.
- Dial 100. On a phone booth, confirm the call; on a landline, finish with the # key.
- Choose your save. The save screen opens and you write your progress.
There is reportedly no limit on how many times you can save, so the only real cost is the walk to the nearest phone. Get into the habit of saving whenever you pass one, especially before exploring an unfamiliar building.
How Autosave Works
Townfall also saves automatically at points during the story. Autosave protects your progress between phones, but it is not something to rely on before a difficult encounter: a manual save gives you a restore point you chose, while an autosave may land somewhere less convenient.
Digital Deluxe owners who started in early access, from September 22, did not have to start over at the September 24 launch: early access was the full game unlocking early, so those saves simply continued. Our editions guide covers the rest of what Deluxe includes.
Where Townfall Save Files Are Stored
PC: the Steam store page lists Steam Cloud, so saves follow your Steam account between machines. PCGamingWiki’s community-maintained entry puts the local save folder at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Townfall\Saved\SaveGames (in full, C:\Users\<your name>\AppData\Local\Townfall\Saved\SaveGames), with settings in Saved\Config\Windows next to it. Paste the first path into the Windows Run box (Windows key + R) to jump straight there. Whether the Epic Games Store version syncs saves to the cloud is not confirmed, so Epic players should back up that folder by hand.
PS5: saves live on the console. With a PlayStation Plus membership you can upload them to cloud storage from Settings > Saved Data and Game/App Settings, which is the standard way to protect a run before a system reset or to move it to another PS5.
Copying the save folder before the final Part is the easiest way to keep a first-run save to return to, since the New Game Plus run starts in a new save file.
The Trophy That Changes the Rules
Trophy hunters need to know about this before they start. Players working on the platinum report a Gold trophy, “Reject The Help,” that requires you to make no manual saves after meeting Richard, one of the game’s characters.
That makes it missable: a single phone save after that point disqualifies the run. The practical approach is to leave it for a second playthrough, when you know the game well enough to go without manual saves and can lean on the autosave instead. The New Game Plus run you will want anyway for the secret endings is the natural place for it; see our endings guide for why.
Phones Are Not Just for Saving
Townfall’s telephones do more than write your save file. The trophy list includes “Cold Calling,” which is tied to phone numbers you find in the world, so jotting down numbers from documents and calling them is part of exploring St. Amelia properly. Our phone numbers guide lists every one and where it is printed.
That also means you will be dialing a lot. It is worth learning where the phones are in each area, both for saving and for chasing down the numbers you collect.
Tips for Saving Smart
- Save before stealth sections. Several reviewers found stealth the most frustrating part of the game; a nearby manual save saves real time.
- Save before long puzzles if you are on the Normal puzzle setting, which gives you no highlighted clues. Our difficulty guide explains the Hinted alternative.
For how long a full run takes, see how long to beat Silent Hill Townfall. Every other Townfall guide is on our Silent Hill guides hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you save anywhere in Silent Hill Townfall? No. Manual saves use telephones, which early reports say means dialing 100 at a phone booth or on a landline.
Does Silent Hill Townfall have autosave? Yes. The game autosaves during the story in addition to manual phone saves.
Is there a limit on saves? Early reports say no; you can save as many times as you like.
Where are Silent Hill Townfall save files on PC? PCGamingWiki lists %LOCALAPPDATA%\Townfall\Saved\SaveGames, and the Steam version also backs saves up with Steam Cloud.
Which trophy is affected by saving? “Reject The Help” reportedly requires making no manual saves after meeting Richard, so it is best left for a second playthrough.