Children of SilenTown Review: I Loved It, But I'm NOT Playing It Three Times

Let me save my fellow completionist some trouble right now:

I really liked Children of SilenTown

I loved the artwork and the story. The creepy little town where everybody acts like going into the forest after dark is basically asking to become a missing-person poster. It's weird. It's unsettling. It's beautiful.

It's EXACTLY the kind of game I like to play when it's fall and spooky season. But did I 100% complete it?

Hell no. And I tried. Then I realized getting everything meant going back through the game to experience the other endings which also meant doing those damn puzzles all over again.

More than once. Absolutely not., I enjoyed this game and once the credits rolled on the ending I picked. I packed my bags and clicked uninstall.

First Things First: The Artwork Is Gorgeous

This is what got me. The second I saw the characters, my millennial brain immediately went

Why is this giving me Pon and Zi vibes?! Before we get carried away here I am talking about the vibe. Children of Silentown has its own artwork and visual identity. But if you remember hose sad little Pon an Zi characters that were EVERYWHERE online back in the day, you'll probably understand what I'm talking about.

The giant eyes. The gloomy atmosphere. The cute-but slightly depressing character designs.

The whole thing looks like someone took an adorable children's storybook, gave it seasonal depression, and then put something horrifying in the woods.

I love it. And unlike games where the pretty art is doing all the heavy lifting, there's actually a good game underneath it.

SilenTown Is Bascially One Giant Red Flag

You play as Lucy, a young girl living in Silentown. And right away you learn that this town has some rules. Don't go in the forest. Don't make too much noise. Be careful at night. and People are disappearing. The adults clearly know more than they're telling you.

you know..... Totally normal place to raise children. And as any twelve year old would do you start asking questions. And that's where the game hooked me. I needed to know what is happening and why everyone is terrified of the forest. I had so many questions and It drove me crazy that the adults acted like this is all just part of the normal village life.

The mystery kept me forward.

This is NOT a Game for Someone Who Needs Constant Action

Let me get this out of the way. If you need combat every five minutes, explosions, boss fights, or something constantly chasing you....

Don't buy this expecting that.

This game is a slow point-and click adventure. You're exploring. Talking to people Collecting objects. Investigating. Solving puzzles Paying attention to details.

A lot of your enjoyment is going to depend on where you actually like that style of game. Which I do. But I'm not going call something universally amazing just because I enjoyed it. If slow games make you bored, this could drag.

Now Let's talk About The Puzzles

Here is something you need to know about me before I continue.

I do NOT like puzzles in games. Like at all! I don't want to rearrange symbols. I don't want to figure out which random object goes into which random hole. I don't want to stare at a wall for twenty minutest trying to understand what the developers were thinking. If I wanted homework, I have an entire homeschool classroom which use to be my dining room. I came here to play a video game.

So the fact that I finished Children of Silentown, a point-and click adventure where puzzles are a major part of the gameplay, should tell you how much I enjoyed everything else.

Because these puzzles?? They tested me. There were moments when I'd finally figure something out and feel relived. I was able to get past something I don't like and get back to the story. I wanted answers badly enough that I was willing to suffer through puzzles to get them. That's a compliment coming from me. There are traditional point-and-click puzzles where you're finding items and figuring out where they belong, but Lucy's songs also become part of the puzzle system. Which I thought was a pretty cool idea. The game assumed I loved puzzles enough to want to do them repeatedly. And that's what we are about to discuss.

My Completionist Brain WAS READY

I finished the story. Loved it! The ending I did get made me cry. Then I thought: Okay, let's clean up these achievements. I started looking at what I still needed. Different endings. and a few things I missed. Once I realized what that meant. I have to replay the entire game and do those puzzles all over again. And pick a different ending at the end. Excuse me?

Heck no. I already proved I can solve them. Why are we doing the same exam again?

This Is Where the Game Lost Me

I really wish more reviews would talk about. Replayability and forced repetition are not the same. A game having multiple endings sounds great on paper. It gives players different outcomes and different reasons to return. Nothing wrong with that. But if seeing those endings requires me to repeat large portions of essentially the same puzzle-heavy adventure...

I'm out! I don't mind replaying games when the second playthrough feels meaningfully different. Give me different choices and routes and a whole new experience. Make me curious about what happens next. But don't make me redo a bunch of puzzles I already solved just so I can reach a different ending and check another box. That's not replay value for me. That's repetition. And it completely killed my desire to chase 100%

I Don't Regret Stopping

This is coming from someone who LOVES completing games. An unfinished achievement list does bother me. I like that 100% showing up on my steam profile. But if chasings 100% starts making me hate a game I originally loved, what exactly am I accomplishing?

I finished Children of Silentown with really positive feelings about it. I loved the story and the atmosphere along with the artwork and figuring out the mystery. Why would I ruin that because my gaming brain wants a title?

This Game SCREAMS Fall

Now, if you're looking for something to play around spooky season. Put this on your list! Seriously. Turn off the lights. Grab your favorite fall drink, get under a blanket. Put on your headphones and go investiage this creepy-ass little town where nobody has considered MOVING AWAY FROM THE MONSTER FOREST. IT's not traditional cozy. And I'm not going to call every game with cute artwork "cozy" just because that's apparently what we're doing on the internet now.

it's dark. It's unsettling. IT's melancholy. But it has that cozy-spooky fall night feeling.

Is Children Of Silentown Actually Scary?

Not really. At least, It wasn't to me. If you're expecting full horror, you're probably going to be disappointed. This isn't Resident Evil. You're not running down hallways while something tries to chew your face off. The horror comes from the atmosphere. People disappearing. The forest. The rules everyone follows. The strange characters. the feeling that something is very wrong and nobody wants to talk about it. I'd describe it as creepy before scary.

Which is why I liked it.

Who Should Actually Buy This?

I'd recommend Children of SilenTown if you genuinely enjoy:

• point-and click adventures

• slow story-driven games

• Puzzles

• creepy mysteries

• dark storybook aesthetics

• hand-drawn artwork

• games where atmosphere matters

• fall and Halloween gaming

But if you hate puzzles

skip it.

If you need constant action?

skip it

If repeating sections of games drives you insane and you absolutely HAVE to 100% everything

Proceed with caution, fellow completionist.

IF you mostly care about experiencing the story once?

That's where I think this game shines.

What I Loved

The artwork is easily one of the game's strongest features. The story kept me curious. SilenTown actually feels unsettling. Lucy is an interesting protagonist. The song mechanics are creative. The mystery made me want answers. And the entire game looks like it was designed specifically to be played while leaves are falling outside your window.

What Annoyed Me

The pacing can be slow.

Some puzzles had me questioning my intelligence. And having multiple endings locked behind enough repeated gameplay that I lose interest in comp0leting everything was easily my biggest complaint. I wanted to see everything. I just didn't want to see it badly enough to replay the same adventure over and over.

Is Children of SilenTown Worth Your Money?

I would recommend this game to someone who loves point-and click adventures, mysteries, puzzles, and creepy atmospheric games. I think it's absolutely worth experiencing one. Would I buy it specifically because I wanted a highly repayable game?

No.

Would I recommend it to someone who hates puzzles?

Absolutely not.

Would I play it again just to get the endings I missed?

Also no.

Would I recommend sitting down on a chilly October night and experiencing Lucy's story for yourself?

Absolutely.

that's where this game works.

FAQ

Is Children of SilenTown Scary?

I'd call it creepy rather than outright scary. The game relies heavily on atmosphere, mystery, unsettling imagery, and the fear surrounding the forest rather than constant jump scares or combat.

Does Children of SilenTown have multiple endings?

Yes, and that's both a positive and my biggest frustration. Multiple endings give you more story to discover, but I wasn't willing to repeat enough of the puzzle heavy gameplay to see everything myself.

Is children of SilenTown good for completionists?

That depends on how much you enjoy replaying games. If you don't mind repeating puzzles and sections of the story to pursue different outcomes, you'll probably have a better time chasing completion than I did.

Is Children of SilenTown a cozy game?

I'm not calling it a traditional cozy game. It's creepy point-and click adventure with a slower pace and gorgeous storybook artwork. If you like the term cozy spooky, I can understand putting it there.

But cute artwork doesn't automatically make something cozy.

Before I Leave SilenTown for Good....

Here's my verdict:

Play it. Experience the story. Appreciate that gorgeous artwork. Get annoyed at a puzzle. Feel incredibly intelligent when you finally solve it. And when the credits roll? Decide for yourself whether you loved it enough to go through everything again. I didn't. This game didn't need three playthroughs to convince me it was a good game. One was enough.

I had a great time. I got my ending and this game can keep the other ones.