Silent Hill: Book of Memories is a Silent Hill spin-off game exclusively for the Sony PlayStation Vita. It is the last Silent Hill game produced by Tomm Hulett before his departure from Konami. He joined WayForward Technologies, the game’s developer, as a director afterwards.
At the start of the game the player may customize the protagonist (which can be male or female) to his liking. This makes Book of Memories the first Silent Hill game without a set protagonist. The story revolves around a mysterious book the player receives on his birthday by an anonymous sender. All of the protagonist’s memories are written there, and by altering the book, he finds that he can alter past events in his life. Before the changes take effect though, the character falls asleep and must survive a nightmare, explore the Otherworld and battle creatures from previous Silent Hill games on the way.
The primary focus of the gameplay is on dungeon-crawling and cooperative multiplayer action, rather than the survival horror elements that the series is known for. There is a large focus on combat in Book of Memories, including the ability to harness special powers called Karma Abilities which can assist the player in combat.
Monsters are separated into three categories: Blood, Light and Steel. Killing enemies of either the Blood or Light category will affect the Karma meter in different ways. This meter controls what powers are unlocked and usable at a given time. If the player is more inclined towards Blood (killing Light creatures), this will unlock destructive abilities, while Light (killing Blood creatures) unlocks powers focused on healing and protection. Steel creatures are neutral - killing them won’t change the Karma. There are also Power Moves, which can be purchased in the shop of Howard Blackwood (of Silent Hill: Downpour). Like other games of the genre, the protagonist’s abilities can be improved by leveling up and raising his stats in different categories, allowing for different character builds and combat specialization.
