Silent Hill: Book of Memories

 PlayStation Vita
  • Publisher: Konami
  • Release Date: Oct 16, 2012
User Score
5.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 130 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 130
  2. Mixed: 35 out of 130
  3. Negative: 57 out of 130
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  1. rjthakid
    Oct 17, 2012
    2
    One user gave this game a perfect '10' and said "Ignore all the old Silent Hill fans that are Butt hurt that there (sic) game is changing"....That's nonsense. First, I call BS on anyone who would give this game a perfect score. A '5' or a '6'? Everyone is different, so maybe. But a '10'? No. He gave it a '10' to try and counterbalance all the 0s, 1s, and 2s this game will get.One user gave this game a perfect '10' and said "Ignore all the old Silent Hill fans that are Butt hurt that there (sic) game is changing"....That's nonsense. First, I call BS on anyone who would give this game a perfect score. A '5' or a '6'? Everyone is different, so maybe. But a '10'? No. He gave it a '10' to try and counterbalance all the 0s, 1s, and 2s this game will get. Second, the reason why people are calling this game garbage is because it's a bad game. Not because anyone is 'Butt hurt' over the series changing. It's a bad game. Period. No need to try and make up silly reasons for why people don't like it.… Expand
  2. SamLoboda
    Nov 2, 2018
    4
    How they can call that "silent hill", 4 and only for Akira Yamaoka. Story have nothing interesting, but most sad is gameplay. Am i losing moment when "silent hill" series turn to action game?
  3. The6thMessenger
    Oct 30, 2012
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have to say, i'am very very very delighted with the combat sequence, it also allows dual wield and special powers, and i have to say i really really loved the new combat gameplay. As for the game itself, it is BLASPHEMY of the "Silent Hill" name. The story is bogus, and has nothing to do with Silent Hill, what? just because they placed notable monsters in Silent Hill makes the game Silent Hill? The Silent Hill game is about the psychological horror and terror, the tense feeling as you solve puzzles in an even scarier environment, and the plot-wise and excellently written story, that is what Silent Hill is all about.

    The environment is good, but it's not even scary. And because the protagonist IS powerful, people are much more inclined to stand their ground and NOT be afraid of the monsters. Although i like the idea of customizing your character to give a sense of attachment to the players, all these great ideas went to nothing because of the bogus way they did the game. This is Blasphemy to the Silent Hill name, this is what happens when asian-geniuses surrender their work of art to the western-action-oriented-idiots. The Silent Hill from 1, 2,3,4: rooms, Zero/Origins, Downpour, Shattered Memories, and Homecoming... They all deserve the "Silent Hill" name, not this game.

    Although i kind of suggest these changes: - Gameplay Camera - return the original camera to the third person mode, so that players will actually see the horrific environment from the inside, cause form the outside it looks like crap, like playing a movie in an IPad at the theater for the whole audience to see.
    - Make the protagonists walk, and hold a button to run.
    - Make the enviroment lighting darker, making the Flashlight very important.
    - Make the Radio for players, so that they are aware of nearby monsters.
    - Make the monsters really powerful, though can be brought down by couple of hits, they should bring you down by couple of hits too, making them dangerous.
    - Make the hud somewhat smaller, or even gone.
    - The "Dream" sequence is really really really stupid, it's not even that scary. What should be done is that, after closing the book when they have written what they want, the "SIREN" blares and everything shifts to the Otherworld. Monsters then barge in the door but valtiel stops them and tells you the thing you have to do.
    -I also understand that you want the game to be "Competitive" but, that doesn't really make the game "Silent Hill". Although it is fine for me, but i suggest as a multiplayer feature, but the main Single-player SHOULD be played by one player only.
    - Add sequences that showcase the psychological-horror.
    - Lastly make the environment have intractable corpses and gores or whatever psychotic things that can be places; maybe a human chained in the wall gutted alive and is still alive. or rather is in that sense.

    hoping that at least the game will be at least playable. Because WayForward ruined This installment of Silent Hill for me.

    Although yes, some people like the idea of Silent Hill being that kind of game, but then my guess is they haven't even played the original game and understood the story of every Installment. I bet they don't even know what Harry Mason or James Sunderland suffered or their stories in the original Game. I bet they didn't even know that Heather Mason is the reincarnation of Alessa. I hope you people consider to play the original games, and understand them before you try and judge this game too... because i can guarantee you new-comers to the Silent Hill, you have not grasp the story behind this shady resort town. WayForward made a mockery of Silent Hill.    … Expand
  4. rukia-chan2
    Oct 21, 2012
    0
    Hey guys! Let's play Silent Hill Book of Memories! It's gonna be very fun! You know, EXPLORE WITH FRIENDS, PLAY DRESS UP, SOLVE PUZZLES - FUN PUZZLES AND HARDCORE HACK N' SLASH SILENT HILL. I BET I'LL BE A CHICK MAGNET AFTER PLAYING THIS AWESOME GAME. Silent hill...why aren't you the psychological, traumatizing, Image distorting, nightmare causing game I used to know and love?
  5. Speed4Runs
    Dec 5, 2012
    4
    Bad game: bad plot, gameplay, not funny, not scary, not EVERYTHING that should be good.
    This can't be considered a Silent Hill, so I'll talk about it just as a new game. Let's start by the *game factor*: the game is boring already by its 5 minutes of gameplay: it's repetitive and not competitive. Graphics are bad: the VITA can handle much more, but I'm happy to see so high FPS on the    Bad game: bad plot, gameplay, not funny, not scary, not EVERYTHING that should be good.
    This can't be considered a Silent Hill, so I'll talk about it just as a new game. Let's start by the *game factor*: the game is boring already by its 5 minutes of gameplay: it's repetitive and not competitive. Graphics are bad: the VITA can handle much more, but I'm happy to see so high FPS on the VITA, that's why I didn't give it a 3 (if the score system had decimals, I would give it 3.5). Audio isn't that good (at least in Italian), and plot isn't that deep and mind blowing, as other games (such as old Silent Hill games).

    Now, if I spoke as a Silent Hill fan, I have to say that I'd say that it is a big fail and totally disappointing, in fact I would give it 1.    … Expand
  6. Drewbeast
    Nov 15, 2013
    1
    So, I tried. I am a die hard fan of this franchise, and have been since the first game. My problem is not that it is different, but that it truly is flawed. As much as the producer and team bragged about the graphics, the in game graphics are PSOne quality at best and the cutscenes are around a DS Lite level. For the amount of repetitive monsters and gameplay that are in this, the loadingSo, I tried. I am a die hard fan of this franchise, and have been since the first game. My problem is not that it is different, but that it truly is flawed. As much as the producer and team bragged about the graphics, the in game graphics are PSOne quality at best and the cutscenes are around a DS Lite level. For the amount of repetitive monsters and gameplay that are in this, the loading times REALLY should not be this long. I will admit that the idea of creating your own character to venture into Silent Hill is a good one, but that truly isn't what's happening here. You're creating a character to wander through endless similar rooms with monsters from the series in them. That's it. There is no real overarching storyline or plot, and it gets fairly old after the first hour or two. Sorry guys, not saying this from a "I'm an old school fan and this is too much newness for me", frame of mind. This was a good idea, poorly executed.… Expand
  7. Tjackson31692
    Oct 25, 2012
    0
    The game is bad really bad I seen better iPhone game than this it very sad I'd advise playing the demo before buying it so you know what you're getting yourself into, because even as a mere spin off, there's not one thing it does right. Konami clearly don't get their own franchise if they're content with selling this garbage.
  8. iBash
    Oct 3, 2013
    1
    First of all, I would like to ask all those who like this game to please respect others' opinions instead of just brushing them off as butthurt fans who didn't get what they wanted and now punish this game with low scores. Do you honestly believe those Silent Hill fans have never played and enjoyed anything else than Silent Hill? Personally, I think I know what I like and what not. ForFirst of all, I would like to ask all those who like this game to please respect others' opinions instead of just brushing them off as butthurt fans who didn't get what they wanted and now punish this game with low scores. Do you honestly believe those Silent Hill fans have never played and enjoyed anything else than Silent Hill? Personally, I think I know what I like and what not. For instance, this game, I like not. I was actually looking forward to it despite not being your classical survival horror game and accepted it as a spin-off with a different approach. Also, it's not like we Vita players can be all that picky nowadays. Sadly, I was very disappointed. The game looks good and it makes very well use of the established Silent Hill monsters if that in itself is a good thing or not, is a different question, I didn't mind. Other than that, from gameplay to level design, from loot to story, practically everything else is, in my eyes, garbage. The game's hardly fun to play, there's little to no motivation. It appears to be heavily designed around online play but that doesn't work well, if at all, most of the time.… Expand
  9. cameronrogers
    Oct 17, 2012
    2
    Absolute Mess.
    This game is a complete disaster. It is not silent hill, it is more like Diablo or something, but NOT silent hill. This game is terrible. Long load times, bad graphics, bad voice acting, boring story, eye straining camera angles, and so so so much more. This is terrible. This is the final straw. I will NEVER buy a konami game every gain or silent hill. I loved silent hill    Absolute Mess.
    This game is a complete disaster. It is not silent hill, it is more like Diablo or something, but NOT silent hill. This game is terrible. Long load times, bad graphics, bad voice acting, boring story, eye straining camera angles, and so so so much more. This is terrible. This is the final straw. I will NEVER buy a konami game every gain or silent hill. I loved silent hill until konami DESTROYED IT. Silent Hill 1-4 were amazing. Origins was horrible and had bad graphics, homecoming was super glitchy, shattered memories was boring and had no combat actions, downpour was boring, and dont get me started on the horrifying mess of SH HD Collection, what a mess that was... konami, fix the series. NEVER release something like this again. All the fans asked for it to be canned, you did not listen. Let the bad reviews pour in now... Even AMY was better then this disaster.    … Expand
  10. Subject98
    Oct 16, 2012
    1
    I'd advise playing the demo before buying it so you know what you're getting yourself into, because even as a mere spin off, there's not one thing it does right. Konami clearly don't get their own franchise if they're content with selling this garbage. I could rant, but the short version is that it's void of depth in every category, and not interesting in the slightest.
  11. GABOXONE
    Jul 20, 2018
    0
    Uy uy uy menuda mierda de juego ojala konami se suicide por dar a luz estas cagadas y no obras como Silent Hills :'v
  12. p0t1t4yp0t1t0
    Aug 22, 2023
    1
    Only O.S.T. worth. The worst Silent Hill ever. Bad story and the worst gameplay.
  13. INU4SH4
    Jun 23, 2020
    4
    Oh boy, let's go back to 2012, an apparently great year for Silent Hill with 2 different video game releases and a movie. What could go wrong? Well, the movie sucked. It really SUCKED a lot and completely ruined Silent Hill 3's story. Ever since no other entry has been added to the Silent Hill series. But back to Silent Hill: Book of Memories.
    I was super hyped knowing another Silent Hill    Oh boy, let's go back to 2012, an apparently great year for Silent Hill with 2 different video game releases and a movie. What could go wrong? Well, the movie sucked. It really SUCKED a lot and completely ruined Silent Hill 3's story. Ever since no other entry has been added to the Silent Hill series. But back to Silent Hill: Book of Memories.
    I was super hyped knowing another Silent Hill was getting released. I had just bought my VITA and was hyped to play some Silent Hill on it. I played this back in the day when it was first released and I gotta say I have very mixed feelings about it and overall did not enjoy it that much. Turning Silent Hill into a dungeon-crawling game could work out if the game managed to be ever so slightly creepy, but it did not. The formula was repetitive and so was the combat. It was more of the same for countless hours. Finding the huge amount of references and monsters of the series was fun and all but that was the most this adventure amounted to. The story was so forgettable that I don't remember a single thing (unlike Silent Hill 2 and 3 that are very fresh in my mind) and the combat was also quite lacking. Artistically it was good and managed to deliver some tense moments and decent co-op action but it just sucked as a Silent Hill game even considering it as a spin-off.

    It tried to mix Silent Hill's horror with dungeon-crawling mechanics but it did not work out as intended and only helped to bury the series reputation even more.

    R.I.P Silent Hill. I hope you come back one day...    … Expand
  14. AhoyNut
    Nov 15, 2022
    0
    What the **** was this. If some things were changed here and there, maybe to get rid of the Silent Hill mark on it maybe it'd be a half decent dungeon crawler. But this just completely ****ed it.

Awards & Rankings

55
#55 Best PS Vita Game of 2012
17
#17 Most Discussed PS Vita Game of 2012
28
#28 Most Shared PS Vita Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
58

Mixed or average reviews - based on 57 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 57
  2. Mixed: 41 out of 57
  3. Negative: 11 out of 57
  1. DarkStation
    Feb 8, 2013
    50
    While RPGs and dungeon crawler games are my favorite style of hand held games, there are better options than Book of Memories. The Silent Hill aesthetic is pretty well represented, but the game itself struggles to maintain mediocrity. The game is great in short bursts, but fails to hold your attention for long periods of time.
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  2. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Jan 28, 2013
    70
    WayForward seems to have saved its 'A Game' for their own IP. Book of Memories feels odd, as though a Diablo has murdered a Silent Hill, and is traipsing about wearing its skin. [January 2013, p70]
  3. GamingXP
    Jan 21, 2013
    68
    It's a pity where the Book of Memories is taking the Silent Hill series: Only quantity, no quality; a lack of gameplay and story; a shift in genres which should have been done with much more caution and love. Silent Hill fans, don't touch this.
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