Silent Hill: Book of Memories is a Silent Hill role-playing spin-off game exclusively for the Sony PlayStation Vita, developed by American game developer WayForward Technologies and published by Konami.
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.
Plot[]
The protagonist receives a strange book on their birthday from an unknown sender from Silent Hill, Maine. Howard Blackwood, the local mailman, assures the player that the book was meant for them before he departs. The protagonist opens the book and finds that all of their memories are written in it, including all of their experiences and their entire life story. Curious, the protagonist decides to change some memories before falling asleep.
In their nightmare, they find themselves in an Otherworld-like dungeon. After traversing the dungeon they locate Howard Blackwood, who appears to be running a general store within the dungeon. Howard introduces the protagonist to a substance known as "Memory Residue" and explains that in order to change the protagonist's past, the substance must first be collected. After the protagonist finishes exploring the dungeon, they awaken the next morning back in reality. However, after falling asleep the following night, the protagonist finds themselves back in the dungeon. When they awaken on the third day, the protagonist realizes that what they wrote and altered in the book has become reality. With this new power, the protagonist continues to rewrite recent past events at their discretion while each night they encounter a new zone within a particular dungeon.
In-game clues and notes suggest that the Book of Memories was created by the Order with the purpose of bringing their God's will to Earth via its writings. An alchemical journal page details three elements considered to be the base of all things. "Light: borne by the Heavens; Blood: borne by this world; and Steel: borne by mankind, and the most powerful". The rest (Fire, Water, Earth and Wood) are considered lesser elements.
Depending on the protagonist's Karma Meter, the characters affected by the Book's powers will meet different fates when the protagonist changes the past.
The dungeons and their respective characters are as follows:
- Fire Dungeon (Derek Copeland) - Derek is one of the protagonist's co-workers who has recently beat them out of a job promotion. After the player rewrites their past, they receive the promotion instead, while Derek is suspected of stealing money from the company and either hastily quits or is transferred to another store.
- Wood Dungeon (Katie Collins/Matthew Collins) - The protagonist has a chance encounter with an old high school crush. The protagonist rewrites their past so that their crush, Katie or Matthew (depending on the protagonist's gender), breaks off their current relationship with Trent or Ashley respectively, and instead asks the player character to go out with them.
- Light Dungeon (Graham Reynolds) - Graham Reynolds, a police officer and family friend of the protagonist, appears to have been sitting in his patrol car outside the player's parents' house while they've been house-sitting it with their sister. This makes the protagonist nervous, so in order to throw Reynolds off their trail, the protagonist rewrites the past. It is revealed via notes that Graham and his wife Lorelai Reynolds have had a shaky relationship recently, and he has been having an affair. The protagonist's intervention either results in Graham's wife filing for a divorce and taking their kids with her, or the two reconciling after Graham solves a major case. In both scenarios, the protagonist concludes that Reynolds won't have enough time to worry about them or their Book.
- Water Dungeon (Trent Baker/Ashley Baker) - Trent/Ashley (the spurned lover) begins harassing the protagonist out of jealousy and desperation. The protagonist decides to take care of the problem by writing in their Book. At one point, it is revealed that Trent/Ashley was in possession of their own Book prior to the protagonist receiving their Book of Memories, but it was stolen in a mugging. After defeating the Water Guardian, Trent/Ashley stops calling the protagonist either because they suffer an accident that renders them amnesic, or because they find a new love interest.
- Earth Dungeon (Jack Merrick) - The protagonist is attacked by a man who claims to have his own Book of Memories. The man, Merrick, threatens the protagonist, informing them that he knows where they live and work, and that he intends to take their Book. It appears that the man is a convicted felon who had been arrested by Officer Reynolds in the past for attempted murder, among other charges. It also appears that Merrick had used his Book to aid him in his various crimes and to evade the police. At the end of the dungeon, due to the player's intervention, Merrick is either severely beaten by law enforcement to the point of permanent brain-damage, or he is arrested and his Book is placed in an evidence locker.
- Blood Dungeon (Shannon) - The protagonist's teenage sister, Shannon, has been distant to the protagonist as of late, which causes them to worry. Shannon has been suffering from depression for an extended period of time, and it is revealed that Shannon was the woman that Graham is/was having an affair with. In the Blood scenario, Shannon continues her relationship with Graham, gets drunk at a party, is seriously injured in a car crash (injuries in her ribs, left arm and cranium), and sends the protagonist a goodbye letter before attempting suicide. In the Light scenario, she sends the protagonist a letter thanking them for always being there for her, and letting them know that she is optimistic about her future.
- Steel Dungeon (protagonist) - The protagonist realizes that each specific action in the nightmare-worlds have had a direct effect on the past. They also realize that the Guardians they have been fighting represent the other characters' wills and desires, and that by defeating them, they have been asserting their own will over the others. From this it is concluded that when one individual benefits from the Book's powers, another must be adversely affected in order to restore karmic balance. Regretting their interference in the others' lives, the protagonist decides they must find their own Guardian before someone else does, and in doing so, find a way to undo the damage they've caused. In their trek through the dungeon, the protagonist finds the rewrites they've made to their Book: "I wish I'd gotten that promotion," "I wish Katie/Matthew and I were dating," "Officer Reynolds needs a distraction to keep him off my trail," "Trent/Ashley should just forget about Katie/Matthew," "Whoever that guy is, he can't EVER use his Book." The protagonist eventually confronts their Guardian at the end of the dungeon and expresses their intent to destroy it. The Steel Guardian informs the protagonist that they are the same being and that the Book simply gave the monster its physical form, therefore, it can never be destroyed. The two engage in battle and the protagonist subdues the monster, then awakens back in reality.