Grave Gamer News & Views — WayForward Technologies

Silent Hill: Book of Memories Demo Arriving for Vita Next Week

Whisked away from the critical flops that were Silent Hill’s HD Collection and the full-fledged sequel Downpour, Wayforward Technologies’ portable Book of Memories is finally seeing release on October 16th.

Exclusively designed for the PS Vita, Book of Memories infuses multiplayer – something not even its console counterparts have dared try – into a dugeon-crawling RPG that has masked itself in the skin of a survival horror game.  You’d think such a cocktail would come across as disjointed as one of Silent Hill’s hapless abominations, but early impressions paint Book of Memories in a positive light (and thank the Old Ones for that; the Vita could use more meat on its library’s bones).

Come this Tuesday, North American Vita fans will be able to download a demo for the game, finally giving Hill fans a hands-on with 2012’s last entry into the franchise.

What the Hell Happened to Silent Hill: Book of Memories?

Long story short?  Konami happened to Book of Memories.  Longer story follows:

Yet another delay rocks the gaming world, this time on a smaller scale – a handheld scale to be exact.  The PS Vita title was meant to do two things: usher in multiplayer into the strictly solo player franchise and come out in March.  Sadly, the game half failed, ruining the three pack of Hill’s Konami planned for that month.  Book of Memories very quietly slipped into a placeholder date of May 31st with little fanfare and even less surprise given the amount of smoothing the other two March releases could’ve used.

Now, WayForward Technologies’ (they’re pretty badass at small sized titles, check their resume) apparently canonical spinoff has once again shied away from it’s release slate, the first indications coming from Amazon’s new placeholder date of October 31st.  When pressed, Konami found the strength to comment on the game’s status, confirming an October release (maybe) but denying a solid day to expect it out.

WayForward’s pretty busy themselves; with a Double Dragon downloadable remake and an Adventure Time DS game in the works, one has to wonder how focused the development team is on bringing us miniature scares to the Vita.  Likewise, it’s also worth pondering if the frighteningly bad reception the last couple of Silent Hill’s received is causing Konami to delay the title, for fear of disappointing the survival horror masses yet again.

Silent Hill: Book of Memories Fogged with Delay

Despite Vita owners anticipating the multiplayer scare-fest for their handhelds on March 27th – what some call tomorrow – a new (likely placeholder) date, May 31st, has emerged on Gamefly and Amazon’s listings for the game that suggest the title has been pushed.

Developed by WayForward Technologies (responsible for that superb Metroid-vania Aliens game you didn’t play and the side-scrolling Bloodrayne sequel that you may have), was slated to complete this months Silent Hill themed trinity of releases started with Downpour and the HD Collection.  So far, those titles have been met by fans and critics alike with a mixed bag of embrace and venomous rejection all at once.  If Book of Memories fell short in the slightest, Konami might be playing it close to the chest on this Vita spinoff for fear of vitriol.

The publisher has made no official announcement regarding the delay, but if you go to your favorite game retailer tomorrow and don’t leave with a copy of BoM, you’ll know that the Old Gods have intervened.

UPDATE: Konami confirmed the delay, asking fans to be patient for more info.