Silent Hill: Book of Memories opts for action RPG, producer explains why

Silent Hill is usually known for its creepy horror, but that’s about to change with Silent Hill: Book of Memories as developer WayForward has chosen a more action-heavy approach for the PS Vita release.

Apparently the game’s multiplayer convinced WayForward to shift focus with Phantasy Star Online and Diablo acting as inspirations. 

“We heard about PS Vita, and we really wanted to make a Silent Hill that was specially suited for that. We really wanted to experiment with multiplayer. Survival horror is a very particular genre, but with PS Vita’s online capabilities, it just made sense to do multiplayer here,” said producer Tomm Hewlett on PS Blog US.

 

“So we started to experiment with different gameplay styles, what was kind of compelling, and through a long random assortment of events and demos, we came across a dungeon crawler, action/RPG thing which is really compelling with multiple players. Phantasy Star Online does it, and Diablo of course.

 

So then we can kind of mess with it; if I’m with my friends and we get separated, that’s a classic horror trope right there. It’s not a totally different genre that doesn’t make any sense, it’s just sort of a new angle on Silent Hill.”

 

In the interview Hewlett also explains how the multiplayer works, and how WayForward dealt with RPG elements like leveling up and gaining abilities. Read the interview through the link above and prepare to get your horror dreams crushed.