Editorials
Our Premature Evaluation of Silent Hill Book of Memories
For the first time in the series’ history, Silent Hill is diving pyramid head first into the world of multiplayer gaming with the PS Vita exclusive Book of Memories. This is a serious gamble since this multiplayer isn’t just tacked on, it’s actually a main focus of the game. This means if the multiplayer sucks, then the main selling point is gone. It was originally planned to release near Downpour and the HD Collection in March, but Konami pulled it from the schedule at the very last second to the end of May. This could be a good thing because at the very least it’s getting some extra time for added spit and polish. Read on to find out what TJ and I think of this ambitious game’s chances of success.
The Visuals
Adam: Visually, Book of Memories is a pretty decent looking game. If you were to show me a screenshot before the game was announced I would’ve said, “Hey, which Silent Hill is that?” Then if you had followed up the first screenshot with another showing the co-op, I would’ve immediately burned you at the stake for your blasphemous Photoshoppery. Overall, it looks to be taking advantage of the Vita’s powerful graphics capabilities, so that’s promising.
TJ: I always keep in mind when making judgments on handheld games that they’re handheld games. They can’t put up the same graphics as the bigger brother systems, but a lot of them can still look damn good. It’s funny that you said “ It looks to be taking advantage of the Vita’s powerful graphics capabilities.”. Because a preview I just read from IGN said the game wasn’t using the full power of the Vita. So from that I must draw my own conclusion. It looks good, but for a game who’s camera is set fairly far away from the actual battles and events on the screen, we don’t truly know how good the graphics could have been. I would have been happier seeing a “normal” style Silent Hill game on the Vita, but I’m also excited to see how Book of Memories turns out.
Adam: I can’t say for sure how far it’s pushing the Vita’s capabilities as I haven’t played the game myself, but from what I’ve seen it’s a not an ugly game. A couple extra months of development could mean it’ll look even better.
The Gameplay
Adam: This is one of the many, many things I’m worried about. Like, if I were to make a list at the tippy top would be the multiplayer, followed closely by the studio Konami chose to develop it (you gave it to the Bloodrayne: Betrayal developer? Seriously, Konami?), and right after that would be the gameplay. As a whole, Silent Hill has never really excelled in this department, so it’s only natural to worry, but it’s when you add to the Vita’s unique controls where I really start to worry. I don’t mind a little clunkiness in my survival horror games, it comes with the territory, but I’m still not convinced they’ll be able to use the Vita’s controls in interesting ways. Book of Memories also features a top-down isometric view (where the camera is high above your character), light RPG elements, and degradable weapons–similar to Downpour and Origins.
TJ: I think I’m actually way less worried about this than I should be. Games like this in my opinion almost can’t fail when it comes to gameplay. It’s such a basic style, the top down shooter. A lot of chaos and running around, still fairly simple because the gameplay needs to work well with fighting hordes and hordes of monsters. I love the idea of breakable weapons and RPG elements. It really changes it up from the classic top down shooter. Shooting the same laser beam at enemies for hours and hours. I love that you’ll have to scour for weapons, and I’m hoping for some major choice and diversity between them.
The Multiplayer
Adam: Oh yes, the multiplayer. On one side, Book of Memories was built from the ground up to support four player co-op, but on the other, fuck multiplayer. Really, why defile one of the last remaining survival horror franchises with a feature that doesn’t mesh with it? It’s natural for Resident Evil because by now that series is another installment away from becoming Gears of War With Zombies.
TJ: I like this Evaluation because we are hot and cold, left and right, lady and man, right and wrong, penis and balls….ahem…. I think multiplayer fits as well as a penis and a vagina. Pardon the anatomy analogies, but seriously this is the type of game that should be played with friends. This feature does mesh because this isn’t a traditional Silent Hill. Top down shooters should always be multiplayer.
Adam: I suppose my main issue is they aren’t just fiddling with the Silent Hill formula here, they’re completely changing everything I love about the series. To me, it feels like this was a game that started off as a brand new action horror IP before an exec decided it’d sell better if it had Silent Hill attached to the title (this wouldn’t be the first time this has happened). If they want to change everything fans love about the series, because that’s exactly what they’re doing with Book of Memories, then why not make this a brand new game? It isn’t scary, the puzzles are gone, the gameplay is more action driven, I could go on and on. This isn’t Silent Hill, so there’s no point in throwing in a few familiar faces to pretend like it is.
TJ: I guess we should just be happy this is pretty much the first time this has happened. I mean, look at Resident Evil. For at least the past 10 years we’ve had watered down, shitty iterations of the series shoved down our throats. Mobile versions, Wii versions, remakes, rehashes, the list goes on. Let’s just hope if Book of Memories flops, they realize their mistakes and leave them in the past.
The Story
Adam: This could very well be the only part of this game I’m not too worried about. It’s non-canonical, like pretty much every other game in the series, and brings with it a mostly new cast of characters that you create. Some familiar faces from past games, including a few from the series’ massive roster of enemies will make an appearance as well.
TJ: I’m not expecting anything out of the story really. Again, going back to the top down shooter style, there aren’t many of those types of games that have an engaging story. If anything I’ll be happy to see some dialogue, or be scared by the game at all, but I’m not expecting much.
Adam: I always go into my Silent Hills expecting an interesting story, because that’s one of the things that’s remained consistent over the course of the series. Just because it’s a top down shooter doesn’t give them an excuse to give us a crappy story. I’m hoping for something along the lines of the PS3 exclusive Dead Nation, because this looks pretty similar to it in that it’s a top-down four-player co-op horror game (hyphen extravaganza!), and Dead Nation managed to have an engaging story, though the characters were largely forgettable. Hopefully Book of Memories will excel in both departments.
TJ: That would be great, but I’m still skeptical.
Final Thoughts
Adam: I’m expecting this to be a total failure that won’t please very many fans of the series. It might be worth checking out if you desperately need something to play on your Vita, but otherwise this is almost definitely going to end up being one of the worst games in the Silent Hill franchise. To me, this feels like it should’ve been an experiment best released for $10 on PSN or Xbox Live, rather than a full release on a new handheld that’s still trying to prove itself. On the bright side, it’ll bring with it a new Dan Licht soundtrack.
TJ: Book Of Memories is so far from a Silent Hill game it shouldn’t even have Silent Hill in the title. I’m more expecting the game just to be a fun romp through Silent Hill, with some sweet locations, familiar enemies, and good fun with a friend. I’m not expecting a life altering story like Silent Hill 2 delivered, but I still think the game will be fun to play through.
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From child-eating witches to village-burning dragons, fairy tales have always had a foot in the horror genre. That’s why it makes sense that, for every The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia, there are also darker and more adult-oriented stories about magical worlds inhabited by ravenous monsters and cruel villains.
Funnily enough, these sinister tales were precisely the ones that I gravitated towards back when I was a kid, and I was reminded of this while watching Netflix’s recently released I Am Frankelda, Mexico’s first ever feature-length stop-motion animation and one hell of an entertaining parable about the intersection between fiction and reality.
In honor of this special kind of horror-adjacent fairy tale, today I’d like to share this list recommending six Dark Fantasy films that horror fans might enjoy.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining Dark Fantasy as fantastical stories that don’t shy away from the more macabre elements that fuel classic fairy tales. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own grim favorites if you think we missed a particularly thrilling one.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
6. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
I’m fascinated by bizarre attempts at blockbuster filmmaking – especially when the resulting movies are somehow still fun despite their corporate-mandated origins. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is precisely one of these strangely compelling studio projects, as this surprisingly successful action-thriller boasts a lot of heart (and tongue-in-cheek humor) for a CGI-heavy creature feature.
Directed by Dead Snow’s Tommy Wirkola, Witch Hunters re-frames the classic fairy tale as an origin story for a duo of badass monster-slayers. Of course, it’s the flick’s anachronistic aesthetic and overall visual flair that make it stand out from other action-horror endeavors from around the same time.
5. The Wolf House (2018)
Made in the tradition of faux cursed films in the same vein as Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made, the eerie backstory to 2018’s Chilean animated flick The Wolf House (La Casa Lobo in the original Spanish) already makes it a nightmarish experience before the flick even really begins.
After all, the movie is presented to us as a faux propaganda film produced by the leader of a death cult (heavily inspired by the real life Colonia Dignidad), with this hybrid animated feature using complex movie magic to simulate a single uninterrupted shot as it tells the story of a lazy young girl who runs away from an isolated colony and encounters a creepy old house in the woods.
4. The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Out of all the Monty Python alumni, Terry Gilliam has had the most interesting career outside of the original comedy group. From fascinating canceled projects (such as his scrapped adaptation of Watchmen) to dystopian parodies that feel more relevant by the minute (1985’s Brazil), even his “lesser” films are still intriguing in their own way.
2005’s The Brothers Grimm is one such project, with this peculiar movie attempting to combine the comedian-turned-filmmaker’s unique visual style with a more blockbuster-oriented plot reimagining the titular brothers as con-artists rather than mere writers. The end result isn’t exactly a masterpiece, but it’s still a legitimately fun ride with plenty of memorable monsters and wonderful performances by both the late, great Heath Ledger and Matt Damon.
3. Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic (2010)
2010’s Dante’s Inferno game may have a reputation as something of an unapologetic God of War clone, but I’d argue that the now-obscure game was aesthetically unique enough to deserve a bigger fanbase. However, while the title remains trapped on the seventh console generation, its highly underrated anime adaptation is a lot easier to get a hold of!
Animated by 6 different studios in order to make the 9 circles of hell feel unique from each other, this may not be a completely faithful adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s poem, but it’s still one heck of a great (not to mention gory) time that I’d highly recommend to fans of Netflix’s take on Castlevania.
2. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
My personal favorite entry in the Underworld franchise, Rise of the Lycans, is a highly ambitious prequel that actually works better if you haven’t had the story spoiled to you by the previous Underworld films.
While the rest of the series features plenty of urban fantasy elements as the movies combine machine guns and modern environments with gothic storytelling, Patrick Tatopoulos’ prequel fully embraces its fantastical origins and tells a classic tale about a doomed romance between a werewolf and a vampire amid a medieval uprising.
And the best part is that we get a lot more Michael Sheen as the fan-favorite Lucian.
1. Solomon Kane (2011)
One of my personal favorite movies on this list, MJ Basset’s criminally underseen adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s other iconic warrior is thoroughly steeped in horror ambience and features plenty of memorable monsters. However, it’s also a classic origin story for a swashbuckling hero that wouldn’t feel out of place in a tabletop RPG.
While I’ve already written about how the film deftly combines both horror and fantasy elements without breaking the bank, I’ll never pass up an opportunity to recommend the bizarre movie where James Purefoy expertly plays a puritan John Wick.
It’s just too bad that we never got the other films in this intended trilogy.
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