Developer: Bloober Team
Publisher: Bloober Team
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PC
Layers of Fear (2023) – Review
Layers of Fear has become a staple in the horror game genre. When Bloober Team originally released this title and its sequels, they were still considered an indie studio with big ideas and a small budget. Since the original game’s release in 2016, the studio has grown to be famous for its horror work and is even spearheading the remake of Silent Hill 2. With all that taken into account, perhaps it should not come as a surprise that they decided to remake the game that started it all and give us the full, harrowing story of creative madness. With improved graphics and a streamlined gameplay experience, perhaps Layers of Fear (2023) is their magnum opus.
Story
This remake of Layers of Fear contains the stories from the original game, its DLC ‘Inheritance‘, and the second game. Additionally, there’s a new side story accompanying the tale of the painter, and an overarching story that ties all the puzzle pieces together beautifully. The devs were smart enough to cut out bits of the plot that didn’t make sense or got negative reviews in the old versions, leaving us with a very engaging and cohesive horror narrative to explore while switching between the characters.
The overarching story is about a young writer who travels to a lighthouse after winning a competition. As her prize, she can vacation in the lighthouse and work on her book to her heart’s content. The first book she writes is about a painter and his pianist wife who seem to lead the ideal life until the wife gets horribly disfigured in a fire and their sanity starts to go downhill. The painter is approached by a supernatural muse that promises to make things better, but such a deal comes at a price. When she’s done with her book, the writer starts to encounter the muse in real life too. Later, she returns to the lighthouse to write a second book about an actor with a dark past that needs to go through those traumatic events from his childhood again and again, trying to remember what happened. Once again, the muse shows up. She seems to symbolize the unstable mental health of all creative types.
Every one of the five separate arcs has multiple endings, depending on your choices while playing said character. Once completed, the game allows you to easily go back and try to get different outcomes, which is a great plus.
Graphics
One of the most notable differences in this new Layers of Fear is definitely the graphics. With a much higher budget, Bloober Team made the decision to completely revamp the visuals of the game and make them crisper than ever. Layers of Fear didn’t look bad when it came out, but this is entirely on a different level. Since the game is pretty much a walking simulator, they have to keep the player’s interest. With great choices for the scenery and lighting, this was masterfully done.
Sound
Layers of Fear was updated with a new sound design for this remake. The voice actors from the original versions returned, but this time every single note you pick up is voiced. This adds a lot of flavor to the game, especially since the performances are top-notch. The soundtrack remains mostly unchanged, it’s still as great as ever. The music is pretty and also very creepy when needed. Overall, nothing to complain about here.
Gameplay
In its previous release, Layers of Fear was essentially a walking simulator with horror flair. This was not a bad thing, since plenty of people love walking simulators. But it seems like for this version, the devs hoped to add some more engagement. The majority of the game is still you walking around set environments with your characters, finding notes, and being scared out of your mind. The game is very linear and good at showing players where to go, meaning you can explore but aren’t left to wander around aimlessly. Sometimes, you need to find a specific item or key to proceed, or maybe find a code for a lock. The most tense thing that happened in the old version was a chase scene or two though.
So to spice things up, enemies are a new mechanic in this remake. You will sometimes find yourself threatened by a ghost and need to use your flashlight to ward them off. It’s only a temporary fix though, making them melt back in the darkness. This becomes especially fun in the exploration parts since it’s easy to get cornered and you feel more hurried trying to look for an item you need. There are some stealth segments added too. In the actor’s story, the flashlight is also used to move mannequins around. This is used to solve more elaborate puzzles and it adds some meat to the gameplay. Aside from this, there’s not a large amount of gameplay, but Layers of Fear is exactly the type of game that doesn’t need it. There are collectibles if you want a challenge, but aside from that, you can just sit back and enjoy the excellent story and stunning visuals.
Conclusion
Layers of Fear (2023) is proof that remakes don’t always mean ‘shameless cash grabs’. They can also mean that the devs listened to criticism and decided to enhance a game to its full potential. All the essence of the original games is here, polished to take away the rough edges, and with the budget of a triple-A title. If you don’t think creativity can drive a man to madness, give this game a try.
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