At this time, Bloober Team is known as the horror experts since we have played many of their games until now to know any better. Bloober Team originally released Layers of Fear back in 2016 and followed up with a sequel Layers of Fear 2 later in 2023. The latest Layers of Fear is a single game that combines the story of the two games together and the DLCs released for it along with a brand-new story that combines the whole saga together. You should know that this is not a remaster or a remake of the original games but rather a continued experience of everything that you played before in separate parts. This time around, it is like a single game with added features, completely rebuilt visuals in Unreal Engine 5, and more. This is our review of Layers of Fear in which we explore beautiful yet haunting environments and stun entities with our flashlight.
The gameplay of Layers of Fear involves a little bit of everything. Since you are trying to find out the past, the story is mostly told through notes, letters, and newspaper clippings that you will find scattered all over the environment. There is exploration, puzzle-solving, and some chase sequences thrown in the mix. You will spend most of the time exploring different environments and looking around for anything that you can find and interact with. I like to call the world of Layers of Fear a dynamic world because it often happens that while you have your back turned towards an area, the game will change it entirely. It might be for the good or for the worst depending on the scenario considering the fact that this is a horror game. The first Layers of Fear is basically the first half of the game so it starts really strong and later, you are introduced to the later section which compromise of the second game and the DLCs.
The world of Layers of Fear is always changing and paintings play an important role during the first half of the game since this is the original Layers of Fear. There are paintings everywhere and you will be progressing in the main story by seeing the artworks melt and turn for the worse. While most of the scenes in Layers of Fear are set in the same locations, the corridors, and rooms that you will explore change since the game gives you the impression that while your back is turned, the scene changes behind you, there is always something new to look forward to. Depending on the story, each section of the game presents its own unique aesthetic and gameplay mechanics but the core gameplay remains pretty much the same throughout the game. The added Chapters section of the game is great for going back into the story and making different choices and pursuing endings that you might have missed. This eliminates the need for playing the whole story again for unlocking a different ending.
Fans of the franchise will find pretty much familiar mechanics but this time around there are a few new mechanics thrown in the mix. For example, in the original releases, there was no way to fight the enemies while they were chasing you around the houses and the only way to get rid of them was to run away from them but this time around, you can use your flashlight to stun the enemies and buy some time to go away from them or quickly explore the area for more lore or items. The flashlight is used for solving different puzzles in the game however, this time around, you can also use it to stun enemies and use it offensively. There are very few typical jumpscares in Layers of Fear which will make you jump like an enemy jumping at you suddenly out of the blue but it has its own unique take on horror. You may press a button and the whole environment will change horribly or some of the areas are really scary just to explore with whispers here and there and you would be expecting something to jump out but in the end it does. It really plays with your mind. This results in progression and scaring you at the same time.
Probably one of the reasons why I was looking forward to playing Layers of Fear was its visual design and after playing the game, I can say that it looks stunning. If you played through the original titles, you will instantly notice how pretty the new game looks. The in-door and out-door environments both look amazing and the attention given to every little detail is just mind-blowing. We can really see the power of Unreal Engine 5 and Layers of Fear is just one of the titles starting in this brand-new engine and it looks gorgeous. The shadows, the reflections, and the lighting, everything looks neat. If you have a 4K screen that supports HDR, you are in for a treat. The haunted houses and other in-game environments look meticulously detailed and every effect in the game is much more visually aesthetic this time around. This does not end here as not only does the game look good but it also sounds good.
Sound design plays a vital role in any horror game and Layers of Fear is no different when it comes to it. Since this is a psychological horror game, it has to get inside your head and nothing goes inside your head than a solid sound design. I am glad to report here that Layers of Fear’s sound design does not disappoint when it comes to further enhancing the haunting atmosphere of the title combined with its visuals. The low rumble of rain, the distant thuds, glasses breaking, somber crying, and tons of other sounds will raise your hair every now and then. Apart from the ambient sounds, your main character’s own sounds are pretty clear as well as you are walking around slowly and the floor creaks to the doors and windows opening and closing. The characters will also read the letters and notes that you pick up as well which is a great feature for players who cannot read very well.
Technically, Layers of Fear runs excellently on the PS5 console when running in Performance mode. The silky, smooth 60 FPS gameplay is brilliant and recommended version as well since the Quality mode has multiple frame-drop spots in the game which do not look very good. It is locked at 30 FPS to start with but the PS5 console even struggles to deliver steady frames while running the game in its full visual fidelity. This is most common in areas where there is plenty of light since the new light effects are amazing and thus the game drops frames which are evident while you are walking around or even when moving around the camera. I mostly played the game in its Performance mode so I compromised on the visual aesthetics a little but the frames were steady and they were plenty. If I recall correctly, there is not a lot of difference while you are playing the game in Quality and Performance when it comes to visual fidelity. Both are fairly close to each other so if you are not too distracted by lowered visual fidelity, I will suggest the Performance mode because I loved it and it looks beautiful.
Layers of Fear lacks when it comes to accessibility options as despise being a separate tab in the game, the options are mostly only for the subtitles. While it is a good option to include the ability to adjust the subtitles more than just turning them off and on, apart from this, there are not many other options in the game. If you feel dizzy while playing FPS titles, you can turn the head bobble off to make the screen smoother and less wobbly and there is also a separate option for turning on the Safe Mode. In the Safe Mode, you can take your time to complete the missions and the enemies are unable to kill you even if you are unable to run away from them. This is great for players who demand a subtler way to experience the title instead of rushing through it. The traditional pull or push style of opening doors in Layers of Fear can also be turned off with a single button press option which allows you to open doors and windows with just a single tap of a button. Unfortunately, apart from these basic options, the game has no other accessibility options.
There is plenty to love in the new Layers of Fear if you played the original ones and did not really like them. After the first Layers of Fear title back in 2016, the series did take a plunge and if you played the second game in the franchise including all of the DLCs, chances are that you were not really impressed back then. Since this new release includes all of the previously released titles, DLC and also brings a brand-new story chapter, it is a much-better version this time around since the story is now tied together the two main games and you will learn even more about the tragic back stories of the characters that you play in the game. The visuals are stunning and the sound design of the game is brilliant and you can experience the complete story of the game even if you did not play the original releases.
Final Verdict:
Compared to other modern titles, Layers of Fear lacks when it comes to being really scary and messing with your mind. It does have its moments and there is plenty to get scared about in the game, Layers of Fear however fails to really live up to its name which promises layers of fear instead of just a single slice of fear. Nonetheless, Bloober Team has done a splendid job on the game, especially its visual and sound design. The game looks gorgeous and you will love its haunting atmosphere. The environments look amazing thanks to Unreal Engine 5. The whole story is joined together perfectly and if you missed any bit of the original releases, you should definitely check out the new Layers of Fear. If you love horror and are looking for another title to satisfy your craving, Layers of Fear is perhaps a solid title for you to jump into. Just play it in Performance mode on the PS5 and you should be good.
Final Score: 7.5/10
