![]() The core of the story sees players explore a ship, a house from the eye of a child, and more, but while these areas sound fun on paper, the environment lends itself so much to the horror element that environments do not stand out. Yes, there are collectibles to incentivize exploration, but these segments tend to just be various rooms on the boat. However, after the first few hours of the game, the tricks run out and the fear slowly gives way to the chore of running around whatever lot the game casts the player in.Įxploration in developer Bloober Team's Layers of Fear 2 feels more like mindless wandering that always takes the player in the direction they need. It's at its worst in the early segments of the game, and while some scares feel like the generic, gimmicky scares associated with the horror franchise, many more are deep guttural manifestations of fear, especially as far as the Formless One is concerned. The Formless One is easily one of the best parts of Layers of Fear 2 and could rank with the most terrifying monsters in video games, as it could- and often does - appear anywhere.īecause of this, there are quite a few jump scares in Layers of Fear 2. This comes into play the most when players are being hunted by the Formless One, a ghoulish manifestation that reappears throughout the story (which is later learned to be yet another metaphor for acting that we will avoid here due to spoilers). And, when it does take a turn for the dramatic, there's an undeniable feeling that the players have to escape. The lighting often turns black and white, giving players the feeling that they are actually in the 1930s. ![]() ![]() Noises including displaced voices, power fluctuations, and strange, unidentifiable movement keep players on the edge of their seats, even in moments of relative calm. The environment is constantly changing, with there being several instances where the path behind the player ends, disappears, or completely changes. The horror in Layers of Fear 2 is top-notch and is uniquely linked to every aspect of the game. Combined with the presence of age-appropriate in-game films and phonographs, the ambiance of the game never breaks, even when it takes a turn for terror. If anything, Layers of Fear 2's use of the history of cinema helps make the game a horror collect-a-thon, as there are posters depicting Shakespearean plays and imaginative Film Noir performances and other collectibles to be found. In one part of Layers of Fear 2, it's a clear exploration of the actor's mind and a commentary on the dangers and pain of method acting.īeyond the thematic components, there are more tangible connections to the world of film and drama via various collectibles. This is somewhat complicated by a seriously layered story, as the past, present, and the future are all called into play through a strange psychological approach to acting. The connective pieces, however, that bind the PC to the overarching plot are never explained, leaving players to infer most of the story for themselves. The narrative is never direct, though, and it's clear that the player character is more than just some random actor who happened upon the role. Layers of Fear 2 promises a "narrative-driven exploration," and for the most part, it lives up to this promise. Players control an actor in the 1930s who has agreed to a special role in a film shot upon an ocean liner, but the early and strange instructions from the director, voiced by well-known horror cinema legend Tony Todd, make it clear that this will become so much more. Much like the original, Layers of Fear 2 is about an artist's pursuit of a grand project, a final send-off, that drives them into madness. The similarities between the original and the sequel are thematically apparent, and even though there is no actual story connection between the two, this entry is one of those rare instances where the sequel is better than the original. One year ago, Layers of Fear 2 developer Bloober Team announced it was working on a project with Friday the 13th publisher Gun Media that was eventually revealed to be a sequel to its psychological horror title, Layers of Fear. ![]()
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