2016 psychological horror game Layers of fear is, in the words of developers Anshar Studios and Bloober Team, getting it’s not exactly a remakebut a “reimagining” – a “unified vision of horror” tying together the stories of Layers of fearcontinuation Layers of Fear 2, all existing DLC and a new one called “The Final Note”. A gameplay trailer also showcased some technological improvements, including ray tracing capabilities and 4K resolution.
The original Layers of fear puts players in the mind of an artist teetering on the edge of madness, sending them wandering, in first-person, through a changing studio filled with sudden fears. It’s “dizzy” and “mess with your head” my city Editor-in-Chief Patricia Hernandez wrote Steam Early Access 2015 Review.
Tracking in 2019 Layers of Fear 2 provides a similar hallucinatory experience, but with an actor protagonist on a boat instead. The upcoming DLC ”The Final Note” reworks the first game’s story from a writer’s point of view and aims to tie “every entry in the series together.”
At a preview earlier this week, Anshar Studios creative director Damian Kocurek told me that the DLC has been “years and years in the works” and that he hopes the reimagining it’s part of (coming in June 2023) will help fans understand the “connection” that exists throughout the series.
“There has always been a larger and deeper mythology in Layers of fear [games],” he said. “It’s always been under the surface, so we wanted to bring it out more and offer a more connected, larger setting than it was before.”
The demo they went through shows the writer’s protagonist wandering through a creaking lighthouse, already beginning to be tormented by black rats running around paintings that turn into terrifying faces. A fire seems to be consuming the ceiling, and beyond it, inkblot monsters threaten to pop out. But a burning lantern – one of several upcoming major gameplay changes – keeps them at bay, frying them in its light.
Compared to the first game’s visuals, which I’d put somewhere between grayscale and sepia for the most part, the demo gave the impression of a higher contrast, vibrant game. There are darker darknesses, dizzying clouds of smoke, and monsters punctuated by shocking red fire. Sound design updated by Arek Reykovski, who will also work on Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 remake – is also rewardingly fresh. Even through my laptop’s speakers, the manual’s various whispers and noises land with a raw, meaty wetness. Disgusting, yes, but all in the name of making a terrible experience better.
I’m interested to see Layers of fearThe story of is similarly enhanced by the intertwined storylines of this reimagining. I find the original game nasty, but more forgettable, unpleasant creepypasta way from the searing dread I usually hope for in psychological horror. So far it looks good though. Ghosts seem to go well with ray tracing.