The more things change the more they stay the same. That much is true of Layers of Fear 2, the first person horror adventure developed by Bloober Team and published by Gun Media.
If Gun Media sounds familiar, they are the folks behind 2017’s Friday the 13th: The Game which turned out to be a launch nightmare but one of the best horror games ever produced.
As expected Friday the 13th: The Game had virtually no story. Like the movies it didn’t need any. That is not what Friday fans need or want from the game or the film franchise.
As you roam around you will encounter more puzzles than howling spectres, none of which are particularly demanding. Find a film reel, play it in the projector. Remember a combination to open a vault. Use a key to unlock a door. Shoot a mannequin with a revolver. These are tasks even a headless zombie could complete without breaking a sweat. Layers of Fear 2 walks the fine line between being a cinematic experience and a video game. If you are looking for a mental or perhaps a technical workout, Layers of Fear 2 will disappoint.
Since the puzzles are as challenging as reciting the alphabet, it all comes down to the exploration and the story to keep you playing as opening doors, meandering down hallways, exploring small rooms becomes a sluggish process as the ship itself is so linear. Revealed in brief fragments the story is erratic and confusing which is probably a purposeful thing by the developers to keep you playing in order to figure it all out. Having played everything from The 7th Guest to Alone in the Dark to Uninvited, I found Layers of Fear 2’s narrative to be derivative and predictable. A past tragedy still haunting the living is nothing particularly inventive especially the way it is presented and concluded.
Some chase portions liven up Layers of Fear 2 up, you have to backtrack carefully as a sinister spirit or creature shambles after you. They aren’t enough though to keep casual horror fans from blundering around despite the game having some really creepy audio that is enhanced with headphones and a dark gaming room.
Nailing the lid shut on Layers of Fear 2 for casual fans is the fact that the pay-off is not worth the journey. There are some creepy set-pieces, however, the happenings and eventual conclusion are expected and anticipated well in advance. Die-hard horror fans like myself will naturally have more patience with Layers of Fear 2 than casual fans of the genre and after all that is who the game appears to be made for. Anyone else will feel like they bought a ticket to a cheesy carnival haunted house ride complete with rail cars, plastic spiders, cotton ball webs, pop-up scares and all.
Review Summary
Another in a long line of exploratory horror games, Layers of 2 doesn’t bring anything new to the party.
