Layers of Fear (2023) Reviews
Layers of Fear is a game that will strike a chord with players, in one way or another. Bloober Team and Anshar Studios take what strong foundation had already been laid with the first three titles, and improves upon it substantially with fresh, impactful mechanics, excellent visuals, and a brand-new, overarching tale that spans the length of all artists' stories. For both new and loyal fans alike, Layers of Fear is a worthwhile venture back down the rabbit hole.
An impressive remake/reimagining of the series from a technical standpoint, and there are some welcome changes to the way each game plays. It's unfortunate that efforts to tie the individual stories together don't always land, but it generally does the trick.
Despite the slightly confusing name, "Layers of Fear" is a beautiful remake that can be enjoyed by horror fans and series newcomers alike.
The Layers of Fear experience can be favorably compared to the Ocean House Hotel sequence from Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, with its slow build-up of dread followed by some excellent pay-offs. The gradual reveal of its story and the decaying of the minds of its protagonists is fascinating to experience in real-time, and there are even multiple endings to seek out, should you wish to squeeze more from the runtime, so long as you’re willing to endure all of the chases again.
Bloober Team finishes the layers of fear saga in convincing fashion, the story unfolds in a way that is totally unperdicatble leaving our jaws dropped despite the repeatitivness of gameplay mechanics and some minor bugs.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Layers of Fear is an admirable remaster that uses the fresh coat of paint to bring the series' art direction up to modern standards but the bones of the experience remain fractured. Tedious and exhausting gameplay loops and tasteless writing make even this package a nice frame on an ugly painting.
Layers of Fear impressively goes beyond the call of duty of updating both games for modern hardware. It's a remake with significantly enhanced visuals and a strong dedication to creating an immersive atmosphere, while also introducing new content. However, it's regrettable that the newly added content feels lacking in substance and significance. Nevertheless, Layers of Fear remains the definitive way to experience the Layers of Fear series, warts and all.
Layers of Fear is gorgeous to look at, but its beauty is skin deep. From rudimentary, repetitive gameplay to predictable attempts at scaring you, this definitive reimagining of Bloober Team's horror franchise stumbles too often to be able to make a meaningful mark.
Layers of Fear brings plenty of new additions and refinements to each game, ensuring it is the definitive way to experience the series. The visual upgrades look absolutely outstanding, whilst the new story content fleshes out the narrative in an intriguing and cohesive manner. The refinements to the to the gameplay help streamline the experience too, and whilst some of the changes are better than others, it helps ensure that the haunting gameplay feels fresh and intriguing. Will it win over players who had mixed feelings about the original releases? Maybe not, but it’ll definitely be a treat for fans of the series that have been itching for more. I definitely had a good time with Layers of Fear, with it acting as the perfect reminder that Bloober Team certainly know what they’re doing when it comes to horror.
With average horror elements that have their moments and a somewhat interesting story that unfolds as you descend into a rabbit hole of madness, Layers of Fear does enough to keep players engaged, but not enough to push the series forward in a meaningful way.
Layers of Fear (2023) is the best way to experience the series and has enough new content to revisit it.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Layers of Fear is easily Blooper Team's crowning jewel and the best way to experience these games. Leveraging the power of Unreal Engine 5, the team has delivered their true vision of psychological horror without compromise.
In the end, Layers of Fear (2023) is all that, a place where darkness and enigmas invade everything. The first part of the experience consists of a tunnel of terror with very few mechanics to its credit, in which the setting, light and sound effects are present in each car. In the second, we will have to defend ourselves from elements that only inhabit our worst nightmares ... A cast that will be responsible for making it difficult for us and that promise a macabre journey to the depths of terror.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Layers of Fear 2023 re-packages the first two games with better visuals and sound, but gameplay is a miss.
The return of Layers of Fear is a welcome one thanks to the power and immersion provided by Unreal Engine 5, meaningfully evolving Layers of Fear in a way you simply won’t ever want to look back from. The environmental details and subtleties are undoubtedly impressive and worthy of kudos. However, save for the overhauled ambience and a decent new chapter, the gameplay remains disappointingly unchanged and overly tedious. Though the atmosphere is suitably spooky, the genuine scares never come. To its credit, it does try to get you when you’re unaware, but it’s hard to feel the jolt of the jump scares on offer because they aren’t set up well enough to surprise you. As a polished reworking of Layers of Fear, this latest entry is aesthetically pleasing, it just needed to be a scarier game.
Layers of Fear is an acceptable package of horror stories, but that's about it. Its few scares do just about enough to earn a title that includes the word "fear", however it isn't in the same ballpark as other genre titans.
While Bloober Team has achieved immersive visual enhancements through Unreal Engine 5, the game itself did not deviate from the original 'Layers of Fear' series. If you cannot be satisfied with enjoying the game's expanded madness within a single title, it will simply feel more like a definitive edition.
Review in Korean | Read full review
The game flexes all the muscles with the excellent use of Unreal Engine 5 but is undermined by obsolete tricks to create tension.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Layer of Fear looks great visually and the way it plays with the environments and lighting makes use of that graphical presentation. It adds new content and a few new mechanisms but maintains the same mistakes the original games made.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Layers of Fear is a very fun experience for fans of the survival horror genre. It is also an improvement from either of the two original games and the DLCs. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t quite live up to other remakes of late such as Resident Evil 4 Remake or Dead Space. Although, the addition of an entirely new story is a welcome one in the story. If you have never played the originals this version of the game is the version you should pick up. It is graphically fantastic and the combat adds a welcome change to the gameplay.