Layers of Fear (2023) – Review

FEAR…
Everyone has it, some people won’t admit it and others share their fears with the world but today we’re looking at the psychological fear nestled inside the amazing Layers of Fear by Bloober team.

The original Layers of Fear was released back in 2016 and while I didn’t play it at launch, when I finally got my hands on it a few months later I was in for a treat, exploring an old mansion, unveiling various paintings and slowly losing my mind, it was a great experience which was over a little too quickly, but I equally enjoyed the sequel Layers of Fear 2 released 3 years later (2019).

Fast forward to 2023 and as is accustomed to major franchises, Layers of Fear gets the inevitable remake, with the appropriately named Layers of Fear 2023.

Unlike many remakes, it’s not just rebuilding the original game with new mechanics, instead Bloober team have gone for a compilation, combining both Layers of Fear 1 and 2, as well as some DLC.
Starting with Unreal Engine 5, the team have combined the stories into one large overarching narrative, and while you’ll start off exploring an abandoned lighthouse, you’ll soon be back in that spooky mansion and on the deck of the film-decked ship for more familiar scares.
For me the standout performer of the series was Layers of Fear 1, but the sequel equally had some fantastic parts, so having them all in one package is a real bonus, especially when they’ve been gelled together so well.

Gameplay follows the same method of exploring for clues, and slowly losing your mind as your surroundings often change with a simple change of direction, it’s a linear experience, which occasionally does feel a little too closed off, but as is overused in the genre, you’ll often travel from A to B to find a locked door, that’s inevitably unlocked by a key back where you started.

Thankfully the back’n’forth isn’t too repetitive and the dynamic landscape will keep you on your toes, at some points it’ll feel weird when you turn around and see a familiar wall, because there’s regularly things appearing and rooms changing which helps add to the intensity and intrigue under the many layers of fear.

For anyone considering Layers of Fear 2023 who might have played the originals, might be wondering if it’s been “remade” enough to warrant another purchase, and as well as the overall combined package, this 2023 remake has a few more tricks up its sleeve.
With new gameplay mechanics, I felt the remake has a very slightly slower pace, never dull, or sluggish, but more methodical and careful, you’ll still be caught off guard by the changes and surprised at what lies behind some corners, but when exploring for clues, it has a better pace which makes you feel like you’re searching for clues and not just sprinting from room to room collecting anything shiny like a hyperactive magpie.

The other major change is the switch to Unreal Engine 5, don’t get me wrong, Layers of Fear was a pretty good looking game and the now 4 year old sequel still looks great today, but the switch to UE5 just takes things up that extra notch, 4k, ray-tracing, and stable framerates which weren’t measured, but never felt patchy, and plenty of new textures and an insane amount of extra detail, but the real winner is lumin based lighting, those dark corridors looks a little darker and that eerie light at the end feels just a little less inviting, but combined together, it all helps set an even more atmospheric and immersive experience than any of the previous titles.

Audio was always a series strong-point too, with plenty of knocks and bangs to draw your attention to that changing landscape, things definitely sound better, and still align perfectly with the setting of each location and the slow loss of the characters sanity, but it’s not the overhaul we’ve seen with graphics, although I’m not even sure that’d be possible.

Together both the audio and sound combine with the new gameplay and create a strong atmosphere, with more than enough scares, but there’s one thing that isn’t going to scare you, and we’ve saved the best till last,
The price…

Even though I’d seen it mentioned in press releases, I always double check on xbox.com and it’s not very often I go back to double and triple check, but at £17.49 ($21), Layers of Fear 2023 is amazing value,
Even if it was just the first game remade, it’d be worth every penny, but to have the combination of the franchise, with so many improvements across the board, it’s impossible not to be shocked with such a great price.

Overall, Layers of Fear 2023 does have a few weak-points, which mostly follow on from the franchise, a little repetition creeps in at times, and sometimes the direction stalls a little, but these are areas even a remake can’t fix perfectly, but to combine the franchise, refresh the entire feel of the game and change things up enough to make sections feel new but still familiar, along with an unbelievable price-point, Layers of Fear 2023 has to go down as one of the best value releases we’ve seen in a long time.

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