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Layers of Fear

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Layers of Fear
Developer(s)Bloober Team
Publisher(s)Aspyr Media
Platform(s)Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Genre(s)Survival horror
Mode(s)Single player

Layers of Fear is a psychological survival horror game developed by Bloober Team for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game was released on February 16, 2016 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, OS X and Linux.[1][2]

In Layers of Fear, the player controls a psychologically disturbed painter trying to complete his magnum opus, as he navigates through a Victorian mansion, with disturbing secrets about the painter being discovered. The gameplay is heavily story driven and revolves mostly around puzzle-solving and exploration, as the game intensifies after each level while jump scares occur often.[3]

Gameplay

Player is taking control of a painter who has returned to his studio. His initial goal is to complete it, and it's player's role to figure out how this task should be acomplished. The challenge comes from puzzles which require player to search environment for visual clues. The house appears straightforward at first, but it changes around the player as he explores it in first person. These changes in the environment provide scaffolding for the puzzles and provide unique alternative to the jump scares common in other games of the genre.[3][4]

Game is divided into six chapters with various items for the player to find in order to complete his work. The game is heavily dimmed, and there are objects that uncover certain aspects of the painter's history. While completing the painting, there is a letter that slowly is pieced together, which shows the origin of his masterpiece, and objects which explain the secret of the painter through dialogue flashback.[5]

Plot

The painter tries to complete his work by locating six items, each item explores another level (or layer) of the painter's evident insanity. In the introduction the player is informed of some kind of on-going court case involving the painter. The letter from the character's lawyer tells the painter to stop pretending to be insane, however in later letter the lawyer shows genuine concern for the painters wellbeing and suggests he receive some help. On one level a rotating child's toy shows a series of drawings on the wall depicting a family of three, but with a few rotations it shows he mother in a wheel chair and the father in anger with the child in despair. With another rotation the family appears disrupted with the mother removed and the child disfigured. A later letter reveals that the painter's wife burned one of his works:' The lady in black' which once depicted her. In a later level a flashback of the painter finding his wife locked in the bathroom in some kind of peril; likely drowned or with her wrist's cut. The source of the painter's insanity is hinted as his attempt to finish his painting with disembodied pieces of dead family. Due to the symbolic unnatural style of the game much is left open to interpretation.

Reception

Layers of Fear has received positive, but crippling and polarizing, reviews from critics, scoring 70/100 on Metacritic,[7] and 72.61% on GameRankings.[6]

Matt Whittaker of Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 3 out of 5 saying, "Bloober Team should feel proud that it was able to turn its fortunes around with Layers of Fear and this release is something to build upon, but it manages to miss the mark just enough to feel somewhat forgettable."[8] Matt Thrower from GameSpot rated the game a 7/10 saying, "Stacked up like the rickety tiers of a gothic building, Layers of Fear proves aptly named."[4] Leon Hurley praised the game in a GamesRadar review, stating "it’s one of the best horror games I’ve ever played and literally creates a new tool set for interactive scares." He complimented game's art and the "unease from a horror experience" it provides, giving it a maximum score.[3] Nick Monroe recommended the game in The Escapist review noting that "Layers of Fear achieves its goal of making you scared as a player, instead of just existing as something scary" but warned that the game is not recommended to gamers who are seizure prone.[5] Chloi Rad from IGN called Layers of Fear a "paint-by-numbers horror game that can't capitalize on its concept" that "lacks the surprises and subtlety needed to keep things interesting all the way through".[9] Tom Chick gave the game 1 out of 5 stars calling it a one-trick pony, stating that "Layers of Fear was made specifically as Let’s Play fodder" and that "[t]his is what Let’s Plays have done to game development."[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Layers of Fear for PC". Metacritic. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  2. ^ a b "Layers of Fear for PlayStation 4". Metacritic. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  3. ^ a b c "Layers of Fear Review". GamesRadar. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  4. ^ a b c Matt Thrower (14 February 2016). "Layers of Fear Review". GameSpot. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Layers of Fear Review - Art is the Struggle". The Escapist. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  6. ^ a b "Layers of Fear". GameRankings. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Layers of Fear". Metacritic. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Whittaker, Matt (14 February 2016). "Review: Layers of Fear". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  9. ^ "Layers of Fear Review". IGN. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  10. ^ "Layers of Fear is what happens when a one-trick pony repeatedly lunges at you". Quarter to Three. Retrieved 2016-02-15.


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