- Publisher: Bloober Team
- Release Date: Jun 15, 2023
- Also On: PC, Xbox Series X
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Jul 14, 2023There are certainly things to enjoy in this redone version of Layers of Fear, especially its visuals and carefully constructed psychological horror elements, perfect for players willing to look for hidden connections. Its attempts to scare you fall a bit flat, however. But while the overall story of the writer is deeply disappointing, the new depressing episode, The Final Notice, is capable of true emotional destruction.
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Jul 11, 2023Layers of Fear combines both games (properly remade with Unreal Engine 5) and DLCs in a slick, reasonably priced package that binds the two stories together. However, neither the new content nor the graphical upgrade justifies the expense if you’ve already played the originals.
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Jun 16, 2023Fans of the Layers of Fear series are likely to enjoy this new take on its stories, combined and enhanced with new elements. But at the same time, you’re likely to be disappointed that more hasn’t been done to make everything more consistent and unique. What’s more, it’s not as if these games are so old that they needed remaking; the Writer’s story could have perhaps been its own thing, expanded upon to offer something genuinely new. So, while Layers of Fear (2023) is a solid horror experience, we can’t help but feel like Bloober Team has missed an opportunity to really mix things up and impress.
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Jun 15, 2023Nicely revamped and expanded collection of atmospheric horror madness that still lacks gameplay substance.
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Jun 15, 2023Layers 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.
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Jun 25, 2023The game flexes all the muscles with the excellent use of Unreal Engine 5 but is undermined by obsolete tricks to create tension.
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Jun 20, 2023Layers of Fear 2023 delivers an immersive and atmospheric horror experience across five different perspectives and 12+ hours thanks to its stunning visuals and haunting sound design, but its blend of jump scares, basic puzzle-solving and slow exploration probably won’t provide frights that will satisfy most gamers looking for a more interactive, combat-heavy game.
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Jun 16, 2023Layers of Fear is a visual stunner, but as a horror experience, it tend to be a bit of a letdown more often than not.
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Jun 15, 2023The problem is that everything in Layers of Fear (2023) seems to be taking cues from the first game, not the second. The Writer's frame story and both pieces of DLC share the first game's approach to ubiquitous, weak voice acting, and both pieces of DLC return to the unpleasant mansion setting. Layers of Fear 2 should have been an evolution for the series that informed what Bloober and Anshar Studios built here, but that isn't the case. Maybe it's fitting, after all, that this collection shares the first game's name.
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Jun 15, 2023All told, when Layers of Fear (2023) is firing on all cylinders, it feels like a genuinely mind-bending thrill ride as pathways behind you twist and contort in the blink of an eye. These qualities are best exemplified in the lithe and tight debut title. That said, what truly flies in the face of the collection’s overall charms is its uneven storytelling, repetitive puzzles, and buggy technical performance. In essence, much like the fractured psyches of the artists that form the soul of these vignettes, Bloober Team’s latest collection is simultaneously beautiful, fascinating, and deeply, profoundly… aggravating.
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Jun 15, 2023Layers of Fear (2023) starts out strong with the story of The Artist, and loses itself amidst its own ambition during the story of The Actor. Bloober Team’s once meaningful exploration of a character’s descent into madness quickly becomes redundant amidst a sea of film references and blurred storytelling. Layers of Fear is certainly a cohesive remake that brings the original games together, and there’s no denying that it looks great, but its second act feels incredibly lost when contrasted against such a strong start. Layers of Fear (2023) is one major case of whiplash, that’s for sure, but it does showcase Bloober Team's potential to do good if it can nail down the focal points of the stories it tells.
| This publication does not provide a score for their reviews. | |
| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
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Jun 15, 2023I am impressed with Bloober’s ground-up transformation of its series into a compact nightmare with white rats. The game is a show of strength, despite fans’ reservations for the studio’s upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake, and I admire a game that cares about art as deeply as its characters do. I only wish that it weren’t so annoying about it.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 7 out of 15
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Mixed: 3 out of 15
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Negative: 5 out of 15
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Jun 20, 2023It's kinda meh, idk.
I mean it's fine, but not really something I would play again or recommend to my friends. Story and music was good, though. -
Jun 18, 2023
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Jun 17, 2023