Layers of Fear

 Xbox One
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 126 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 126
  2. Mixed: 38 out of 126
  3. Negative: 23 out of 126

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  1. Chops
    Jan 6, 2017
    3
    The framerate and graphics for this game is inexcusable (I'm playing on the Xbox One).. which is a bit ironic since it's a visual-horror game about an artist.

    I'm far from a framerate snob, and I'm absolutely OK with sub-PC performance, but it is so bad in this game that you can actually see tracers and artifacting (I'd guess it averages about 15fps). It's a tough to be scared by a    The framerate and graphics for this game is inexcusable (I'm playing on the Xbox One).. which is a bit ironic since it's a visual-horror game about an artist.

    I'm far from a framerate snob, and I'm absolutely OK with sub-PC performance, but it is so bad in this game that you can actually see tracers and artifacting (I'd guess it averages about 15fps). It's a tough to be scared by a visual-horror game when everything is so obscured by motion-blur you can't tell whats going on. There's also noticeable input lag (a delay from the time you move the stick to the time your character moves).

    That being said, graphics not withstanding, this game seems amazing. I love the concept, the music and sound design are on point.. so if framerate isn't an issue on your platform, I'd highly recommend it.

    On Xbox One it's a bit like having a Lamborghini with a decomposing corpse in the back seat.. great in theory, just contains something too distracting to make it enjoyable.    … Expand
  2. TheGameAddict
    Dec 19, 2017
    1
    Layers of Fear is easily the worst game I've ever played and I'm going to explain why.

    Horror: This game is advertised as an "immersive psychological horror game" yet there is nothing to be scared of. There is no threat to the player at all and the only intimidating entity you'll encounter must be ran at to progress. There is nothing to be scared of at all unless you're 6 and are afraid    Layers of Fear is easily the worst game I've ever played and I'm going to explain why.

    Horror: This game is advertised as an "immersive psychological horror game" yet there is nothing to be scared of. There is no threat to the player at all and the only intimidating entity you'll encounter must be ran at to progress. There is nothing to be scared of at all unless you're 6 and are afraid of your own shadow. The game is filled with jumpscares but none of them leave any lasting impact, it even ends on an awful one. This isn't a horror game, in reality it is an incredibly boring walking sim, nothing more.

    Gameplay: You walk around, open stuff and read notes whilst listening to voice-overs. Occasionally you'll encounter a puzzle but they usually boil down to 'keep looking in different directions until the room changes behind you'. There is no threat, no failure state or challenge to overcome, it's very boring.

    Story: Again, its pretty boring (are you noticing a pattern yet?). It's about some painter who went crazy and is now trying to finish his best painting and then he does and he doesn't like it so he gets a bit spooked (unlike me for the entire game) for some reason and then credits. Boring.

    Performance: This game runs like **** The very first area runs at about 10 FPS with constant dips throughout the game.

    Visuals/Music/Sound: The game looks quite appealing when its running at a stable framerate and there's some decent atmosphere though it never leads to anything. The main menu theme is fantastic but the rest of the soundtrack is a bit mediocre and forgettable. The audio design is very good, everything sounds nice.

    There's nothing here worth your time unless you're a snobby prick that doesn't understand how videogames work. Games have to have challenge. You must be able to lose somehow. This goes for ANY game be it a videogame, board game or even a sport. Horror games NEED something threatening or else there's nothing to stop the player from simply running through it like a **** lunatic. This game is bad because it's boring. It's a three hour long game that took me FIVE sessions with me trying my hardest to put myself through it to beat because it was so boring and nonthreatening that I had to stop to cleanse my palette with something good. it's an absolute snorefest    … Expand
  3. Broyax
    Sep 22, 2017
    0
    Un FPS horrifique qui est censé faire peur mais dans lequel on baille à s'en décrocher la mâchoire. En fait, on ouvre et on ferme des tiroirs. Et on ouvre des portes aussi. Et on claudique à 0,5 à l'heure comme un boîteux de Parkinson dans cette baraque de merde.

    Programmé (?) avec Unity, ce pseudo-jeu sans goût et de mauvais goût lorsqu'il y en a, tourne comme une patate sur console,    Un FPS horrifique qui est censé faire peur mais dans lequel on baille à s'en décrocher la mâchoire. En fait, on ouvre et on ferme des tiroirs. Et on ouvre des portes aussi. Et on claudique à 0,5 à l'heure comme un boîteux de Parkinson dans cette baraque de merde.

    Programmé (?) avec Unity, ce pseudo-jeu sans goût et de mauvais goût lorsqu'il y en a, tourne comme une patate sur console, soit environ 20 im/s avec des pointes à 25. Comment peut-on sortir une telle "chose" aussi bancale affublée qui plus est d'un aliasing qui tyrannise le regard ?

    C'est la "magie" des jeux indés qui peuvent tout se permettre, boulottés par des cons incapables qui osent tout, et il en faut de l'audace et du je-m'en-foutisme pour bricoler et vendre une telle grosse merde !    … Expand
  4. Che3es
    Jan 24, 2019
    0
    One of the worst horror games that you can ever play. JFC IT'S BAD AND UNINSPIRED
  5. Nikitos_Sen
    Mar 3, 2022
    0
    Всегда считал, что игры вне политики! Не ожидал от игровой студии, которая должна ориентироваться на обычных игроков и то, чтобы дарить людям хорошие эмоции…что студия будет наказывать обычных людей за решения принятые правительством! Раз игровая студия решила вмешаться в политику, то и оценку она получит не за игру!Всегда считал, что игры вне политики! Не ожидал от игровой студии, которая должна ориентироваться на обычных игроков и то, чтобы дарить людям хорошие эмоции…что студия будет наказывать обычных людей за решения принятые правительством! Раз игровая студия решила вмешаться в политику, то и оценку она получит не за игру!
  6. SenorKoquonfaes
    Dec 19, 2019
    4
    The best way to describe Layers of Fear is that it's akin to riding the haunted house ride at any amusement park or county fair that you've ever been to: get railroaded down a linear path full of scary and/or horrifying set pieces, it's dark a lot of the time, get jumpscared several times and then the ride is over.

    You play as a tortured artist who returns home to complete his    The best way to describe Layers of Fear is that it's akin to riding the haunted house ride at any amusement park or county fair that you've ever been to: get railroaded down a linear path full of scary and/or horrifying set pieces, it's dark a lot of the time, get jumpscared several times and then the ride is over.

    You play as a tortured artist who returns home to complete his masterpiece. He enters his studio, paints the first layer of the painting and then begins to suffer from hallucinations. As you explore the artist's home, you unveil horrifying secrets about the artist's life. As you discover more secrets and clues about the him, you begin experiencing more twisted and dark hallucinations. You eventually learn that the artist was once a loving father and husband but his relationship with his family deteriorated over time when he distanced himself from his wife and daughter to focus more on his paintings as well as developing a drinking problem.

    The game's art direction nails the "horror" aspect rather well, particularly the final painting that I got at the end of my playthrough as well as the discovery of certain clues and the narrations that came with them. Some of the environments in the game's last half hour or so also nailed the "horror" aspect really well. The one thing I wish the developers would've done is to create some sort of cutscene for the clues you uncover, even if it was only a slide show of a few still images, because there was some REAL potential to create some **** hard-to-watch moments out of those. This is likely why the game's story wasn't really capturing me since it's given to you in short voice over segments and flavour text that break up the tediousness and repetitiveness of explore dark corridors and rooms.

    The game's frame rate is terrible; plenty of stuttering, streaming and lag issues at various points throughout the game. It's a shame because the game's environments are well rendered but trying to pan across to look around while dropping frames kind of kills it for me.

    Gameplay tip: turn head bobbing off because my god is obnoxious! I had to disable that option after about 20 mins of gameplay because I felt like I was going to be sick.

    Layers of Fear does some things well with it's great horror set pieces and general art direction but it's story wasn't really grabbing me because it was mostly fed to me through narrations and text dumps, the game's pace felt like a bit of slog and it relies a bit too much on jumpscares for it's "scariness".

    It also reminded me that it was such a shame that Silent Hills got canceled, since Layers of Fear's gameplay borrows heavily from it's teaser.

    Overall, I'm not convinced that Layers of Fear is the type of game for me and as such, I have a hard time giving it my recommendation.    … Expand
  7. CarterJeff
    Aug 14, 2020
    4
    Lawyers of Fear sucks. LaWyers of Fear sucks. LaWyErs of Fear sucks. LaWyErS of Fear sucks.

Awards & Rankings

57
#57 Best Xbox One Game of 2016
41
#41 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2016
45
#45 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Windows Central
    May 28, 2016
    80
    3-5 hours may not seem long for a game, but the quality of those few short hours is really worth it. With a reasonably low price tag of around $20, I think you'd be missing out on a very intriguing and very exciting game. While deep down yes, it is your bog standard psychological horror scare tactic jamboree, its executed in such a way that it blows others like Slender or SCP-187-b clean out of the water.
    Read full review
  2. games(TM)
    Apr 13, 2016
    60
    What you’re left with is a short slice of horror that’s got a few genuinely brilliant ideas up its bloody sleeve, but one that dulls the edges of its own experience with a lack of subtlety.
    Read full review
  3. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Mar 27, 2016
    90
    Smart, spooky and psychedelic, this thrusts you into its story, whirls you about and leaves you dizzy. You'll hate and enjoy your stay in equal measures - in the best possible way. [Apr 2016, p.76]
See all critic reviews »