Posted on: June 20, 2020
horus89
Bestätigter BesitzerSpiele: 112 Rezensionen: 7
Scheduled Surprises
The game absolutely needs to be lauded for its innovatively interactive use of space, toying with the player's perception of reality by manipulating objects and rooms outside of view, thus creating a sense of a claustrophobic kafkaesque nightmare. However, this is also what hinders the game's effectiveness. If you give up on the expectations of reality, any subversion of reality becomes expected and thus no longer shocking. Even worse, due to on-the-dot pacing of said space-manipulation, not only are these subversions expected, but become ever more predictable, nullifying any attempts at horror the more you progress. I found myself walking directly into "danger" and "monsters" simply because I wasn't afraid of dying, since it was all a dream anyway. The game tells you early on that you can make impactful choices, and when I figured out that "dying" progressed the story in a satisfying and interesting way, I started seeking out the horror rather than avoiding it. When the writing on a wall told me not to look back, I immediately - and consciously - turned around, got eaten, and was happy about the new progress I'd made. This is not the kind of behavior that a game called "Layers of Fear" should entice. As a substitute for the lack of shock and surprise, the game instead employs a bucketload of visually stunning, but auditorily annoying and overly frequent jump scares. Puzzles are implemented infrequently and feel out-of-place most of the time. In a world where record players can bend space and time, why do safes still need codes to open? If reality changes when turning around, why do I need keys to open doors? While the narrative is told through some great environmental storytelling, the tropes are rather ancient. If you like Pickman's Model or the The Picture of Dorian Gray, the atmosphere and characters will be right up your alley, but for a game with minimal interaction, I would have expected a slightly more intriguing take on the insane artist story.
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