Layers of Fear (2016)

A painter in his mansion has to face the ghosts from his past. Will it defeat them, embrace the grief or be crushed by the guild? Layers of Fear is a decent horror game that failed to be a masterpiece by relating too much on known clichès and cheap jumpscares. Some said that it is an expanded version of the magnificient "P.T.". Even if it does recall it in some occassion (especially the ghost jumpscare animation which is exactley the same as the one from "P.T.), in the game credit it manages to be something on his own. I enjoyed how the house constantly morph and how the numerous rooms that the player has to explore change in a very fluidly manner, without any loading screen. It is however a mechanic that gets old very quickly. The graphics and the sounds design are damn good, giving a very eerie atmosphere which, I wont lie, made me quite nervous and tense especially at the beginning of the game. Unfortunately Layers of Fear use some scare tactics that fall short after a while. There are also some parts which were supposed to be creepy or scary but actually made me laugh so loud that one of my housemates thought I was watching some comedy. Layers of Fear is not the best horror game I ever played but it is not even the worst. I'll suggest to buy it when it is on sale or when the price get cut. Let's sound that around £7 or lower would be a good price for you to enjoy

This is a pretty solid Horror title. It starts off a bit slowly in a very normal house, but the atmosphere is beautiful; I explored every little corner just because I wanted to. Once the game starts in earnest, things get intense in a big hurry. I'm not one to startle easily, but for the first half of the game, I was jumping fairly consistently. In the second half, I stopped jumping, just because the scares are so consistent that I became acclimated to them. There is certainly a psychological element to the horror as the story gradually unfolds, but it does give away what's going on fairly early and easily. This also exposes some of the sillier elements, like those collectible rat doodles. Yes, I get that they're supposed to symbolize his descent into madness, but they're so over-the-top that I can't see them as anything but comical; often hilarious, in fact. The act of even having collectibles throws a sort of misdirection as to what the player should prioritize; in Horror, that should be SWEET MERCIFUL CRAP WHAT IS THAT!? KILL IT WITH FIRE OR RUN UNTIL YOUR SHOES GRIND THEMSELVES TO DUST!!! Instead, I often found myself missing some of the scares, because I was in a panic not to save my own flesh, but to find that photograph, doodle, note, or whatever. Immersion was also occasionally broken for me by the writing; this is supposed to be set almost a century ago, best I can tell, but the characters' lexical features are often more modern; I'm pretty sure that "nightmare fuel" originated in this century. So why did I still enjoy Layers of Fear through to the end? The surreal elements. Some truly bizarre spectacles unfold over the course of your experience, and that was more than enough to keep me riveted. If you're looking for one of those strange Horror experiences, where you have to question how much of it was even real, this game is for you!

It's so well made and impressive that I had to force myself through it. Slight headaches and nausea from the subject matter, but definitely worth it for anyone interested in immersive horror. Much better than the gratuitous jump-scares of other series.

This is one of the most unique games I've played so far out of a few hundred. It's more of an experience rather than a game. It's art ! (no pun intended)

Strong 4, very close to a 5. I bought Layers of Fear: Inheritance straight after playing this. Really impressed with this game. It wasn't that scary either. It's very different from any other game I have played. I believe that it could be considered boring by a lot of people, since you as a player more or less just get in for the ride to see where the game takes you. There is not much to talk about gameplay wise. You walk here and there, solve a few puzzles, read a few notes. I was amazed by the level design. Amazing stuff. Just play it slowly and don't be in a rush. I took about four hours and twenty minutes. Slower than most I guess. There were a few small problems. I didn't like how you would have to open drawers etc in order to find notes. It just messes with the atmosphere a bit. "OK the room just inverted itself and that painting melted, I'll look through that drawer to see if I can find any notes". But at the same time I didn't want to lose out on the plot. I'd prefer for most of the notes to lay in plain sight.