Layers of Fear 2 Review
A surreal adventure as creepy as it is beautiful.
Layers of Fear 2 does some fascinating things in terms of abstract storytelling, using its constantly unsettling atmosphere to tell a surprisingly emotional, engaging tale. Switching the Victorian mansion setting of the first game for a mannequin-filled cruise liner in the early 20th century, the five acts of Layers of Fear 2 drip with creepy imagery and haunting tableaus.
You play the role of a troubled, famous actor, chosen as the lead in a reclusive director’s final work. Shot on set aboard a luxury cruise ship, you’re constantly on edge. The deep, gravelled voice of the director guides you from time to time on your quest to ‘build the character’. At first, it feels like an elaborate exercise in method acting, but as you navigate through dim corridors (which will change and reshape at a moment’s notice), solve puzzles and read snippets of backstory to learn more about the setting, the sense of unnerving dread seeps in.
Bloober Team have done some fantastic visual work. Not only are the environments detailed and authentic, but the lighting is spectacular. At times, you’ll be presented with stunning imagery, largely dictated by clever lighting choices and composition, which will make you stop in your tracks to appreciate it. There are acts which take place almost entirely in black and white – which took my eyes some getting used to – while others saturate colour to evoke specific feelings and themes.
Sound design, too, is equally impressive. At times you can hear elements of the 1920s ship creaking and rattling around you. Repetitive clanging, your footsteps, and the constant click of doors locking up behind you; all of these combine with the original score to establish a lonesome, threatening tone. The refrain of the main theme is of particular note. Sometimes it brings on a tense fear, other times it can be a source of comfort. The way the visuals and sound design come together really do feel like the direction of an auteur. When everything clicks like this, Layers of Fear 2 is a special horror experience.
There are times, though, that the expert build-up of tension is spoiled. As a first-person horror game, it seems shackled to some cliches and tropes you just wish had been removed completely. Obtuse, vague puzzles will completely halt the flow of an act, while trial and error chase sequences are more frustrating and annoying than scary. Layers of Fear 2 is at its best when it trusts itself to tell an abstract story in its own creative way.
In that sense, you could say that it works best when it’s not actually trying to be a traditional horror game. Act three is a prime example of this. The main mystery and premise is to find out who you are, and what’s going on with this movie and its director. But the story you slowly stumble on, through environmental notes, left-behind objects, and flashback narration, is the story that takes centre stage.
This story focuses on two children, Lily and James, stowaways on the ship and playing at pirates under orders from the older, more confident Lily. The relationship between the two is written extremely well and, what begins as a cute aside, later delves deeper into a very human tragedy.
Around halfway through my five-hour playtime, I began to care less and less about the main character and the director, simply wanting to learn more about Lily and James – to which the narrative obliges. For me, the horror became less about the formless, ghoulish monster chasing me through the cargo holds, and more about the fate of these two children trying to overcome personal trauma. The way in which the two main narrative arcs intertwine is also done with a deft hand, adding layers to both without saying too much.
The way the story is told does leave a lot to interpretation; answers do not come readily or clearly. This is a large part of its charm. You can gain clarity on some aspects by finding collectibles around the ship, but missing one means having to restart on new game plus once you’re finished. Here, while you can play acts independently, it’s not always clear which act contains the missing collectible, and while the story and atmosphere are effective, going through linear areas just to find a single film slide, for example, does take the edge off almost entirely.
As you might expect, with a horror story like this there are multiple endings. It’s not completely obvious what effects which ending you get, though at certain ‘key scenes’ in the story you do get to make important choices. In these, you are led to either follow or ignore direction and, I imagine, the permutations on the final scene will largely be swayed by your actions here. Do other actions count towards the ending? I’m not sure. Is it worth replaying the whole thing multiple times just to see the true ending? Probably not. I prefer Layers of Fear 2 as a single, contained experience. It works perfectly like that. Doing it over again with only slight differences in your actions would water it down too much.
Layers of Fear 2 finds a lot of success in its approach to first-person horror. The art direction, the atmosphere, the story and the sheer creativity at play work splendidly. The typical horror game chases and jump scares weight it down a little, making me think how much more successful – more special – it would have been if it had leaned more into some of the later game surrealism, eschewing standard horror construction and simply doing its own thing at all times.
Despite that, Layers of Fear 2 feels fresh. It is always tense and captivating and there’s a human story behind the curtain of the initial premise. The constant claustrophobic foreboding, the terrific blend of styles and its thought-provoking storytelling make this a cerebral, artisanal horror experience filled with suspense and, surprisingly, beauty.
[Reviewed on PC]