Review for Layers of Fear 2. Game for PC and Steam, the video game was released on 28/05/2019
In 2016 Layers of Fear led us inside a dilapidated mansion belonging to a painter tormented by a mysterious past and whose mental integrity, close to collapse, crossed the line between reality and illusion. With Layers of Fear 2 we return to those horror-psychological atmospheres that characterized the previous work of the Polish Bloober Team, however we are not faced with a canonical sequel, a role played in part by the Inheritance DLC, so the two titles are unrelated to each other. The only connecting point, beyond a few quotations, is the thematic continuum in which the artist crosses the line between genius and madness trying to create his masterpiece, his greatest work that will consign him to history.
The seventh art
The set, and it should be said, of Layers of Fear 2 is an imposing cruise ship in which we will follow the stories of a famous Hollywood actor hired by an eclectic and somewhat mysterious director. To get his actor into the part, the director has arranged that different areas of the ship are off limits to the rest of the passengers, thus making sure that cabins, corridors and decks can be used as film sets. Beyond the passengers, it is immediately clear that we will be completely alone: no member of the troupe, no extras and no other actors will make an appearance. So are we sure that there is someone else on board? While doubts multiply, the only human presence is guaranteed by written traces: various fragments and documents will be scattered around the many game locations and will help us compose the pieces of a disturbing mystery.
We will then follow the story of our actor thanks to the notes left by his agent, we will discover events related to our director, perhaps the real protagonist of the story and deux ex machina who will guide our steps with his disturbing voiceover. The plot turns out to be an interesting intertwining of various stories, among which the events of Lily and her younger brother James stand out., probably escaped from home or orphans hidden inside the ship (ours is a ship of the past?) and who in their pirate adventure, on the border between game and reality, will intertwine their stealthy steps with those of our actor. Furthermore, in a more marginal way, we will discover some details of life on board and of the mysteriously disappeared crew, in what looks like a whirling and surreal passage between reality and dream, between present and past.
A quiet walk in the dark
Needless to turn around, in terms of gameplay Layers of Fear 2 is a classic walking horror simulator without inventory (except for some superimposed objects) and with limited possibilities of interaction (doors, drawers, objects, etc.). The few puzzles will not prove difficult even for newcomers to graphic adventures and it is clear that the purpose of the developers is to focus the player's attention on the narrative background and on the surreal experience that characterizes the title. Studded with jump scare, both visual and sound, Layers of Fear 2 manages to scare effectively thanks to good scenic timing and some action phases, there will be news of the title. Unlike the predecessor, it will in fact be possible to lose one's life and start over from the last checkpoint in some key situations - it should be noted, however, that the action will be characterized only by the escape and blocking one's ghostly pursuer. Playing the title in a dark environment and wearing a pair of supra-aural headphones, as suggested by the developers themselves, to better appreciate the binaural sound sector, will make the horror and visual experience even more satisfying. The simplicity of the gameplay will therefore have its counterpart in the plot, deliberately fragmented and interpretable, and which manages to compensate for the lack of real exploratory phases and the absence of medium-complex puzzles.
As in the first title of the series, we will also have here a safe zone, this time represented by our accommodation, in which we will find ourselves every time we complete one of the five acts that make up Layers of Fear 2. Inside the luxury cabin of our actor we will find the collected collectibles (posters, memorabilia, slides and objects found from the sea thanks to the use of the telescope) and we will see the progressive construction of the character. Exact, unlike Layers of Fear, where each chapter added a detail to the artist's painting, in this case we will compose our cinematic alter ego, which is none other than a typical wooden puppet, identical to the many we will meet on our surreal journey through the corridors of the ship.
Action!
Before completing each chapter we will enter the recording room, characterized by black and white, and we will follow the script dictated by the director. On these rare occasions we will be able to make choices, or whether or not to follow the already written part, and presumably influence the ending, or act against the directives imposed from above. Like its predecessor, Layers of Fear 2 also features multiple endings but currently it is not clear which actions, except the aforementioned, can influence our destiny and therefore the ending. In any case, this possibility extends the longevity of a rather short basic title that can be terminated in scarce 4-5 hours. It goes without saying that the most demanding will know how to spend several hours looking for all the objects, posters and actions necessary to unlock achievements and trophies.
On a technical level Layers of Fear 2 makes use of a decent use of the Unreal Engine but there are some qualitative changes depending on the environment, however, the fluidity and the ability to select 30 or 60 fps is appreciable, even if to be honest the difference is not as palpable as one would expect. Different speech must be made for the aforementioned sound sector, really well done and engaging in all its aspects: from the simplest creak to dubbing and the soundtrack, the audio behind Layers of Fear 2 raises the product quality bar by several notches and will know how to involve us and give us much more than a leap from the chair.
Layers of Fear 2 is undoubtedly an excellent horror, with a solid and interesting narrative and capable of involving thanks to several interesting ideas. However, at its core, it remains a hardly satisfying walking simulator for fans of exploration and tangled puzzles. Despite this, thanks to its audiovisual and narrative peculiarities, it will be a joy for lovers of psychological and supernatural horror and for those looking for a plot that is not simple but to discover. Thanks to the patient study of the clues left by Bloober Team in the many rooms and halls that make up this immense ship-film set, we will in fact compose an interesting and complex picture. Are we facing a worthy successor to Layers of Fear? Absolutely, but what's more, Layers of Fear 2 proves to be a certificate of love for cinema and the horror experience in general.
► Layers of Fear 2 is a Horror-type game developed and published by Bloober Team for PC and Steam, the video game was released on 28/05/2019
