"There’s nothing about any of it that leads to feelings of trepidation. “A dead end? Time to turn around and act surprised at the change!” There’s nothing really wrong with this type of progression, but Layers of Fear 2 telegraphs them so obviously and constantly that I became aware of the tricks early on and found myself knowing precisely when and where I’d trigger an alteration. Immediately after, merely turning around will have unlocked will change the scenery and open up new paths to proceed through. When it wants you somewhere specific, it ensures all other paths are blocked off to funnel you in the desired direction. Layer of Fear 2’s core gameplay relies heavily on a looping mechanic. These scenes are at least more intimidating than sudden death, and I appreciated the brief sense of adrenaline, even if it was usually followed up with the game’s normal tameness. When it’s not one-shotting you this way, the monster chases you through linear paths until you reach a predetermined point where you escape or close a door on it. But since the scene itself built no tension beforehand nor gave me any real opportunity to escape, the shortly-lived jump scare solely brought me frustration, not fear. One such situation had me walking down a hallway with a door ajar on my left begging to be opened further, but doing so resulted in sudden death by the monster. There’s a monstrous apparition that shows up in certain scenes, but rather than evoke genuine fear, it often one-shot kills you unexpectedly. It’s a perfect example of just how apparent the game had made it that I never had anything to actually be afraid of. They’re seen as props in some key scenes to draw the player’s attention to items or keys to obtain, but since nothing truly scary ever really happens, I found myself checking my phone during an in-game elevator ride packed full of them. An endless onslaught of seemingly old-timey mannequins litter the game’s locations and often change stances or suddenly appear behind you upon turning your back momentarily, but the effect is used so frequently and unenthusiastically that it’s tiresome by the end of the game’s first act. But there’s nothing about any of it that leads to feelings of trepidation. Rats scurry past you as you navigate dark cabins and banquet halls on the ship, and some of the otherworldly sections of the game are delightfully mysterious in presentation. There’s the normal flickering lights, hallucinations, and some admittedly trippy one-off segments that impress from purely an aesthetic standpoint with fantastic visuals. Isn’t this so scary?”"īut no, Layers of Fear 2 is not scary. "Moseying around picking up items and reading pieces of paper might be more rewarding if any of the game’s bizarre optical illusions tied together into something cohesive, but it instead offers us little more than a collection of rooms and events seemingly saying, “Look at how weird this is. Moseying around picking up items and reading pieces of paper might be more rewarding if any of the game’s bizarre optical illusions tied together into something cohesive, but it instead offers us little more than a collection of rooms and events seemingly saying, “Look at how weird this is. Where an incredibly tense game like Outlast melds together macabre ambiance, jump scares, and genuinely high-stakes gameplay with a sense of purpose, Layers of Fear 2 doesn’t manage to conjure so much as a mildly compelling reason for doing… well, anything. If it was aiming to create even a modicum of fear or anxiety, it certainly failed to succeed on me. If it’s really doing its job, a horror game should never feel like a mere slideshow of weirdness, and yet that’s all Layers of Fear 2 manages to be from its opening moments to its mediocre finale. It digs into their mind to alarm and disorient, leaving them fearful even in seemingly innocent or peaceful situations. A successful horror game does more than just create strange and distressing imagery for its player.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |