Peel again the layers and there is a clear connective tissue tying Layers of Fear 2 and its predecessor collectively. Both video games are centered round an artist steadily dropping their grip on actuality. While the unique recreation targeted on a struggling painter in an opulent Victorian mansion, Layers of Fear 2 shifts artwork types to inform the story of a Hollywood actor throughout the Golden Age of cinema, as he embarks on a brand new position in a film being shot aboard a decadent ocean liner. Developer Bloober Team has created one thing extra diversified and impressive than its previous work, taking inspiration from iconic movie administrators like Georges Méliès, Fritz Lang, and Alfred Hitchcock. And whereas it’s a visually hanging horror recreation, Layers of Fear 2 struggles to determine its personal identification and discover its themes of anguish and despair in significant methods.The story itself is sort of a jigsaw puzzle; a few of the items come collectively because the narrative unfolds, however others are scattered throughout the setting as notes, non-compulsory puzzles, sound recordings, and paraphernalia that present new particulars in your character’s troubled previous. You won’t have the ability to put the entire image collectively earlier than the sport’s conclusion, nevertheless it’s a well-recognized and clichéd story that is not too tough to discern as soon as occasions start to wrap up. Childhood trauma is the important thing motif, constructed across the relationship you had together with your sister, however Layers of Fear 2 commonly makes use of routine horror tropes versus one thing extra private. This determination would not coalesce with the story to supply a way that your character’s mind-set and previous anguish are shaping what’s taking place. During the primary act you catch spectral types out of the nook of your eye, and this finally evolves into frequent appearances from crudely assembled mannequins and a formless monster that stalks you thru a lot of the sport. These creatures are unnerving, however they’re probably not particular to the sport or this character, failing to capitalize on the strengths of psychological horror and the inherent significance of a personality’s fears and trepidations in manifesting intimate threats.Similarly, a lot of Layers of Fear 2’s artwork design is wrapped across the basic movies that impressed it, which does not all the time come collectively in a constant means. Saying it takes place aboard a ship is a tad disingenuous, because the setting is continually shifting and transporting you to a wide range of disparate environments. Overt homages to movies similar to The Wizard of Oz, A Trip to the Moon, and Nosferatu are littered all through the sport. Some of them are deftly woven into the narrative and the sport’s personal artwork model, however others lack context and fail to rise above being mere visible spectacles, foregoing any semblance of cohesion with the remainder of the sport. This is not essentially a nasty factor, significantly you probably have an appreciation for this period of cinema, nevertheless it additionally makes Layers of Fear 2 really feel like an inconsequential mishmash of movie references with none clear significance to the story it is making an attempt to inform.Much of Layers of Fear 2’s artwork design is wrapped across the basic movies that impressed it, which does not all the time come collectively in a constant meansYour interactions with the world are very tangible, which helps floor you within the recreation’s setting even when the threads of actuality are stretched thinner and thinner. The majority of your time is spent merely exploring every area, gathering knick-knacks to fill within the story, and fixing puzzles to progress. The conundrums it locations earlier than you might be by no means significantly difficult or memorable, whether or not it is utilizing a dial with 10 numbers to multiply as much as a particular digit or manipulating a roll of movie to create a doorway. Some of them are in line with the tone of the sport and its cinematic really feel, however others are so inane they only really feel misplaced.What Layers of Fear 2 does do properly is construct ambiance and an ever-escalating sense of dread. The rating is ominous, using string devices to ship a chill down your backbone. But there are additionally loads of alternatives for the sound design to breathe by itself, too. The creaking of wood floorboards, rats scurrying previous your ft, and the plip-plop of dripping water create stress regardless of their mundanity. It additionally makes you hesitant to easily flip round, because the setting toys with not possible areas, distorting the world round you whenever you’re not trying. When you stroll right into a room and discover a locked door with nowhere else to go however again the way in which you got here, the suspense hits, tapping into that concern of the unknown–of what’s ready to greet you when you flip your head.Unfortunately, these anxiety-inducing emotions diminish as the sport progresses and it leans too closely on tried and examined techniques. The aforementioned mannequins are constantly spectacular as a result of their creepy stop-motion-esque motion, however they’re featured so closely that their impact as one thing to be fearful of is severely diminished. This is an issue with Layers of Fear 2 as a complete; the protracted playtime of round 10 hours struggles to keep up its early momentum by way of the final couple of chapters. The formless creature that oftentimes stalks you provides some urgency to what’s in any other case a methodical affair, however essentially the most terrifying factor in regards to the chase sequences is the specter of having to redo them for those who fail. Sometimes the monster’s arrival comes so instantly that you simply’re useless earlier than even realizing what’s occurred, and these low-cost insta-kills imply you are frustratingly subjected to the identical demise animation over and over.There are remnants of a wonderful horror recreation submerged just under the floor of Layers of Fear 2. Horror icon Tony Todd–of Candyman fame–lends his bassy growl to the disembodied and omnipresent voice of the movie’s eccentric director. Each phrase he bellows is a sonorous deal with, irrespective of how terrifying his efficiency is. The artwork design, too, whereas disjointed, conjures some breathtaking imagery that you may’t assist however marvel at. It’s only a disgrace that Layers of Fear 2 ceaselessly pays lip service to the movies and video games that clearly impressed it whereas struggling to discover a voice of its personal. The story is simply too hazy to latch onto till the latter phases, after which nothing about it’s significantly participating, with its central thriller constructing in direction of one thing we have seen quite a few instances earlier than. It often hints at attention-grabbing themes however fails to go anyplace with them, falling again on telegraphed soar scares fairly than delving deeper into the psychological horror it may solely tease at. For each piece of fine work there’s a similar facet that lacks focus and path. Layers of Fear 2 feels misplaced at sea.