When Bloober Team and Anshar Studios first announced the newLayers of Feargame, they introduced it to horror fans with the nameLayers of Fears. Fan feedback saw Bloober Teamchange the title to simplyLayers of Fear, meaning the game shares its name with the 2016 original. And while the 2016 original has indeed been recreated for this newLayers of Fear, the new game is much more than a simple repeat.
The2023Layers of Feargameis scheduled to launch in June 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. It combines the content from the firstLayers of Feargame, theInheritanceexpansion, andLayers of Fear 2, while also introducing a brand-new chapter for the original game in the form of The Last Note. In The Last Note, players take control of the painter’s wife from the original game, which should shed new light on the franchise’s overarching narrative.
RELATED:Bloober Team Releases New Layers of Fear Trailer
Game Rant was recently shown a hands-off presentation of the newLayers of Fearin action, with this presentation focused on a new story called The Lighthouse as well as the remade first game. The Lighthouse looks to tie theLayers of Fearnarrative together and has players taking on the role of a writer who is staying at a secluded and creepy lighthouse in an effort to get inspiration for their work. In typicalLayers of Fearfashion, players will walk around, interact with items, and be bombarded by jump scares, but with far superior graphics compared to the older games.
ThenewLayers of Fearis built using Unreal Engine 5, and Bloober Team is putting the new technology to great use. Even in its current work-in-progress state,Layers of Fearlooks incredible, with highly-detailed environments and atmospheric lighting. It could very well be Bloober Team’s most visually-striking game to date, which is saying something as the studio has a history of putting out graphically-impressive games.
After spending some brief time with the new writer character, theLayers of Feardemo then transitioned to gameplay from the recreated original game. Here the graphical improvements were even more obvious. Comparing the scenes from theoriginalLayers of Fearto this remade version, it’s clear that the 2023 iteration represents a massive leap forward in terms of graphics, to the point where it feels like a brand-new game.
The graphical updates would honestly be enough for mostLayers of Fearfans to be interested in this new version of the story, but there are some important gameplay changes as well, with one big one on display in the presentation. In the newLayers of Feargame, players have access to a lantern that can actually be utilized as a way to fight off the wife’s ghost.
Players are basically helpless in the originalLayers of Feargame, but this re-imagined version gives players a means of defending themselves. Near the end of the gameplay presentation, the painter was confronted by his wife’s ghost. The player was able to shine the lantern on her, causing her to catch aflame, slow down, and eventually explode. The player used this respite to book it to a different room, though it didn’t take long before they were pursued again.
While some hardcore fans of the original game may not like the addition of the lantern, it should allow for more engaging moment-to-moment gameplay and will potentially make the game more appealing to those who prefer having a way to fight back against enemies in horror games. Plus, the lantern has the practical use of functioning as a way to illuminate dark areas, addressing one of the bigger complaints that people had with the originalLayers of Feargame.
Bloober Teamwants this newLayers of Fearto be the studio’s “crowning work,” and based on what we’ve seen, it’s well on its way to achieving that goal. The new content looks to be worthwhile, and the visual upgrades are considerable. The 2023Layers of Fearshould be the definitive way to experience the series, but time will tell if it lives up to expectations.
Layers of Fearlaunches June 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
