Layers of Fear 2 is a first-person, psychological thriller-horror gaming developed by Bloober Team. At this time, Bloober Team is well-known for its horror games, so it’s unsurprising to determine Layers of Fear 2 escape towards the Nintendo Switch. Even though it’s still as trippy and thought-provoking since it's PlayStation and Xbox counterparts, the chilling impact is a bit lost on the hand-held console.
In Layers of Fear 2, players are put in the shoes of the talented Hollywood actor playing charge role in a mysterious film direct by a similarly enigmatic Director. The Director is renowned for his eccentric technique of preparing his actors for their roles before they ever step foot on set. It doesn't take very long to realize this technique is referring to method acting. Because of the extreme lengths actors will go while method acting, it's obvious why this subject would be a good one to feature in Layers of Fear 2-as players get more into character, they'll lose themselves.
If it was not obvious to date, Layers of Fear 2 is just a sequel in name to Layers of Fear, Bloober’s Team first game. The place, characters, storyline, and subject from the horror are completely different. But how this horror tale is crafted is familiar enough to acknowledge Bloober Team's signature. The expert cuts-where you'll walk down a hall, change, and become in a completely different place-and the atmosphere, between your chilling sounds and creepy visuals, are what make this a Bloober Team creation.
The game actively changes around the player, developing a disorientating environment those who have played Layers of Fear or Blair Witch can be really acquainted with. There has been a lot detail put into each scene and hang you'll explore. As well as the smallest facts are used to create an uneasy feeling, like when you will find one too many shadows on your wall. With mannequins moving behind your back, unexpected changes in physics, and some downright psychedelic moments, this game is definitely an absolute experience.
The connection to film doesn't stop with the storyline. The game is broken into five acts, requiring players to locate a film reel to visit onto the next act. In each act, the sets you explore harken to various film genres and directly borrow objects from classic movies like The Wizard of Oz or The Shining. From time to time, the act will plunge players into black and white, producing a chilling effect and warning players of danger ahead.
Players only know the Director through a disembodied voice, leading them through each act and giving them orders that they'll either ignore or follow. How players choose to communicate with the Director determines the ending from the game. The previous iteration of this series were built with a similar mechanic, therefore it is nice to determine coming back for this, not only giving players choices but additionally an incentive to replay the game.
There is a large focus on exploration. While the story can not be missed just by playing straight with the game and interacting with the Director, players will get much more nuance out of the story by picking up and examining objects and reading correspondence. And while some interactable objects will emit whispers you are able to follow to their source, there's still lots of visual searching to do. The only downside to some of this searching is that it can be difficult to have interaction with objects sometimes. Using the Switch in its handheld state, grabbing objects can sometimes require an excessive amount of precision and it can be considered a find it difficult to open doors or cabinets.
While playing farmville in docked mode brings all the scare and creepiness it had been meant to, most people have a Switch because of its easy experience the go. However the smaller screen removes a lot of the scare factor. Using headphones to get the most out of the spooky audio spatial sounds improves this experience, but using the handheld form of the Switch removes the visual immersion achieved having a larger screen. This isn't to say the entire horror experience is ruined with a smaller screen, however i definitely found myself jumping less in this version.
While playing Layers of Fear 2 on the go isn't quite as scary since it's console versions, it's nevertheless creepy and thought-provoking as you explore the well-crafted scenes and lose yourself in succeeding as a completely different person.
Layers of Fear 2 can be obtained on May 20th for Nintendo Switch and it is already on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
