Layers of Fear (2023) Review

Layers of Fear reviewed by Tristan Ogilvie on PC. Also available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. “Layers of Fear serves up a series of atmospheric and often surreal trips through the shattered psyches of some seriously tortured artists. It’s made all the more eye-catching thanks to Unreal Engine 5, and the addition of the flashlight provides some interesting new ways to both interact with your surroundings and mitigate the frustration of the stalker encounters previously suffered in the original games. However, its sleight of hand scare tactics are still all too clearly telegraphed and this predictable formula grew stale long before I reached the end of each of its main story threads. Ultimately Layers of Fear comes across as a largely scare-free 13-hour crawl through a string of mildly creepy hallways as opposed to a truly terrifying trek into darkness.“