Layers of Fear 2 Xbox One X Review

Layers of Fear became a hit among horror fans for its sinister and unsettling atmosphere. Focusing on the journey and less on combat. Layers of Fear 2 provides many of the same concepts that made the first game such as hit. Remaining loyal to the same systems but offering a fresh take on the familiar mechanics. Layers of Fear 2 is a deeply tense journey through madness and lots of mannequins. 

Layers of Fear 2 has you control of a Hollywood actor attempting to follow the orders of an obscure director. Traveling through various parts of a ship smalls snippets of the story is given to the player through optional items, the scenery and the director himself. With multiple endings, you're encouraged to experiment with the various decisions provided to the player.

Much like the original game, the developers' focus is on psychological fear. Placing the player in supernatural situations that make you question what is real.  With voices speaking from afar, inanimate objects moving on their own, and sometimes a spiritual figure will chase you; constantly keeping you on high alert. The entire game has been crafted to send chills throughout your body, with a musical score that ensures you never feel safe.

The characters themselves remain an enigma throughout. Even the protagonist's information is left purposely mysterious. This adds to the tension, leaving you wondering if these characters are real, victims, or if something else is happening here.

Combat is mostly nonexistent. With the exception of a few scripted situations, your primary goal is solving mostly simple puzzles and exploring the environment. Many of these puzzles are simplistic trial and error tasks with the exception of optional locks that require a bit more investigating to unlock. 

The director is constantly with you, voicing his vision for this film as you move from act to act. You'll encounter a diverse set of locations, each separated and set with a specific theme. Every one is intricately designed with heavy emphasis put on lighting and environmental design. You definitely feel like you're part of a movie, a very disturbing movie. The developers combat the fatigue of being on a ship with tight corridors by adding some unrealistic areas that while may seem wild add to the narrative. Branching to an array of open areas featuring lots of flora, machines, and even the ocean.

The controls for Layers of Fear 2 is serviceable but has some vexing issues. For example, interacting with objects requires you to use the trigger to grab and then the thumbsticks to interact with. This decision can lead to annoying moments of flicking the sticks back and forth just to open the door. In other situations where you have to rotate the thumbstick, the camera will move while rotating the sticks or move slower than you're rotating. Many of these problems could've been avoided by offering a single button command to open objects or simply pointing the thumbsticks left or right to turn things.

Layers of Fear 2 features mostly the same formula from the original, altered it and created a brand new adventure. The gripping experience has you moving from one unsettling situation to another while never letting go that you could die at any moment. The lack of combat doesn't diminish the overall adventure but the controls could've been improved. Layers of Fear  2 is a short but gratifying horror title that provides that thrill fans of the genre enjoy.
 

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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