Describing this game as psychedelic or psychological horror is highly accurate. That doesn’t mean the atmosphere isn’t tense. Some rooms look perfectly normal, while others are melting or falling apart. Since there are very few sequences where you’re being pursued by an entity that can harm you (the best way I can word it without spoiling anything), you can afford to spend time looking around.

Items that seemed like only decoration will gain significance, and connections can be drawn that make sense of the game’s events. Perusing the closets, drawers, and cabinets is not only beneficial in adding content to the story, but it really does tie everything together. If you aren’t observant, you could miss out on something. There are tons of notes scattered around that provide details of the story, and often the act of turning around or moving down a hallway will trigger a change in a painting or make writing appear on the wall. This is why Layers of Fear is a game where you need to pay close attention and search each environment as thoroughly as you can. In this way, it’s almost like an eerie twist on games like Gone Home.Īll or most of the key items in the story can be found in the very beginning, before you start work on the portrait. The luxurious pieces of furniture, the vintage pamphlets, and even the towels and hand mirror in the bathroom combine to tell a story. In spite of these small anachronisms, Layers of Fear fills the family’s mansion with the trappings of their time well. Instead, he and his wife amuse themselves with their artistic hobbies, along with the occasional game of checkers or dominoes, and their daughter’s room is filled with alphabet blocks and dolls.Ītari-Licensed console and handheld devices by My Arcade are now available on There are no cell phones, computers, or technological toys laying around. The main character’s paintings are done in a classical style, and his bedroom has a gramophone in it which plays a snippet of a song called “ Stumbling” from the 1920s. The description says the game was inspired by masterpiece paintings from centuries past, along with architecture and decor from the 19th century, which seems to fit. While the setting is gorgeous and definitely not contemporary, it’s hard to determine what era Layers of Fear takes place in.

The open-ended nature of this game is a major aspect that I will address later in this review. This decision allows the player freedom to envision the characters’ identities and, in a way, mold the story as they wish.

Any notes or newspaper clippings have the names scratched out, and even the few photographs you find are damaged or scribbled over in a way that hides the faces. I watched gameplay of this title when it was in Early Access, so I can tell what bits of the story got edited out, but there’s one thing I am glad made the final cut: not giving the characters names.

This game goes beyond themes of creative block and perfectionism, though it touches on topics such as marriage and children, grief in the wake of a tragedy, alcoholism, mental illness, and other struggles that plague this little family. It’s easy to empathize with a painter on a quest to complete his magnum opus we all have that one project we want so badly to get right. As a creative, I was instantly fascinated by the premise of Layers of Fear.

Layers of fear 3 ending explained