![]() On a moment-to-moment basis, I never knew what to expect. Objects you can interact with help shape the story between scripted moments, but even the stationary pieces, the ones that do not shift at all, feel carefully placed to add context the story. Each area has a remarkable attention to detail, which makes the illusions all the more stunning. There’s usually only one place to go to advance the story, but I still felt like I was exploring a much more open space thanks to its shifting architecture. The transformations are methodically placed, deftly masking the linearity of each act. Layers of Fear 2’s clever environment-changing design remains remarkable throughout the roughly eight-hour story. Some of these scenes, the ones that I seemingly stumbled into by accident, made my jaw drop in awe. Lighting effects further exacerbate the horrors that appear both while staring directly at them and when looking away for just a moment. Other passages lead to entirely new environments outside of the ship, such as floating skyscrapers, ominous gardens, and labyrinths. A door that you just walked through may be gone when you turn around, revealing a new corridor in its place. But what makes this world so interesting is that, like the P.T.-inspired original, Layers of Fear 2 kept me on the edge of my seat by constantly toying with environments the moment I looked away. The ocean liner is more of a central hub than a confining setting, and visiting other locations keeps it from becoming too familiar. “Even though the spoken and written story excels, the brunt of Layers of Fear 2’s magic lies in the environments you explore. Unfortunately, you cannot revisit a previous acts of the story, so you’d have to do a New Game+ run and likely know what you’re looking for ahead of time to ensure you get a different ending. Though these moments work well thematically, it seems easy to miss the actual, subtle moments that trigger alternate endings. Some junctures are presented as critical choice-based moments, but most of the time you don’t actually have a choice at all. Multiple endings exist as possibilities in Layers of Fear 2, but the process for seeing each isn’t exactly clear. On multiple occasions, I loaded the most recent checkpoint to listen to the words again to try and fully absorb their meaning. Coupled with Lily’s doleful lyrical poetry and the earnest performance of her younger brother, Layers of Fear 2 has some of the sharpest writing I’ve seen – not just in horror games, but across all genres. That’s perhaps the greatest strength of the story: its prowess for making me believe, if even for a moment, that the crazy words coming from the void are the stuff of genius. The obtuseness can be a tad much at times, but the delirious diatribes of the director, which are riddled with contradictions and philosophical tangents, frequently border on the profound as well. Each of these superb arcs entwine to create a whole that is both disorienting and, yes, satisfyingly layered.Steeped in such madness, it’s no surprise that a significant portion of the dialogue borders on the nonsensical. And then there’s the tale of you, the actor, who somehow wound up on this ship for this strange role. There’s also the mystery of the crew and passengers who once occupied the vessel. Picking up objects such as a monocular or empty cans of food cues interesting audio logs of the siblings’ own experiences that took place there. Act.One of the main storylines follows Lily and James, siblings who pretended to be pirates on the ship. You push those memories down but let the experiences drive you into who, or what, you must play.ĭarkness surrounds as you stand silently in the spotlight, the only sounds to be heard over your heartbeat are the distant breaking of waves against the hull and the sound of cameras pointed in your direction preserving this moment for eternity.Ī deep and commanding voice rises from the distance. That same past has scraped deep furrowing scars into you, not on the outside where the world can see, but in a place buried so deep within that it has become shapeless. Your past has helped to mold you into what you are, forced upon you the skills required to hone your craft. The demand to act fills your mind, but the script pages hold no words. ![]() No call to action that you need to become this version of yourself. Written just for you.You are met with silence. Not just in character, you are the character. The cameras are all focused on you the center of the scene.
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