#Layers of fear finish it series#

To use a more relevant example, Alien Isolation was a brilliant game but far too long to keep momentum. The original Bioshock immediately springs to mind, as that final chapter was naff and the game would have been a lot better if it had stopped at the “would you kindly” revelation. Granted, I’d be pissed off if I bought a brand new £40 game and was looking at the ending credits 1 hour later but, on the opposite side of the coin, I’ve played plenty of games which have felt too long, as if the developers felt obligated to make their games longer to justify the price of admission.

I always find the “number of hours” argument a bit strange, as if a game can only be considered worth picking up if its over x hours long. A friend watched me play through all five hours or so, and with the lights off and the surround sound on he agreed it was just like watching a scary movie. Personally I have no problems with this type of game and it also makes a great passive viewing experience. There are secrets to discover and a rich back story, but the game is essentially one long haunted house ride, an extended version of the dream sequences found in 80s horror movies. It will only last a few seconds before the ceiling fan spins off and whizzes past like a giant throwing star, but at least there are a few moments of serene beauty amidst the horror of discovering what a twisted and depraved character you are playing. That said, even the most horrific of paintings can contain wonder and the same can be said for Layers of Fear, amidst the screaming dolls and warping corridors there moments of calm beauty.Ī piano will play a gentle tune somewhere in the mansion, or perhaps gravity fails, causing hundreds of chequerboard pieces to float in to the air, allowing you to gently push them around like a sparkling zero G waterfall. As you fall deeper into madness you can uncover the truth about your character and his deeds, none of which are pleasant. Whilst there is the odd ghost to be found and an awful lot of things banging on doors and prowling outside windows, the real monster of game is you.

#Layers of fear finish it series#

There are also P.T.-like sections where the same corridor will repeat time and again, or conversely where you’re presented with a long series of corridors that never repeat, despite the fact that you’ve turned right twenty times and have been walking round in circles. For example, you could walk in to a square room with no doors whatsoever, turn around and discover the door has simply vanished, and whilst you are lookig behind you, the game replaces the previously blank walls with something terrifying, so you jump when you spin back.

It’s immensely impressive how the geometry of the levels change. Rooms can change in a blink of an eye, and turning around and walking back through a door you just entered through will often lead to complete different room. Whilst the tropes are out in force, the game’s master stroke is in how the mansion warps around you. Every box is ticked, and you’ll encounter rocking chairs moving by themselves, creepy dolls, doors slamming behind you, ghostly apparitions, musical boxes, wheelchairs, balls bouncing down stairs, books flying off shelves and more. The game includes every scary movie cliché you can imagine at some point or other.