A cabin featuring a painter’s tools and a cupboard full of empty wine bottles is a clear nod to the first gamesame mechanic was employed in the
previous game. Presumably it’s an
effort to force the player to commit
to their choices, but it only serves
tofrustrateandpullyououtofthe
immersiononwhichit relies.
Thegame’smainthreatprovides
bothitsbestscaresbutalsoits
biggestfrustrations.You’llcome
acrossa grotesque,formlesscreature
thatbeginstochaseyou.Thiscan
bequitenerve-wrackingwhenyou’re
runningdowncorridorsandyouturn
toshutdoorsbehindyouandseethe
creaturejustinchesaway,butthe
downside is that you’re greeted
instantly by death should you ever
make contact with it. This isn’t so
bad on its own, but when it pops up
seemingly out of nowhere, for you to
then die, it quickly starts to frustrate.
All work and no play
It’s not long before the game seems
to lose focus and meaning. There
are a huge amount of references or
homages to many other films, namely
A Trip To The Moon by Georges Méliès
- which is no surprise given that
the game’s original codename was
‘Project Méliès’ - and overt references
to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining,
with a tricycle rolling down a corridor
followed by the appearance of two
creepy twin sisters. But short of being
a reference to the game’s cinematic
themes, the inclusion of these rather
on-the-nose references serves no
real purpose and they frequently pull
you out of your immersion.
The puzzles, too, seem to serve no
purpose and interfere with the pacing.
Their inclusion is not only at times
perplexing but also inane. One puzzle
has you lowering a chair prop into a
square outline on a spinning stage,
which only takes advantage of your
skill in timing. Another has you locked
in a room trying to recreate a shadow
by activating certain objects within
the room, reducingit toa gameoftrial
and error until somethinghappens.
Layers of Fear 2containsan
interesting narrativebutit’ssadly
let down by its manyfrustrations.
It requires you to peelbackfartoo
many ‘layers’ to seeallofit,andthe
likelihood is that youwon’tpullback
enough to reveal thewholethingby
the game’s end. ■missing
Layers
unless you’re very
lucky, it’s unlikely that
you’ll pick up
everything collectible
in the first
playthrough. Some
items will be locked
away from you should
you make the wrong
turn for just a
moment, turning back
around to find that
yourpreviouspath
hasbeenerased.
Thankfullya ‘new
Game+’ mode gives
youtheopportunityto
mopupwhatyou
missed.it may even
end up revealing more
of the story for you to
piece together.“It’s not lon
before the
ame seems
to lose focus
and meanin ”
Far LeFT
mannequins
appear
frequently, and
there’sa
spooky‘Weeping
angel’ quality
aboutthem.
righT This looks
like a pretty
safe corridor to
walk down.oXmverdict
a darkly poetic
homage to horror
cinema,butone
thatlacksits
ownidentity.6
LeFTeach reel
representsone
of the fiveacts.
after completing
the game you can
replay any act.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm TheoFFiCialxBoxMaGazine 089revieW