Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch

Like a painting, Layers of Fear has layers of suspense and terror

When you play a horror game, you condition yourself to the scares. You try to prepare for the possible surprises when opening a door or peeking around a corner but, knowing that the point of the experience is to terrify you, your brain betrays you and creates Suspense. Layers of Fear: Legacy is a game that focuses on exploring and experiencing this mental state of suspense, taking it to its limit.

Story: 9

The game starts by locking you in the mansion, with little explanation of how you ended up there or what your goal is… It doesn’t even explain who you are. All you have left is to explore the first rooms of the house and try to understand what happened in such a strange place.

Each room holds some information to help you piece together the story of the painter and his family in that house. Some rooms have paintings or phrases painted on the walls, some keep letters exchanged between the painter and his wife, others hide correspondence from doctors, neighbors and others who had some contact with the house… And, in a few rare moments, you find a personal object of a family member. You can check these items in detail while listening to conversations or monologues echoing… As if they were someone’s memories.
The work is convincing and, despite the terrifying and supernatural things that happen there, it even seems that a crazy painter lived in that house, and that all that story and the mansion could have existed somewhere.

The way the house is presented and the story is told contribute immensely to creating the horror mood in the game. Although most of the playtime is spent building an atmosphere of tension and suspense through narrative and exploration alone, and there are rarely moments of real action or interaction, the psychological work is so well executed that you will constantly feel terrified, and with genuine fear of moving forward.

Mechanics: 8

Layers of Fear: Legacy follows the control standards of the Horror genre. The First Person camera restricts your field of view and makes the experience more personal, your movement is uncomfortably slow and there is a constant sense of powerlessness. All you can do in this immense and menacing mansion is wander and flee, occasionally interacting with some objects to reveal information about the story, solve small puzzles or open/close doors and drawers.

The Switch presents some differences in how you interact with the environment, since it supports gesture commands with its Joy-Con controller. But what really makes the little controllers stand out is the way they provide enormous immersion through HD Rumble technology, with small tremors when stepping on shards of glass, dropping an object or interacting with doorknobs… plus feeling your own trembling in the most frightening and supernatural moments.

Audio and visuals: 10

Layers of Fear is one of the most beautiful games you will see running on the Switch. It’s scary how high-fidelity the graphics are, the textures are detailed and the lighting is well done. The game is extremely realistic, and this contributes immensely to increasing the immersion and reinforcing the horror and the mood of suspense.

The sound work is quite competent. There is no ambient music, but the sound effects also do their part in building a realistic and terrifying atmosphere. The sounds of your footsteps always sound right, according to the type of floor and objects you bump into or step on. The game’s main theme is a good composition, which manages to convey well the central message and proposal of Layers of Fear.

Final thoughts

Layers of Fear: Legacy calls itself a Psychological Horror game, and delivers what it promises: an experience different from the cheap scares of other horror titles. The game does a haunting job of creating an immersive atmosphere that intimidates and raises suspense to the maximum level.

Score

Story = 9

Mechanics = 8

Audio and visuals = 10

Worth the 20 dollars? If you are looking for a game to make you tremble to the core, this is the best title your 20 dollars will find! If you don’t like feeling fear, don’t play it even for free!

Overall: 9

Played on the Nintendo Switch version