Layers of Fear review: An unsettling subversion of expectations
Imagine these Bob Dylan lyrics sung by a creepy children’s choir, or maybe a choir of dolls, and you’ve basically got the gist of Layers of Fear:
“Train wheels runnin’ through the back of my memory/As the daylight hours do retreat/Someday, everything is gonna be smooth like a rhapsody/When I paint my masterpiece.”
Point being, you’re a painter. An insane painter, an alcoholic and abusive husband, a terrible father, a man possessed by demons. A modern-day Caravaggio or Goya. Bob Ross without his friendly afro. And all you want to do is paint, if the damn rats would just leave you alone.
Suffer for your sanity
Layers of Fear is a horror game, in theory. Which brings us to today’s topic of discussion: Can a horror game can be successful if it never manages to scare? This discussion rarely arises, given that the horror genre—especially in games, though also somewhat in film—exists largely in the realm of shock value, in leaving us terrified to walk to the bathroom at night without flipping at least one light on.
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