2016 psychological horror recreation Layers of Concern is, in builders Anshar Studios and Bloober Staff’s phrases, getting not fairly a remake, however a “reimagining”—”a unified imaginative and prescient of horror” chaining collectively the tales of Layers of Concern, sequel Layers of Concern 2, all pre-existing DLCs and a brand new one, referred to as “The Remaining Observe.” A gameplay trailer demonstrates some technological upgrades, too, together with ray-tracing capabilities and 4K decision.
The unique Layers of Concern locations gamers within the thoughts of an artist wobbling on the sting of madness, making them wander, in first-person, by way of a shifting studio full of sudden scares. It’s “dizzying,” and it “messes together with your head,” Kotaku Editor-in-Chief Patricia Hernandez wrote in a 2015 Steam Early Entry overview.
2019 follow-up Layers of Concern 2 supplies the same hallucinatory expertise, however with an actor protagonist on a ship, as a substitute. Forthcoming DLC “The Remaining Observe” recasts the primary recreation’s story from the attitude of a author, and goals to tie “every entry within the sequence collectively.”
At a hands-off preview earlier this week, Anshar Studios artistic director Damian Kocurek instructed me that the DLC has been “years, years within the making,” and he hopes the reimagining it’s part of (due in June 2023) will assist followers perceive the “connection” that exists throughout the whole sequence.
“There was at all times greater and deeper mythology within the Layers of Concern [games],” he mentioned. “It was at all times type of below the floor, so we wished to carry it up extra and supply a extra linked, greater setting than it was earlier than.”
The demo they ran by way of reveals the author protagonist wandering by way of a creaking lighthouse, already starting to be plagued by black rats operating round work that morph into terrifying faces. Later, a fireplace appears to devour an attic. Beyond it, ink blob monsters threaten to leap out. However a lit lantern—one among a number of core gameplay adjustments to return—retains them at bay, frying them in its glow.
In comparison with the visuals of the primary recreation, which I’d place, for probably the most half, someplace between grayscale and sepia, the demo looked like a extra high-contrast, vibrant recreation. It has darker darks, woozy smoke clouds, and monsters punctuated by stunning crimson fireplace. The sound design, up to date by Arek Reikowski—who may also be engaged on Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 remake—can be rewardingly crisp. Even by way of my laptop computer audio system, the walkthrough’s varied whispers and squelches land with uncooked meaty wetness. Gross, sure, however all within the identify of enhancing the horror expertise.
I’m to see Layers of Concern’s story equally enhanced by this reimagining’s intertwined plotlines. I do discover the unique recreation skin-crawly, however extra in a forgettable, icky creepypasta method than the searing concern I normally hope for in psychological horror. It’s wanting good thus far, although. Ghosts appear to go effectively with ray tracing.