I'm not sure if it's an issue specific to the Xbox One X, as that's the console I used to review Layers of Fear 2, but regardless, it was pretty grating when it happened. During that brief moment, the missing textures are replaced with boxy dark blue shapes that completely kill the moment-to-moment immersion of the killer atmosphere. Rarely, when entering a new area (particularly when swinging open doors), the textures on the edges of the screen take about half a second to fully render and load in. In terms of performance, the game is mostly without problem, although there is one particularly nasty issue with texture loading that I experienced. The vast majority of the puzzles are fine, and some of them have really clever mechanics, but the ones that aren't fine really hamper the experience. While the progression of the atmosphere in the game is paced perfectly, the pacing of the puzzle gameplay segments is rather poor. Some of the harder puzzles in the game appear in the first two acts of the story, while the final three are home to some of the easiest. What's worse, they seem like they are placed randomly. Some of the puzzles are laughably easy, while others are maddeningly difficult and have incredibly convoluted solutions that made me want to facepalm once I figured out what they were. In addition to this, the puzzle-solving gameplay is overall pretty average.

In this way, it feels like Layers of Fear 2 itself struggles to find an identity.Ī fair amount of Layers of Fear 2's puzzles have convoluted solutions that left me irritated. The story itself also loses its focus in the latter half of the game, turning into something rather generic instead of sticking to its core themes. Initially, the callbacks to classics like Nosferatu and The Shining had me grinning, but by the end of the game I was left wondering how they were relevant. The atmosphere is amazing from the perspective of unsettling and scaring the player, but from a story standpoint, it feels more like a random mishmash of horror film references instead of something related to Layers of Fear 2's own narrative. The story's emphasis on the theme of identity and anguish about the past is creative and clever, but the issue is that often times, what you see in the game doesn't really tie in to that idea.

As awesome as the game's atmosphere, pacing, and story concept is, it isn't nearly as cohesive of an experience as the original game.

Layers of fear 2 wallpaper