Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest has been filled with announcements, from Street Fighter 6 character reveals to a look at The Callisto Protocol’s gameplay. Bloober Team came through with an unveiling of its own, which was a revamp of its cult psychological horror series Layers of Fear, a collaboration with Aspyr Media that’s launching on PS5, Xbox Series consoles, and PC in early 2023.
Layers of Fears isn’t a new game, per se. There have been three of them already, with the last one landing in 2019. This Layers of Fear, according to the YouTube trailer’s description, will build “upon the foundations of Layers of Fear, Layers of Fear: Inheritance, and Layers of Fear 2 with a surprising new story and gameplay direction.” Much like Bloober’s previous entries, though, this new revamp will feature “tense exploration and immersive storytelling.”
The two-minute trailer is quite unsettling. There’s someone who’s been locked in a house for who knows how long, strange events in blindingly white rooms, and shadows projected onto doors. Layers of Fears is a story of fear and hatred of the horror of loneliness, and the voiceover really seems to underscore that.
Also according to the description, Layers of Fears uses Unreal Engine 5, meaning it will take advantage of new innovations such as Ray Tracing, HDR effects, 4K resolution, and the Lumen system to “offer the most immersive and visceral horror experience.” That seems accurate based on the creepy trailer.
Unfortunately, Layers of Fears isn’t the Silent Hill project fans were hoping it to be. There were rumors Bloober Team might’ve been working on Konami’s acclaimed horror franchise, but it seems we can finally put that speculation to rest. Or rather, we can put a lid on the idea that Bloober Team is behind it since folks are still convinced that Silent Hill will make a comeback in some form.
