Reviews

I enjoyed the other game more. This one was okay, but it could’ve been better. What I hated the most were the controls on PC—they’re very janky. I found myself getting stuck in invisible places so many times, or trying to run forward only to end up climbing a building instead. Even during combat, when I tried to execute an enemy, my character would often target the wrong one. The number of enemies is also annoying. They keep coming over and over again. Sometimes it was so hard to dominate a warchief because the orcs around me would hit me at the very last second. And the captains talk SO much in this game. If you encounter three or four captains in the same area, they’ll “kill you” with the boredom of their endless lines. To start a mission, I had to run through countless enemies and their bases, which became frustrating since I was more interested in the story missions than the gameplay itself. The gameplay is almost the same as the prequel—actually worse in some parts. The same moves, powers, and executions. Boss fights in this game are honestly so boring. In both games, Sauron was a disappointment as a final boss. Most of the fight is just dodge, dodge, fill up your wrath meter, and execute. I know the game is massive with so many regions, but what’s the point if everything feels so repetitive?

This game looks incredible. The art style and atmosphere of this game are unlike anything else I've played. Exploring this abandoned and crumbling world is captured in such a great way. I did find a few elements of the game to be pretty cruel. I know this is part of the game and the world they convey, especially later on but I still don't like harming a living creature, having it whimper, try to escape and reach out to me for help only to take it to get brutally killed just so I can grab it's arm. It is important to the tone but and realizing your character is just a selfish asshole. When it comes to the gameplay, that's a different story. The general exploration and puzzles are fine but the combat is awful and seems like an afterthought. The guns look great but there is no way to dodge attacks and the environments lead you to getting backed into a wall and dying. For the puzzle elements, this game really does just throw you into the world with no direction. This for the most part is fine, this creates an opportunity for the player to explore and test things. The issue here is this is an alien world where not a lot is familiar in form or function. I know this game had a troubled development, a lot of stuff was cut and reworked. It is insane to me that on top of just throwing the player into an unknown environment, the first thing they have you do is a slider puzzle. It's not hard, just trial and error but it's crazy this is the first thing they have players do. I saw previews for this game all the way back in 2014 and it seemed to be marketed as more of a horror game and not a Myst type game with this Giger esque horror style over it. I'm completely fine with that but I can't help think that this played a role in it's poor reviews. Overall I love this game because the style and atmosphere are so damn good. The combat elements are a pain but there isn't too much of it to detract too much.

Bloober Team's track record is kind of meh. There is a lot of stuff I like about there games and a lot I don't. The sound design in the Layers of Fear remake is incredible, some of the best ambience I've ever heard. The gameplay however, in most of their FPS games is just bad. Literally spinning in a circle waiting for something to change. Thankfully they have come a long way from that type of game. With Silent Hill 2 they have a framework to build off of and they do an incredible job. The atmosphere is always what I loved about the SH franchise and this remake weaponizes it. The darkness is so ominous that it becomes an enemy unto itself. I love when a game creeps me out so much that I second guess heading down a hallway or opening a door. They completely nailed the tone for this. On top of that the sound design is incredible. That music remains great, the ambience is haunting and unsettling. The first time I heard one of the gasps I was looking around for the source wondering what was going on. It's also not used too much as to lose the effect, almost like by the time you've put it out of mind it happens again. The enemies are what you'd expect but the standout is the mannequins. I can't think of a more effect enemy. By the time you see them they are usually lunging at you. It can really shake up your approach to confronting enemies. The spider variant is also used to great effect. The gameplay is fine, I think the newer RE games play better but it's fine. The desperation in James' melee attacks and stomps is very well done. I love the story and the characters working through their trauma. I really liked the voice actor for James, he just seemed very believable. I think this is a great remake of the original that retains the most important elements of the game. The only negative thing I will say is it runs a little long. By the time you reach the prison it seems like things should be wrapping up and then you still got a ways to go.