Layers of Fear (2023)

I was under the impression this game was more a remake but it just ended up being a reskin of 1 and 2 with a better engine and some new bits to connect them. That being said, it looks great. The house in 1 looks incredible and the atmosphere and ambient noise is well done. The gameplay and story hasn't changed much. The voice acting is pretty bad and the gameplay is just meh. Bloober, without fail, always has at least one segment (or five) in their games where you are in a locked room and must spin around until something changes. It is the most tired trope I have ever seen in games. Almost as tired as jump scares which the game is full of. They did add in some chase sequences for some reason but they just made it more annoying than actually scary. There was also lantern addition mostly for the new chase sections. I still like the painting aspect of the story and the obsession with getting it right. I didn't even know there was a sequel and it's just as well because it's pretty forgettable. My biggest complaint is there are so few horror games set on the open ocean, let alone on a cruise liner, and they completely squandered it. Almost immediately you are walkthrough other environments with almost none above deck even when you are in the middle of a terrible storm. Such a missed opportunity. They also decided mannequins were scary I guess but they did absolutely nothing for me. I was really hoping for some Ghost Ship vibes but instead it was very lackluster and boring. The Writer's story tying everything together was interesting but didn't go anywhere. I did like some of the lore hinted at with the Rat Queen and this Agency that seems to be aware of her. Bloober has come a long way since these first released and the ending seems to hint at a possible sequel. If they would revisit this idea and make it a proper horror game and not just a walking simulator where you spin in a circle I would be interesting in seeing what they do with it.