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Layers of Fear launches June 15

Draugoth

Gold Member
Layers of Fear will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store on June 15, developers Bloober Team and Anshar Studio announced. A new demo is available now for PC via Steam until May 22 at 3:00 p.m. PT / 6:00 p.m. ET.

“We are thrilled to announce the release date for Layers of Fear and to bring this definitive horror experience to players on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC, on June 15,” said Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno in a press release. “With the power of Unreal Engine 5, we’ve been able to create a game that visually surpasses our previous works, delivering an unforgettable journey into the minds of tormented artists. We are excited for both new and returning players to jump in.”

The game’s recommended PC specifications were also announced:


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Luipadre

Member
Tried the demo. Im so tired of these "horror" games. This plays like every other fps horror game that gets released on steam daily. Skip. Nobody can reproduce the anxiety of the PT demo, shame that game is never coming out
 
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Mozzarella

Member
This is P.T inspired, gonna pass because i hate P.T.
Also i played the first game, thought it was mediocre.
P.T influence wasn't good imo, people take crap on Amnesia and Outlast but they are still better than P.T imo, especially Amnesia where you have a decent physics engine and some good puzzles to interact with.
P.T is just a walking simulator in a hallway where you get some jumpscares, take Kojima's name out of the game and it would be shat on 24/7
 
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Spaceman292

Banned
This is P.T inspired, gonna pass because i hate P.T.
Also i played the first game, thought it was mediocre.
P.T influence wasn't good imo, people take crap on Amnesia and Outlast but they are still better than P.T imo, especially Amnesia where you have a decent physics engine and some good puzzles to interact with.
P.T is just a walking simulator in a hallway where you get some jumpscares, take Kojima's name out of the game and it would be shat on 24/7
There's nothing inherently wrong with walking simulators. People didn't like P.T for the gameplay. They liked it because it was terrifying. And I'm kinda bored of horror games roadblocking you with a dumb physics puzzle when I'm trying to get immersed and scared.

It's like watching The Shining, and every ten minutes you have to pause it and complete a crossword puzzle.
 
Not really interested in these horror games where you just run away from shit, or walk around while setpieces happen. I prefer my horror games to be a bit more interactive.
 
I'm waiting for Bloober to make a classic. I think they have it in them. I also don't think this reboot/remake of the Layers games is going to be one.

There are scenes from Observer, Blair Witch, and Layers of Fear 2 that have stuck with me. Very effective horror. But they're buried in overlong games with way too much bloat, derivative stories, and jump scares without tension.
 

Mozzarella

Member
There's nothing inherently wrong with walking simulators. People didn't like P.T for the gameplay. They liked it because it was terrifying. And I'm kinda bored of horror games roadblocking you with a dumb physics puzzle when I'm trying to get immersed and scared.

It's like watching The Shining, and every ten minutes you have to pause it and complete a crossword puzzle.
Yeah nothing wrong with it, i like some walking simulators too.
 
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didnt this release like in 2016? im confused.
This was originally called Layers of Fears. They've since renamed it Layers of Fear, with Layers of Fear (2016) being what I've seen the OG go by on Steam now. This new one is a remagining of the OG, apparently.

The marketing has been very confusing, to say the least.
 

hlm666

Member
I'm guessing from the complete lack of anyone talking about the demo this isn't the game to show us ue5 pushing boundaries?
 

hlm666

Member
The overall presentation suffers greatly from a greyish image in both SDR and HDR. Seems like the gamma is completely fucked up here, which makes dark/black areas grey.
Had a look at it. I think the washed out greyish look is a lighting issue may be to do with volumetric effects. There are times blacks look black. It didn't have shader comp stutters so that's promising, they were horrible in scorn which is a similar walking sim using ue4. It has TSR, Dlss and Xess upscaling and a raytracing toggle in options but I think this should be renamed hardware raytracing because software lumen is still RT.

It does seem in a better state technically and visually than the 2 previous bloober games i've played (blair witch, medium) but it doesn't look that good people will think ue5 is magic.
 

luca_29_bg

Member
Had a look at it. I think the washed out greyish look is a lighting issue may be to do with volumetric effects. There are times blacks look black. It didn't have shader comp stutters so that's promising, they were horrible in scorn which is a similar walking sim using ue4. It has TSR, Dlss and Xess upscaling and a raytracing toggle in options but I think this should be renamed hardware raytracing because software lumen is still RT.

It does seem in a better state technically and visually than the 2 previous bloober games i've played (blair witch, medium) but it doesn't look that good people will think ue5 is magic.

there is no nanite support as well! it's a cheap game and it's visibile, no matter the engine used!
 

M1987

Member
Unless the final release is different from the demo then the specs are wrong.I'm getting a locked 60fps 1440p max settings with RT but the game is boring as fuck up to now
 

hlm666

Member
there is no nanite support as well! it's a cheap game and it's visibile, no matter the engine used!
While I agree it isn't going to make peoples jaw hit the floor we have seen that EA magic shooter game (sorry name alludes me atm) using ue5 and it didn't look amazing either and that is a aaa game with a bigger budget. Either way looks like still going to be waiting a while for the ue5 game that lives up to the hype.
 

Arsic

Gold Member
Dang I was hoping to try the demo tomorrow and even pick this up since I didn’t get around to the original more than 10 minutes.

So this game is that bad ? I’m not a fan of horror where I can’t fight back either but I thought this had really good praise or maybe I’m confusing with some other run away jump scare game .

Are any of bloobers horror games good ? Fun ? Scary ? Involve more than walking ?
 

hlm666

Member
Dang I was hoping to try the demo tomorrow and even pick this up since I didn’t get around to the original more than 10 minutes.

So this game is that bad ? I’m not a fan of horror where I can’t fight back either but I thought this had really good praise or maybe I’m confusing with some other run away jump scare game .

Are any of bloobers horror games good ? Fun ? Scary ? Involve more than walking ?
Have a look at the demo but if you like to have combat in these types of games this isn't going to be for you. Only other bloober games i've played are blair witch (no combat) and medium and that didn't really have combat either and neither of those were real great either from a game and technical perspective, This does seem to be in a better state on a technical level than those other 2 though at least.
 

luca_29_bg

Member
Sorry, why would Nanite support determine if a game is cheap? Nanite support is a toggle you flip on for assets you want to use it on.

i meant that it needs more work for higher quality polygonal models and assets as far as i know, nanite don't create high quality assets ! High quality polygonal models don't make themselves, these must be created and modelled, and i doubt this game has a budget so big, that why i used the word "cheap".
 

CamHostage

Member
i meant that it needs more work for higher quality polygonal models and assets as far as i know, nanite don't create high quality assets ! High quality polygonal models don't make themselves, these must be created and modelled, and i doubt this game has a budget so big, that why i used the word "cheap".

They're making higher-resolition/complexity models in development whether they end up rendering them with Nanite or not.

Studios make high-scale assets in like Maya and then simplify them for production use; Nanite promises the possibility to import the raw original files and then simplify them on the fly as necessary, which sounds nice to hear but has some complications to it which we'll see how it works out in real games.

Gamers went gaga for Nanite because it looked so cool in the demo with all those Quixel megascans. Developers like it too, but have seemed to back off of the "This changes everything" rhetoric of the early days. There's ultimately reasons when to use our not use Nanite, and a good project mixes usage as needed.

(We don't know that Layers of Fear doesn't use any Nanite, they just didn't brag about it in their tech preview, which would make sense since little in this haunted house game probably shows off that tech like other demos it there. )
 
Serious question but how will Bloober e ever manage to make Silent Hill 2 remake good?


I can't see this happening in any way shape or form. They're not a great developer and have no experience making third person games. Not only that but Silent Hill 2 is as much a piece of art as it is a game. How will they not fuck up the nuances of such a game?

I want to be wrong.
 

hlm666

Member
Serious question but how will Bloober e ever manage to make Silent Hill 2 remake good?


I can't see this happening in any way shape or form. They're not a great developer and have no experience making third person games. Not only that but Silent Hill 2 is as much a piece of art as it is a game. How will they not fuck up the nuances of such a game?

I want to be wrong.
Medium was 3rd person, and this demo is running better than blair witch and medium at least in this part we can play. While I do agree with you not being confident they will do SH2 justice this gives me a little hope it wont be a technical mess like those other 2, although they could still butcher the nuances even if it doesn't suffer performancs problems, fingers crossed.
 

luca_29_bg

Member
They're making higher-resolition/complexity models in development whether they end up rendering them with Nanite or not.

Studios make high-scale assets in like Maya and then simplify them for production use; Nanite promises the possibility to import the raw original files and then simplify them on the fly as necessary, which sounds nice to hear but has some complications to it which we'll see how it works out in real games.

Gamers went gaga for Nanite because it looked so cool in the demo with all those Quixel megascans. Developers like it too, but have seemed to back off of the "This changes everything" rhetoric of the early days. There's ultimately reasons when to use our not use Nanite, and a good project mixes usage as needed.

(We don't know that Layers of Fear doesn't use any Nanite, they just didn't brag about it in their tech preview, which would make sense since little in this haunted house game probably shows off that tech like other demos it there. )

Considering the polygonal edge of the lifebuoy in the demo...nanite was absolutely needed, and i doubt it even exists in a high quality model...XD
 

Puscifer

Gold Member
Serious question but how will Bloober e ever manage to make Silent Hill 2 remake good?


I can't see this happening in any way shape or form. They're not a great developer and have no experience making third person games. Not only that but Silent Hill 2 is as much a piece of art as it is a game. How will they not fuck up the nuances of such a game?

I want to be wrong.
The only reason that game has any hope is that certain key figures from the development team returned to lead the project. But I'm not holding my breath because as I said in another thread when the moments gone, it's gone, and just trying to recapture the magic will never happen.
 
Wait. Seems like I am hearing that this is a reimagining or remake of the first game? From what I saw of the demo, it looks like a full fledged sequel.
 
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