Layers of Fear (2023) is how you do a remake

Source: Wallpaper Abyss

Layers of Fear first came out in 2016 and has continued the tradition of Bloober Team's rightful place in the horror genre. What follows for the Layers of Fear franchise was a successful DLC and a solid sequel that continued to flesh out the world. Just releasing June 15th, the Layers of Fear remake amplifies what made the series great and gives the player a complete package. This one game for only $30 gives you both Layers of Fear 1 with it's DLC and Layers of Fear 2. On top of all of that, the game also introduces a brand new intro sequence and new dialogue providing context for the events in both games. (Subtly hinting at both games being in the same universe).

Technical

The most important thing I want to mention is the technical aspects of the game. It's safe to say this game is well optimized and provides a plethora of options to further tweak optimization as needed. These include all the standard DLSS, DLAA, FSR, and even XeSS.

On top of all of those options, the game itself runs very smoothly at 1440p (RTX3060). With a stable 60fps only seeing a 1-2 fps difference in very specific sequences/areas. This technical optimization allows the Unreal Engine to really shine with the textures and lighting this game offers. It's obviously a massive difference in quality compared to the Unity engine previously used.

Gameplay

The gameplay itself is rather the same. Albeit, for the first game, it does offer a new lamp mechanic that can burn away specific objects to reveal things (or fight off a specific 'monster'). Other than that, for the first game at least, it plays rather the same. It still very much is a 'walking simulator' that has puzzles, chase scenes, and trippy sequences.

Overall

The game is very faithful to it's original counterpart, for better or for worse. I can see if you never liked the game before, this remake probably won't win you over. As far as pricing goes though, the original is still selling for $20, excluding the DLC. This new remake is only $30 and gives you more bang for your buck (a whole sequel and the DLC for the first game). This is definitely a step in the right direction for the franchise and we'll have to wait and see if Bloober Team gives us a Layers of Fear 3.