Review: Layers of Fear 2 (Sony PlayStation 4)

Review by Matt S.

Layers of Fear 2, like its predecessor, is impressively effective at highlighting certain limitations in the way that we talk about - and write about - horror in video games. In our space we're all so used to horror being associated with the monstrous, and the idea that our protagonist is in some kind of physical danger, that anything that falls outside of that narrow view is immediately dismissed as "not scary." It's a fascinating blind spot, because were it applied to cinema or literature, half of Stephen King's work would be likewise dismissed and Lovecraft wouldn't be considered an author of horror at all. Likewise cinema classics as far ranging as The Exorcist through to The Shining would also be dismissed as being "not scary". Imagine if film critics limited the definition of cinema horror to Friday the 13th and Saw - that's about where the discussion is around horror in games.

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