Layers of Fears, as the remake is officially (and ridiculously) known, is being co-developed with Anshar Studios, and will see the original Layers of Fear, its Inheritance DLC, and Layers of Fear 2 rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5, complete with new visuals, gameplay, and expanded plot lines said to “cast a new light on the overarching narrative” as players face “spine-chilling madness that extends over generations.” The first Layers of Fear game, if you’re unfamiliar, charted the story of a painter on the verge of completing his masterpiece while Layers of Fear 2 told the tale of an actor making a movie onboard a labyrinthine ocean liner, with both games serving up some striking psychedelic imagery as each protagonist began to lose their grip on reality. It’s still not entirely clear how Layers of Fears will combine those two distinct stories - whether we’re looking at two straight spruce-ups of the original games interspersed with new material or something a little more cohesive - and the newly released trailer doesn’t do much to remedy that. What we do get, though, is first footage of Layers of Fears’ “new story chapter”, titled The Final Note, in which players take on the role of The Painter’s rarely seen wife from the first game. Layers of Fears - which promises the likes of ray tracing, HDR, and 4K support at launch - will release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S “early” next year.
