Bloober Team’s Layers of Fear demo is now available on Steam. The limited-time demo will be available through 3 PM on May 22. The short demo allows players to experience how Bloober Team and Anshar Studios have reimagined the franchise and introduced their final chapter.
Layers of Fear weaves together all of their titles and DLCs into one cohesive storyline. Accompanied by a haunting soundtrack, it will be one of the first titles to utilize Unreal Engine 5 with Ray Tracing, HDR, 4K resolution, and the Lumen system.
Credit: Bloober TeamIn the first installment, players take on the role of The Painter, a man obsessed with completing his Magnum Opus. But as players navigate through the mansion and uncover the painter’s dark past, reality begins to blur. In the Inheritance DLC, players follow the Painter’s Daughter as she returns home looking for answers about her father. The second DLC, The Final Note, gives players a different perspective as they navigate the unreliable narrative of the first installment playing as the Painter’s Wife.
The second installment, Layers of Fears 2, follows the lead actor onboard an ocean liner. But as players navigate The Actor through his new production, sinister truths begin to arise.
The newest chapter to the reimagined Fears franchise follows the Writer as they unravel how the previous stories connect together.
Credit: Bloober TeamFirst Impressions
Although the demo lasts around 15 minutes of gameplay, the Bloober Team leaves a terrifying first impression. Players are introduced to the protagonist The Writer, along with a new game mechanic to the series, the hand lantern. The hand lantern will allow players to banish ‘echoes’ while progressing through the story. These echoes are reminders of the past, often wailing or screaming characters who will vanish after using the lantern on them.
Alone in a ghastly lighthouse, The Writer must finish her novel. But soon after she finds The Painter’s Magnum Opus, visions of the past cloud her reality. The demo celebrates what the Fears franchise made its name for – unnerving environments, panic-inducing soundtracks, and beautiful visuals living in a horrifying experience.
Layers of Fear will release on June 15, 2023, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Check out the cinematic intro released with the demo:
