Adventure · February 15, 2016
Layers of Fear (2016) (2016)
You take another drink as the canvas looms in front of you. A light flickers dimly in the corner. You’ve created countless pieces of art, but never anything like…this. Why haven’t you done this before? It seems so obvious in retrospect. Your friends, critics, business partners—soon, they’ll all see. But something’s still missing… You look up, startled. That melody… Was that a piano? It sounded just like her… But, no—that would be impossible. She’s gone. They’re all gone. Have to focus. How long has it taken to get to this point? Too long, but it doesn’t matter. There will be no more distractions. It’s almost finished. You can feel it. Your creation. Your Magnum Opus. Dare you help paint a true Masterpiece of Fear? Layers of Fear is a first-person psychedelic horror game with a heavy focus on story and exploration. Delve deep into the mind of an insane painter and discover the secret of his madness, as you walk through a vast and constantly changing Victorian-era mansion. Uncover the visions, fears and horrors that entwine the painter and finish the masterpiece he has strived so long to create. Game Features: • Psychedelic horror – A sense of insanity means each turn of the camera may completely change the look of your surroundings. • Victorian setting – Explore a game world inspired by masterpiece paintings, architecture and décor from the 19th century. • Original and classic art – Numerous pieces of original art and music flesh out the story and environment. • Story-focused exploration – Only through exploring the environment can you uncover the details of the painter’s dark and tragic past.
Adventure releases from 2016
76 Adventure titles launched in 2016 — top 6 by review volume.
Position in Adventure
| Metric | This title | Genre position |
|---|---|---|
| Review volume | 26.6k Steam reviews | Top 9% in Adventure |
| Positive rating | 89% positive | Genre average: 87% — this title sits in top 58% |
| Metacritic | 73/100 | Genre average 77 — top 78% of Adventure titles |
| Engagement hours | 4 h average | Top 69% for session depth among Adventure |
Community Tag Signals
Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.
- Horror · 2.4k
- Psychological Horror · 493
- Atmospheric · 346
- Walking Simulator · 325
- First-Person · 271
- Singleplayer · 245
- Story Rich · 218
- Indie · 206
- Adventure · 202
- Multiplayer · 169
- Psychedelic · 167
- Dark · 147
- Puzzle · 132
- Exploration · 131
- Great Soundtrack · 123
Peer Adventure titles
Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.
Localization Coverage
Interface / Subtitles (12)
- English volume_up
- Italian
- Polish
- French
- German
- Spanish - Spain
- Japanese
- Portuguese - Brazil
- Russian
- Simplified Chinese
- Turkish
- Korean volume_up
Full audio (2)
- English
- Korean
Reception Metrics
Steam community
89%Very Positive · 26.6k reviews
23.7k positive · 2.9k negative
Metacritic
73/100 critic aggregate
Curator recommendations
12.4k
Press Quotes
“Layers of Fear goes into the mind of an insane artist and creates a horror game magnum opus.” 5/5 – The Escapist “One of the best horror games ever made, this will scare you in incredibly clever ways and make you question everything you see.” 5/5 – Games Radar+ “Fear. Pure fear. The most primal of emotions is the overwhelming one while playing Layers of Fear.” 5/5 – Digitally Downloaded
Features & Capabilities
Community
- Steam Achievements
- Steam Trading Cards
- Steam Cloud
- Remote Play on Tablet
Input & Comfort
- Partial Controller Support
Other
- Single-player
- Family Sharing
Engagement Profile
All-time avg
4h
brief (under 5 hours)
Median
4h
Typical completion time
2-week avg
0h
Current engagement
Achievements
27
Steam unlocks available
Release & Availability
| Release date | Feb 15, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Bloober Team SA |
| Base price | $19.99 |
| DLC / Add-ons | 2 released |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Estimated owners | 1M–10M |
| External links | Official site · Metacritic page · [email protected] |
More from Bloober Team SA
Bloober Team SA has 4 titles indexed — all listed below.
Editions & Packages
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