Psychological horror Haunted house Horror walking simulators

Layers of Fear VR

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Walk a painter's shifting mansion in VR as his mind comes apart.

Platforms: VR, PC, PlayStation
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Mostly Positive on Steam (71% of 277 reviews); Meta Quest store 4.1 of 5 from 370 ratings; PlayStation Store 4.37 of 5 from 78 ratings
Length: about 2 to 5 hours
Players: 1
Controls: VR headset with tracked controllers; smooth movement only on PC and Quest, with a vignette option. On PS VR it needs PS Move controllers, with movement on their buttons.
Made by: Incuvo
Released: 2019

No. 27 of the painting horror games · No. 15 of the Victorian horror games

Get it on Steam Meta Quest Store PlayStation Store

What frightens In VR you walk a Victorian mansion that rearranges itself behind your back, as a painter going mad tries to finish his masterpiece; doors lead to rooms that were not there, the walls bleed and the figures in the paintings move.
Content: jumpscares, loud sounds, blood, strong violence, alcohol references, strong language, partial nudity, motion sickness (smooth movement and screen-warping effects).

Layers of Fear VR is the VR version of Bloober Team's psychological horror game about a painter losing his mind. You walk through his Victorian mansion in first person, using your hands to open drawers and handle objects, while the house shifts around you and his past rises out of the walls.

About Layers of Fear VR

Layers of Fear VR is a VR adaptation of Layers of Fear, the 2016 game that made Bloober Team known for horror. It was made by Incuvo and published by Bloober Team. It came out on Steam for PC VR on 10 December 2019, on Oculus Quest on 9 July 2020, where it was redesigned for more interaction, and on PlayStation VR on 29 April 2021. UploadVR noted it was the first time the full game came to VR, after the shorter Layers of Fear: Solitude on Daydream. Text is in 12 languages, but only English is voiced.

You play a painter who has shut himself in his Victorian house to finish the masterpiece he has worked on for years. As you walk the rooms, gather the materials for the painting and find letters and objects from his life, the story of his family and what went wrong comes back in pieces.

The house is the horror. Turn around and the corridor you came from is a wall; open a door and the room behind it is upside down; look back at a painting and the face in it has changed. VR makes this closer and stranger: you reach out and open drawers with your own hands, crayons float in the air around you, and the scares happen right beside you. It plays like the original, with exploration and small puzzles and no combat.

Critics found the VR conversion rough in places, especially on Quest. On PC and Quest movement is smooth only, with no teleport, and visual effects that warp your view cannot be turned off, so several reviewers felt sick. Most of the time is spent walking the corridors, with simple find-the-object puzzles between them. On PS VR you need a PlayStation Camera and PS Move controllers; it also runs on PS5 with the camera adaptor. Players rated it better than critics did. It suits VR owners who are comfortable with smooth movement and want slow psychological horror with many jumpscares. For a flat-screen version, see Layers of Fear (2023), which remakes the original and its sequel.

How to play Layers of Fear VR

Put on your headset and set the comfort options, such as the vignette, before you start moving.
Walk through the mansion with smooth movement and turning; there is no teleport.
Reach out to open doors, drawers and cabinets, and pick up letters and objects to learn the painter's story.
Solve the small puzzles that unlock the way on, and gather what the painting needs.
Keep going when the house changes around you; turning back often shows you something new.

Screenshots

Layers of Fear VR screenshot: the player's two hands reach toward a gramophone on a round table in a stained Victorian bedroom with a vanity mirror

Layers of Fear VR screenshot: the player looks up a towering shaft of wood-panelled walls hung with portraits, hands raised

Layers of Fear VR screenshot: crayons float in the air around a child's chalkboard covered in scribbles as the player reaches out

Layers of Fear VR screenshot: a dark wall veined with blood around a glowing orange figure, the player's hands in front

Layers of Fear VR screenshot: porcelain dolls line a checkered-floor hallway as the player's hands reach past a side table

Layers of Fear VR screenshot: dozens of porcelain doll heads float in a dark room around the player's raised hands

Tips

Play seated if smooth movement makes you uneasy, and take breaks.
Look behind you often; much of the horror happens when you turn around.
Read the letters and notes you find; they hold puzzle answers and the story.
Search drawers and cabinets with your hands; small objects matter.

Questions

What headsets is Layers of Fear VR on?

PC VR headsets through Steam, Meta Quest, and the original PlayStation VR.

How long is Layers of Fear VR?

Reviewers at UploadVR and 6DOF Reviews took two to three hours; some players report four to five.

Does Layers of Fear VR have teleport movement?

Not on PC or Quest, where reviewers found smooth movement only, with a comfort vignette. Screen-warping effects cannot be switched off either, so it can be hard on players prone to motion sickness.

Is Layers of Fear VR the same as Layers of Fear?

It is the original Layers of Fear story rebuilt for VR. The 2023 Layers of Fear is a separate flat-screen remake that also includes the sequel.

Does the PlayStation VR version need PS Move?

Yes. The PlayStation Store lists PlayStation VR, the PlayStation Camera and a PS Move controller as required, with up to two Move controllers supported. On PS5 it also needs the PlayStation Camera adaptor.