It was back in October of 2018 that Project Meleis revealed that they would be making Layers of Fear 2, a sequel to the 2016 horror hit Layers of Fear. It had some mystery about it, only garnering information from the one trailer that they dropped at a moment’s notice. After the trailer was revealed, the Twitter account died out, and nothing had been posted or talked about in terms of what the game would be about until now, a couple weeks before PAX South, happening currently in San Antonio, Texas this weekend.
This tweet ended up being a hint that an RSVP would be sent out to those who wanted to be a part of the Layers of Fear 2 party. Fans got a few things of merchandise and got to meet some star guests from the first Layers of Fear game:
This was in preparation for the panel that Project Meleis and Bloober Team were having today during the convention. At the event, the panel answered a number of questions. The first being, where the inspiration for the second game came from:
Now, I had made some speculations in the previous article when the release trailer dropped, about how the style of the camera, and the developing teams name (Project Meleis), was relevant to that of camera work and filmography of the early 1900’s, roughly between 1910-1920 when George Meleis was one of the biggest names in film making. The video below shows Bartosz Kapron, the lead designer and producer for Layers of Fear 2, explaining that’s exactly what’s going on. “From George Meleis, to contemporary film,” Kapron state in the video. He also talks about where the similarities of the first game hold, with the “ dark claustrophobic interiors, the shifting environments, as well as a rich multi-layers story.”
Nikodem Wojciechowski, the game’s writer, goes on to talk about a little more about the story, stating that the player takes on the role of an actor, getting hired for a leading role in an ambitious film created by a “eccentric, infamously mysterious director.” The game is then put onto an ocean-liner, where part of the mystery begins to take place, including discovering one’s true identity.
With this ‘Inspiration’ video, Layers of Fear 2 was also given a new trailer that shows off a bit more than the first one had, including the ocean-liner our protagonist gets stuck on.
A few things are revealed in this trailer. Tony Todd (Candyman) is still on board as the narrator, but has taken on a slightly different tone in this trailer. Darker, heavier, and at the end of his dialogue he says “Time waits for no one. Actor… do not waste ours. Act.” It is very possible that Todd is taking on the role of the mysterious director, the one that gives the protagonist his role. And the ‘ours’ he mentions, could be something much more sinister. And given that directly after this quote, the trailer shows off a possible threat to the main character, it gives a hint that there will be either some form of combat system, or a run-and-hide system.
With several new things laid out for Layers of Fear 2, there will be more and more revealed as the team continues to work on it. However, there is still no date set, and still very little information about it currently.