Layers of Fear and its sequel, Layers of Fear 2, are psychological horror games developed by Bloober Team, a Polish video game developer. Although the game’s release was relatively small, it gained traction thanks to Let’s Plays on YouTube. Famous YouTubers like Jacksepticeye and Markiplier did a series on the original Layers of Fear. Jacksepticeye even dipped into Layers of Fear 2. Layers of Fear’s Let’s Play popularity isn’t the only reason for its success, though. The game is a terrifying exploration of the human psyche and deserves all the recognition it gets. Bloober Team released a 2023 remake and a sequel to the original Layers of Fear on June 15th. Layers of Fear: Your Fears Will Return is the remake’s official title.
Layers of Fear: Your Fears Will Return Premise
As suggested by the name, Layers of Fear 2023 is a remake of the 2016 game of the same name. This new reimagining of Layers of Fear is unique because it serves as both a remake and a sequel to the original game. It’s also a sequel and a remake of Layers of Fear 2, meaning the story continues beyond what players experienced in the first two games.
The 2023 reimagining of Layers of Fear follows the same premise as the original, though. Layers of Fear puts the player into the first-person perspective of a disturbed painter who only cares about finishing his magnum opus (his masterpiece). Players will need to navigate through his home, which seems to be forever growing and changing, to find his art supplies. During this terrifying trek through the massive Victorian-style mansion, players slowly unravel the truth about what happened to him and his wife. The game focuses primarily on exploration and puzzle solving. There aren’t really any options to fight.
The Layers of Fear 2 portion of the game is similar in gameplay style. Rather than playing a disturbed painter, the player controls a Hollywood actor known as the Actor. While this story deviates from the original, it still focuses on the struggles of a family torn apart by ruin.
Layers of Fear: Your Fears Will Return Main Characters
Layers of Fear is an isolating experience. The game is told from the perspective of a delusional artist who cares about nothing but finishing his masterpiece. His obsession with his painting leads him to shut out the rest of the world. As players explore, they learn more about him and his family, but they don’t really interact with anyone.
- The Painter: The Painter refers to the main character of Layers of Fear controlled by the player. The Painter seems lost, dazed, and confused, unaware of the truth of what happened in his own house. All he knows for sure is that he must finish his masterpiece. It’s the only thing that matters to him. As players explore his Victorian mansion, they uncover more about his past. The more the player learns about the Painter, the more they realize that he isn’t a good person.
- The Musician: The Musician refers to the Painter’s wife. Although the game discusses the Painter’s wife and daughter, it never actually names them. Layers of Fear doesn’t elaborate much on her background. All the player knows about her is that she’s a very gifted musician. The Musician suffered a department store fire, which left her with horrible burns. Although the Musician survived, the accident left her disfigured. Her recovery caused serious tension and resentment between her and her husband.
- The Daughter: The Daughter of the Painter and the Musician is another unnamed character players learn about throughout the game. Uncovering the Daughter’s drawings and other information about her hugely impacts the Painter’s spiraling. Only then does he start to see the truth for what it is. The Daughter becomes more important later on in the game. Layers of Fear: Inheritance, is a DLC for the original game. The Daughter is the main character of Inheritance.
- The Actor: The Actor refers to the main protagonist of Layers of Fear 2. Players will either control James or Lily Burns, siblings who grew up with an abusive drunk for a father. Not much is known about the Actor’s mother, but she died during childbirth. The Actor boards a cruise ship for a role that promises to be huge for their career. The problem is, they hate the sea.
Layers of Fear Titles in the Series
The first Layers of Fear debuted in 2016. After the game’s initial success, it received a DLC expansion called Layers of Fear: Inheritance. While the series isn’t incredibly long, it does have a few noteworthy titles in its series. It’s important to keep in mind that the original game came out in 2016, so there’s still plenty of room for the franchise to expand. With the remake out now, it’s given the franchise a new foundation to build upon if it wants to.
- Layers of Fear (2016)
- Layers of Fear: Inheritance (2016) – This is a Layers of Fear DLC, but it features the Daughter as the new protagonist.
- Layers of Fear 2 (2019)
- Layers of Fear VR (2019)
- Layers of Fear: Your Fears Will Return (2023) – This game combines the story of Layers of Fear and Layers of Fear 2. It’s considered a remake, but it also adds new content, making it a direct sequel as well.
Layers of Fear: Your Fears Will Return Cheat Codes
Layers of Fear: Your Fears Will Return is a relatively straightforward game. While the setting changes around the player, the experience is relatively linear. There’s no real combat that players need to worry about either, as the game entirely relies on puzzle-solving and searching for clues. The worst that will happen to a player during their experience is missing a collectible or struggling to find a code to a puzzle.
Bloober Team created the Layers of Fear remake on Unreal Engine 5, meaning the game looks and feels fresh. That said, like many modern games available across PC and console, there aren’t many cheat codes available for the game that players have been able to find. When searching for cheat codes, the best search results will most likely offer up walk-throughs for the game, but not much else.
So, in short, the bad news is, that there are no cheat codes for Layers of Fear: Your Fears Will Return. The good news is that the game is more concerned about telling its story than frustrating its players. As a story-driven game (similar to games like Martha is Dead), the player will have a fairly easy time making it through the experience without having to rely on cheats to make it easier.
Layers of Fear: Your Fears Will Return Cheat Codes FAQs
While there may not be any known cheat codes for Layers of Fear 2023, there are still plenty of puzzles to do and collectibles to find. With any exploration-style game, there’s a good chance players will overlook something, even when they’re being thorough. When searching for Layers of Fear cheats, most of the related questions are answering solutions to various objectives throughout the game.
What is the safe code in Layers of Fear 2023?
One section of Layers of Fear challenges players to escape from an upside-down room. There are numerous story beats to go through in this section of the game, so players need to follow the story as it’s told. Eventually, they will need to crack a safe open in order to continue forward. After collecting a review of the Painter’s “Babyface” painting from a cabinet, players will have a slip of paper appear in the corner of their screen. The player will need to turn off the room’s light to read what’s written on the paper.
The paper has the code to the safe on it, which is: 10 – 70 – 90
What is the phone code in Layers of Fear?
There are several phone codes throughout Layers of Fear 2023 that the player will need to find in order to progress through the study. This section of the game requires players to find three phone codes and hidden phone locations, all while scaling up bookcases.
The first phone code is 3 – 6 – 3. The Babyface portrait holds this code.
The second phone code is 8 – 5 – 3. Once the player is on top of the bookshelves, they’ll find the code scrawled on the floor below when looking down. Players should be mindful not to fall over the edge of the shelf, though!
The third phone code is 3 – 5 – 4. This code requires a bit more problem-solving on the player’s part. They’ll need to memorize three paintings and what order they’re in. Later, they’ll see five more paintings, all with assigned numbers on them. In order to figure out the code, players need to remember the original paintings and match them up with three of the five numbered paintings.
Are there multiple endings to Layers of Fear?
Yes, there are multiple endings for the Painter, the Musician, the Daughter, and the Actor in Layers of Fear 2023.
Endings for the Painter:
- The Good Ending: Family – The Painter turns his back on his selfish desires and puts his family first.
- The Bad Ending: Art – The Painter abandons his family for his art and his delusion.
- The Neutral Ending: The Loop – There is no solid resolution that sways the Painter in one direction or the other. This is the most common ending players achieve on their first playthrough.
Endings for the Daughter:
- The Good Ending: Forgiveness – The Daughter forgives her father.
- The Bad Ending: Resentment – The Daughter grows to hate her father so much, it leads to her death.
- The True Ending: Truth – The Daughter finds a secret room that leads her to some unsettling realizations about herself.
Endings for the Musician:
- The Good Ending: Acceptance
- The Bad Ending: Loneliness
Endings for the Actor:
- Flame Ending: The Actor gives into the Director’s desires.
- Always Ending: This mysterious ending puts the player into the POV of an unnamed woman reflecting on her life.
- Formless Ending: This dark ending is what happens when the player doesn’t commit to the Flame Ending or the Always Ending. It traps the Actor in a Purgatory-like state.
Does Layers of Fear 2023 have all the games?
Yes, Layers of Fear: Your Fears Will Return includes Layers of Fear (2016), Layers of Fear 2 (2019), and every DLC for the games. The remake also includes a new DLC called The Final Note, which is designed to make players look at each game from a brand-new perspective.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©theRadBrad / Bloober Team.