Releasing 3 years after 2016’s successful first game. This sequel sees you step into the shoes of a Hollywood actor who heeds the call of an intense and perfectionist director (voiced by the Candyman himself: Tony Todd) to take on the lead role in a film shot aboard an ocean liner. I thoroughly enjoyed the first game. The thick creepy gothic atmosphere and disturbing yet cryptic unraveling of the plot overshadowed the admittedly repetitive and basic nature of the gameplay. The sequel however doesn’t get away with this. Though featuring more dynamic set pieces and a smattering of genuine ‘boss’ encounters, this sequel largely rehashes the majority of the first game’s scare techniques, level structuring and cryptic storyline, to an unfortunately lesser effect. The core rhythm set by the first game is welcome. Beginning in your own private cabin on the ship. Each ‘Act’ begins after stepping out of the room, and each time you return something has changed, that only grows more apparent as the game progresses.Storytelling is largely up to the player to piece together through finding notes, objects and the myriad of musings from the Director, as well as the various characters seen in hallucinations and/or flashbacks. It’s just a shame that it is largely cliched and essentially is almost the same as the first game’s. Gameplay is essentially just moving the analogue stick with the occasional interaction with the triggers to sprint or open up doors, chests etc. It works for the ‘ghost train’ style of the game, however it certainly drags at points, especially due to the lack of frequent genuine frights. The sound design excels, especially with headphones. At its best the game crafts a genuinely unnerving, with a couple of hairraising chase sequences. At its worst it's simply dull and either wastes or squanders several scare tactic opportunities. The enemies are generic fodder and have zero presence. You can die (usually due to how dark the game is or picking a locked door), but death is instantaneous, as are the checkpoints and load times, so there is no real problem or large scale consequence to death. Graphically the game is impressive and there are a variety of different locales that all fit into the tone and story of the game. As a fan of noir and classic cinema, the aesthetic choices throughout were very welcome. The most simultaneously bizarre and intriguing element was the double hit of the game, outright copying scenes from Psycho and The Shining, as well as a whole section of a level serving as a walking tour through John Doe’s Se7en crimes.Tony Todd brings his usual menacing drawl as the Director to great success. The rest of the voice cast are fine and get the job done. Layers of Fear 2 is a decent albeit disappointing sequel. It certainly has its moments of chilling tension and creative imagery. However the repetitive gameplay, story beats, level design and presentation which almost completely copies the first game let it down. Worth the £3 I paid for it on sale.