Right now, one of the industry's leading horror game studios is Bloober Team, which is set to make a big splash on next-generation consoles with Observer: System Redux and the Xbox Series X console exclusive The Medium. Bloober Team first established itself as a major studio for horror game fans to watch with Layers of Fear, a 2016 horror game that took heavy inspiration from Hideo Kojima's PT.
The first-person survival-horror gameplay in PT is fully present in Layers of Fear, but fleshed out to be a full-fledged gaming experience. In Layers of Fear, players have to explore a creepy mansion, solve puzzles, and deal with some haunting imagery and jump scares along the way. The art style in particular was praised by critics for creating an eerie, unnerving atmosphere that should keep players on edge throughout the game.
Layers of Fear was also praised for its ability to scare players and narrative. There was some criticism aimed at the gameplay, but regardless, those looking for a scare this Halloween season can't go wrong with Layers of Fear.
While Layers of Fear received mostly positive reviews at the time of its release, the game is perhaps more notable for what it did for Bloober Team and the horror genre in general. The game's success saw Bloober Team switch gears to embrace the horror genre completely, following up Layers of Fear with the cyberpunk horror game Observer, the Blair Witch video game, and a sequel, Layers of Fear 2.
Layers of Fear laid the groundwork for Bloober Team to establish itself as one of the premiere horror gaming studios the industry has to offer. In fact, Bloober Team has said that it wants to be the Blumhouse of the games industry, meaning fans can expect the studio to continue releasing high-quality horror game content for the foreseeable future.
Bloober Team's biggest upcoming project is The Medium, an Xbox Series X console exclusive game that will be a big departure from its previous work. Starting with Layers of Fear, Bloober Team has focused on creating first-person horror experiences, but The Medium is a third-person horror game, and is taking its cues more from classic Silent Hill than PT. Bloober Team has proven that it is a horror studio to reckon with, though, so it will be interesting to see how the studio's third-person horror effort turns out.
Layers of Fear is out now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.