9 Underrated Horror Games You Must Play Before You Die
3. Layers Of Fear
What it is: If you've ever wondered what it's like to experience a psychotic break and the subsequent descent into madness that follows, Bloober Team's finest work to date has you covered. Paintbrush in one hand and artist's palette in the other, Layers of Fear's unnamed protagonist returns to his Victorian-era family home to start work on his 'magnum opus', not an easy aspiration for any creative mind, not least one that all the while has to contend with the depravity of his past.
Why it's scary: Structurally, there's little separating Layers of Fear from Bloober's other works or even contemporaries like Outlast, but it's the world - not gameplay - that defines its scares. You know that the house presented to you through the artist's eyes is ordinary, but as his mental state deteriorates, your confidence to push forward declines in tandem. The rules of reality no longer apply, meaning everything - including the rows of creepy but mundane portraits adorning the walls - could come alive at a moments notice and give you the fright of your life.
In Layers of Fear, the eyes on the wall really do follow your every move.