Layers of Fear (2023)

I see many of the reviews are comparing this game to the original 2016 game. To start, this game includes MUCH more than just one game. It includes 2016, 2016 DLC, and 2, and another narrative, AND an overarching narrative that carries between many of them in some way.
Many others make good points on how the first narrative isn't "exactly the same story" from the 2016 game. Yes, that is true. Personally, I think the 2016 had better story and was definitely slower pace and was easier to follow.
However, with the 2023 version, seeing a "remastered version" with better graphics of the 2016 story was very much enjoyable. Also, don't forget, you also get all the other narratives included in the 2023 version, so it's a pretty good bang for the buck too!
I liked all of the stories, the first one being the best of course. However the writers story was also very good.
Another small thing through out the game, wtf were those pre-rendered cut scenes? Looked like 720p and the voices sounded SUPER compressed. Though, in other parts of the game sometimes the voice sounded compressed, so I have no idea what that was about.
Lastly, YES this is a "walking sim", but that's just their way to tell the stories. They are leaving it up to the player to find the path to go and enjoy the ambiance and visual design of all of the different areas of the levels.
Yes, I will say I got stuck in a few parts (maybe 3-4 times throughout ALL of the narratives), but one walk-through video later, I understood what I was to do, and enjoyed the rest of the narrative.
In the end, I would recommend this to anyone who loves a spooky story, loves fantastic sound design, and being mesmerized with many of the graphics fed to you throughout the game.

Bloober
The original Layers of Fear and Layers of Fear 2 were released back in 2016 and 2019, respectively. Bloober is known for making such walking sims with twisted stories and with a gameplay where you constantly get the feeling that you are in a horror movie. There is a reason why the synopsis of the original refers to it as psychedelic. This is also the team that was behind Observer and its redux version.
Both games are played from the first-person perspective and the emphasis is on finishing up your Magnum Opus - a painting in case of the first episode (in a Victorian mansion) and a movie role with an actor aboard a ship. I think most people prefer the first one but my favourite is the 2nd. There is some puzzle-solving and paying attention is needed to collect every item needed for us the understand the story in more detail and - since the genre is horror - there will be some running sequences here and there.
Reimagining everything in Unreal 5
First, I thought this would be the only change. This is already a big leap compared to Unity (the second episode was developed in Unreal 4, though). I was specifically looking forward to sections such as the falling fruits from the painting or the moss-covered rooms on the ship. Everything looks fantastic!
But there is more! Gameplay-wise we have a lantern we can use to get rid of the monster attacking us. We can also destroy the black slime covering important items to free those. In the sequel our "weapon" will be a flashlight - again, good for stopping the monster but there are also numerous mannequins that can be "activated" with its light so that they open up a blocked path.
An interesting concept that means there are way more chase sequences in this remake (perhaps not everybody will like them) and you will also notice some rooms that previously were not there and this includes new puzzles. I would not call the reimagined versions longer, just slightly altered at certain sections. And remember: the DLC of the first game titled Inheritance is also included in this pack!
This is already great and should be fine, right? But there's even more than that! We have 3 additional stories. First off, both games get a new accompanying story: our painter gets the Musician (here we have more information on the wife) while the actor's story is followed up by that of the Director. And to make it even more interesting we are introduced to the Writer first - she is the one the story begins with in a lighthouse where she sits down to write a great story... of a painter and an actor. I do not agree with all the decisions the creators made (some parts of the story were open for interpretation in the original ones, here we get more hints as to who the culprit is), but this is definitely a way to remake or remaster your previous titles! (Where credit goes not just to Bloober but to Anshar Studios, as well!)
Highly recommended!

It's a decent horror game with LOF 1 + 2 + DLC along with new additional content added, however I would wait for a sale to buy it.
The scariest part about this game is there are NO cats.

Layers of Fear (2016) I feel was always just a bit underrated, most people see that Jerma or Nyanners clip of the baby running into a wall and how they laugh their heads off at it and then view the whole game as being some self-serious POS that doesn't deserve recognition, but Layers of Fear has always been something more, if you aren't invested in the story or atmosphere then yeah, you won't get anything out of it. All Layers of Fear games have been mostly a narrative and atmospheric work, its more of a walking simulator than a flat out game. That doesn't work for some, but its AMAZING for people willing to give it the patience required. Layers of Fear (2023) is a remake of all past games, plus extra chapters to tie everything together and its just so damn good as someone who loved the first one and was fine with the second one. The visual changes are genuinely amazing, UE5 is used to amazing extent creating these buildings that just look so real. Generally, if you don't want to spend all the money on this, try out the first Layers of Fear, then if you like it, buy this a year later and replay the story since they changed some stuff and you get the extra content and Layers of Fear 2 with this. Of course, if you don't like the original, you aren't going to like a remake.

Here's my review for Layers of Fear spoiler free:
I played the original on release, I loved that game. This "remake" version was definitely an improvement from the first game, but in its own way. I'll explain why later.
Layers of Fear 2023 offers a lot more details and depth about the story, also hearing the story's side from the woman felt a lot more immersive. Graphics are amazing too, and here and there they kept some puzzles similar, but all n' all they just blew up the game and made it bigger and overal just MORE everything. Just a lot more added elements and depth. (And oh my the music is amazing!)
Now with that said, I still think the original still holds up really well. It offers are more 'linear' experience I feel. Not a lot of extras and deep diving details as the 'remake', but that's what I like about the original. It stands strong on its own for how it's a little more simple to approach.
So yes, this feels like an improvement, but the OG is still awesome too.

"I was so close... this time... I almost had it!"
What a tragic tale this is. For me, the original Layers of Fear was a masterpiece. It was a quiet and slow-paced horror game, an eerie and sad meditation on work and family, art and perfectionism, coping with trauma and failure and accepting loss and limitation. It was about what was worth putting first and what one has to let go. It didn't rely on flashy action or monster chase scenes and much of the horror was environmental rather than confrontational. Yes, it was a horror walking sim but it scratched a perfect itch for me and I loved it. I'm not one to reject the "moviegame" reflexively, and LoF1 was one of the finest examples of that medium. The tormented artist is trapped in a cycle of obsessively creating the same painting over and over again in the vain hope that perfecting it will restore his beloved to him - in whatever form that might take. I devoured that game and and the DLC and was delighted when a sequel was announced that followed thematically without retreading the same territory. Then, when I finally played Layers of Fear 2, I felt somewhat disappointed. It was good, it was a logical way to expand the themes of the first game, but there was something missing. Perhaps the setting and characters didn't suit me as well, perhaps it was the increased frequency of jump-scares and the addition of chase scenes, perhaps it was the over-reliance on mannequins for the atmosphere and scares, perhaps it was the way the Rat Queen began to become a more overt antagonist, but something was off. I played through it and did find enjoyment in it, especially in some of the more bold visual choices and references to real-life movies, but for me it was a pale copy of the original work of art.
Fast forward a few more years and here I am feeling just like the painter, looking at the Nth recreation of his beloved work and howling in despair. This remake of the original work encompasses all of Layers of Fear 1 and 2 and all the DLC from those games, as well as two bonus stories and a new overarching plot that pulls them all together, using Unreal instead of Unity to really make the whole thing shine. And it is good, don't get me wrong. Graphically it's better than ever and it's nice to have the whole story in one place. Mechanically things have been cleaned up a lot and the rough edges in the Unity version have been smoothed. The excellent ideas from the original work are mostly here in one form or another and the remake of LoF1 is by far the best part; being the oldest of the games it really benefits from the new coat of paint. There's more detail, more insight into the characters, more voice acting, and the newly-added story of the Painter's Wife is tastefully done and integrates with the whole well. However, you slowly realize as you play that this is not a straight-up remaster; much has changed as Bloober's paint hit the canvas this time. Chase scenes are more abundant than before, with several added even in the LoF1 stories, and you have to deal with the constant irritation of battery management as your combined lightsource/defensive weapon sputters and dies repeatedly. That's right, weapon - you now have to use your torch to stun enemies that chase you around. This annoying addition is worsened by the ugly "power" bar at the bottom of the screen that reminds you continually that you should've bought Duracell instead of shop brand batteries, adding visual noise to a game that usually has little or no UI. I don't think these additions are improvements, but instead a move away from what made me fall in love with the series in the first place. Then there's the utterly dreadful Writer's story, which initially excited me - I thought it was a great idea to have a bridging plot that pulled everything together coherently. Sadly, I hated everything about it. The protagonist is annoying, her dialogue is completely different in tone to the other parts of the game, there are no choices to make, the new story doesn't really add anything worthwhile, and the ending (of which there is only one) is rushed and anticlimactic. The Rat Queen, once a shadowy presence lurking in the background that may or may not exist, shows up in the flesh at one point to throw you to the ground then storms out of the lighthouse. I despised it, I felt like the whole tale was rushed and forced in, and if I had the option to play through the game without it I would. The new Director's story does fare better by comparison, fitting in well with what Layers of Fear 2 did with all the positives and negatives that entails. It doubles down on the decision to present the Rat Queen as a malevolent entity rather than a more subtle manifestation of obsession, but I suppose that's a matter of taste.
There's a feeling of corruption and deterioration of the original vision in this remaster that would be clever if it wasn't so tragic and unintentional. Every time a new iteration of this franchise comes about, it drifts further from what I loved about the original, and with this remake and the addition of the Writer's story the cursed canvas is complete. So, at the end of the day, is this good? Can I recommend it? I'll have to say yes, though I do so with a heavy heart. This is probably the best version for you if you are new to the series or feel like you want a bit more action and threat in your horror games than the original provides. Through the drained blood and flayed skin and crushed bones of the original work, enough of the primal magic has seeped into this painting to make it worth your while. Some things about it are even improved; this version of the game is better in all of the ways that don't really matter but only a few of the ways that do. It's just not the ending I wanted to this story, and I can see the paths not travelled and the alternate choices that could've been made for everything to be different. I wanted a true remake, without the "reimagining" and the new "modern" sensibilities and mechanics; just the original works, elevated by a new engine and expanded respectfully rather than redefined. It could have been beautiful. Perhaps the malign Rat Queen whispered tempting promises in Bloober's ears and they failed to resist Her; I'll be curious to see how She influences the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake. Maybe like the painter I'm stuck in a past I can never truly return to; the uglier but more soulful 2016 version is nevertheless the one that will remain hanging in my gallery.
"Look at it. Twisted! Formless! Just like you. It crumbles, as it must."

To preface this review, I'm still of the opinion that the original is better. While the graphics in the remake look absolutely stunning, it doesn't have that gritty tone that the 2016 version had. I agree that the story is now more complete with the addition of new story arcs; however, the first story has been severely altered and not always in a good way. The new "combat" sequences are a mild nuisance at best. I understand what the developers were trying to do, but I think it was poorly executed. The horror factor is almost completely gone now, as the AI is very predictable. Despite this, I still thoroughly enjoy the game, there is still a lot more left to do before I'm completely done with it, but the flaws are quite noticeable and require attention so that these can be avoided in the future.