Over the past console generation, Bloober Team has become an established horror studio that many gaming enthusiasts turn to when looking for a scare. While the studio has been around since 2008, it broke into the more mainstream gaming sphere with the release of Layers of Fear in 2016, a horror title heavily inspired by the playable teaser for the canceled Silent Hills. Since then, Bloober Team has released Observer, Layers of Fear 2, Blair Witch, and, perhaps its most high-profile title, The Medium. When it was announced last week that the studio was returning to the Layers of Fear franchise for another entry, speculation regarding what it will be like began running rampant.
Because the new Layers of Fear game was announced on the official PlayStation YouTube channel, plenty of fans have been speculating about the studio’s relationship with Sony. Some think that the game will launch as a PlayStation exclusive, while others think that it might be a timed exclusive with an Xbox version coming later down the line; a reversal for the exclusivity deal that Microsoft had with The Medium. No matter how it releases, one thing is clear: the PS5 version of the game will likely be the best way to play it thanks to the DualSense controller.
The Immersion that the DualSense Brings to Horror
Although it was certainly impressive on the Xbox Series X and S when it was first released, it feels like the PS5 is the definitive place to play The Medium. The DualSense controller brought a lot of great features to the game that just aren’t possible while using other hardware. This isn’t to say that there’s anything wrong with the Xbox Series X/S controller or the DualShock 4, but just that the DualSense is the perfect controller for horror titles thanks to its exclusive features.
When it was first introduced by Sony, many gaming enthusiasts were skeptical about how well things like the adaptive triggers, 3D audio, and haptic feedback would work. The features were marketed as things to increase a game’s immersion as each title could literally have its own unique feel. Now that it’s been nearly a year since players got their hands on the DualSense, it’s clear that the controller can indeed take a game’s immersion to the next level. This was perhaps most evident in the horror genre with The Medium’s PS5 version.
Bloober Team really went all out when bringing The Medium to the PS5 by adding plenty of DualSense support. The triggers were used to help players truly feel Marianne’s powers. The haptic feedback provided vibrations to match the feeling of walking through the game’s various swarms of moths while also giving players the ability to feel Marianne’s heartbeat when she’s holding her breath. Additionally, the lights on the controller itself matched Marianne’s flashlight alerting the player when the Maw was nearby. These features aren’t necessary to appreciate the game, obviously so as they weren’t available when it was initially released on the Xbox. However, they do add a level of immersion not seen before the current console generation.
Making Meaningful Use of the DualSense with Layers of Fear
Tense horror games already have players gripping their controllers for dear life, but using things like the resistance that the adaptive triggers can provide or the minute vibrations of the haptic feedback can help the player take the next step into truly feeling like they’re inside the game that they’re playing. Hopefully, Bloober Team keeps using the DualSense in meaningful ways for the release of the next Layers of Fear game to bridge the gap between the game and the player.
A very simple but effective feature that more horror games should take advantage of is 3D audio. By including a high-quality speaker within the DualSense, Sony has made it so that games can jump out of the screen a little bit more by bringing certain sound effects and voices closer to the player. The first two Layers of Fear games relied heavily on the insanity of their main characters and featured plenty of inaudible whispers and ghastly sound effects. By moving those sounds to the controller, Bloober Team might really be able to build an uneasy atmosphere for the game right off the bat.
Haptic feedback could be used in a similar way to The Medium by highlighting different horror elements depending on what sort of things are included in the game. Both Layers of Fear titles had plenty of different horror aspects to them that could be improved by the different styles of vibration available with the controller.
Layers of Fear Can Stand Out on the PS5
If the aforementioned elements were to be incorporated with the PS5 version of the new Layers of Fear game, it would be the definitive place to play it. While the story and overall gameplay of Xbox, PC, and PS4 versions would be largely the same, a major part of the horror experience would be lost without the DualSense.
Of course, that all depends on how much the game will rely on the DualSense for its experience. All too often, games are releasing on the PS5 with uninteresting, unimpactful uses of the controller to the point where it would almost be a better experience if the functionality was omitted altogether. As long as Bloober Team uses what it learned when developing the PS5 version of The Medium, then the PS5 version of the new Layers of Fear should stand out among the rest of its editions.
A Layers of Fear sequel is in development.
