When comparing Layers of Fear vs Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition, the Slant community recommends Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition for most people. In the question“What are the best subscription Xbox Game Pass games for PC and Xbox?” Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition is ranked 8th while Layers of Fear is ranked 19th. The most important reason people chose Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition is:
You'll immediately notice how nice it feels to attack the enemies with each slash, strike and shot having an impact behind it. Enemies will flinch, get thrown back and get suspended mid-air from your attacks, making it feel like you're always the dominant force. It's especially amusing seeing an enemy flail about and slamming it into the ground with your demonic arm. Some of the stylistic elements add fun as well. The prime example is Nero's greatsword the Red Queen, which is equipped with a motorcycle-like gear shift. You can use the gear shift mid-combo to add a flame effect to your sword. This increases your damage and the range of your combos and also looks very nice. It's especially awesome to see your character ascend in a whirlwind of flames.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Strong emphasis on tension and fear over jump scares
Layers of Fear truly focuses on the fear aspect via tension rather than cheap jump scares. Whether it's that darkened hallway where you can't see the other side, cheery paintings that melt away to reveal horrific imagery, or the shadowy shapes that disappear when you turn to face them, the game does all in it's power to keep the player guessing while feeling frightened and ill at ease.
Rooms are dark and ominous, hallways stretch into blackness, a baby's cry can softly be heard coming through walls, and the player never knows what they're going to find in the next room. The architecture of the house shifts and bends, in impossible ways, to create rooms and spaces that simply should not exist. Since everything is changing all the time, there is no way to know or predict what horror lurks beyond the next door.
Pro Uses the environment itself as a way to portray horror
There's an ever-present sense of psychological dread by feeling constantly lost and trapped. By using clever visual tricks such as doors disappearing when you turn around and hallways that never seem to end, the impossible architecture of the house itself is used as a horror element. Most of the changes are so subtle, you won't even notice them as they're happening. You may be watching that strange painting morphing on the wall, only to turn around and see the entire room around you has changed.
Pro Focused on horror immersion without puzzles as roadblocks
Layers of Fear is almost entirely immersion based, meaning a majority of the experience consists of going from room to room and soaking in the truly horrific atmosphere. Rather than scratching your head over tricky puzzles, you can instead simply enjoy watching strange events unfold right before your eyes as you fall deeper into madness. There are a few puzzles and riddles to overcome, although they fit into the game well. Keeping an uninterrupted flow is a vital part in keeping the horror in the forefront and the immersion strong.
Pro Lots of little secrets for those those who explore deeper
Throughout the game, the player can discover notes and journal entries that are small pieces of the bigger story. These are stashed in all kinds of different hiding spots such as dresser drawers. Those who poke into every nook and cranny will uncover more plot elements than players who opt not to do much searching.
Additionally, there are some mysterious items scattered throughout the house such as a hand crank and an Oujia board. No direction is given on how to use these items, and it's completely up to the player to figure it out. It's still possible to complete the game without discovering everything, but extra secrets, multiple endings, and additional story elements await for those who dig a little deeper.
Pro Multiple paths for replaybility
As you explore the surreal house, sometimes you will be presented with multiple doorways or paths. Since a majority of the doors close and lock behind you as move through the house, your choice is permanent and will influence the ending and certain story elements. This gives the game a bit of replayability as you will have to play more than once to see everything the game has to offer.
Pro The horror of mental illness & alcoholism
Perception is everything, and the insane artist in Layers Of Fear sees the world as a nightmarish canvas. Smeared with huge daubs of color instead of gore, this game has unique and mind bending scenarios, teeming with impossible spaces.
Pro Fun combat
You'll immediately notice how nice it feels to attack the enemies with each slash, strike and shot having an impact behind it. Enemies will flinch, get thrown back and get suspended mid-air from your attacks, making it feel like you're always the dominant force. It's especially amusing seeing an enemy flail about and slamming it into the ground with your demonic arm.
Some of the stylistic elements add fun as well. The prime example is Nero's greatsword the Red Queen, which is equipped with a motorcycle-like gear shift. You can use the gear shift mid-combo to add a flame effect to your sword. This increases your damage and the range of your combos and also looks very nice. It's especially awesome to see your character ascend in a whirlwind of flames.
Pro Great soundtrack
Most of the battle music has the lyrical styling of progressive rock while mixing in dark electronica guitar riffs. It matches the rhythm and speed of the battles really well, spurring on your combos and devastating attacks.
The exploration sections and cutscenes have an entirely different style of music. It ranges from divine vocals accompanied with organ music to eerie pieces with harp and piano sounds creating a bone-chilling ambience.
Pro Highest level of combat depth in any hack and slash game
An open-ended cancelling system (Jump Cancelling) stacked with individual character mechanics (Dante styles and style/weapon switching, Nero ACT and parries, Vergil being Vergil, Lady and Trish are the weakest in terms of combo-ability of the 5 but you can still style with them) and system physics create a combat masterpiece that rewards practice and creativity.
Pro There's a bunch of stuff to do even after beating the game
You can replay the game on higher difficulties, try to find all the hidden missions or collect all the upgrades. You can even try to get the max style rank on all the missions. Doing any of these will award you extra collectibles or unlock new modes.
There's also the The Bloody Palace, which is an arena consisting of 101 levels. Each level contains enemies and bosses found within the main game. The first few levels are quite easy, but each level becomes increasingly more difficult. Only the most skilled players can reach the end, giving you another goal to strive for.
Cons
Con Somewhat nonsensical story
The game attempts to be "too artistic" at times, opting for a surreal horror experience akin to an art movie instead of a truly coherent story with ordered plot elements. While this creates a good enough gaming experience, those looking for a solid story may be disappointed. Even though there are multiple endings, most are open ended and painfully inconclusive.
Con Limited exploration
As you move from room to room, the one you exited from will close off and lock, preventing you permanently from going back to see if there's any notes you missed.
Con Occasional difficulty spikes
Upon reaching the first boss you'll encounter the first difficulty spike. The boss attacks a lot faster and stronger than the enemies leading up to it. Messing up means you'll die in a couple of seconds, which can be really frustrating. Especially because you have to switch gears so suddenly and adapt to a new playstyle, where the enemy stands on equal footing.
Con Recycled stage designs and lack of character-specific bosses
Capcom basically just slapped on the 3 new characters (Lady, Trish, and Vergil) and they suffer the same problems that Dante does, and that's lack of bosses designed specifically for their toolset. They run through the same bosses and levels instead of getting unique missions.