The Game Census
Layers of Fear (2016) cover art

Layers of Fear (2016)

Bloober Team SA · 2016-02-15

SteamGOGPlayStation StoreMicrosoft Store

AdventureIndie

Modes: Single player

Releases: Oct 31, 2019 (iOS), Feb 15, 2016 (Mac), Feb 16, 2016 (PlayStation 4), Feb 16, 2016 (Xbox One), Feb 15, 2016 (Linux), Feb 15, 2016 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

A first-person psychological horror with a strong emphasis on atmosphere and storytelling. Explore an ever-shifting Victorian mansion as a painter seeking to complete his masterpiece, even at the cost of his own sanity.

21
playing now
88%
positive of 28k reviews
Very Positive
steam rating
2,000,000–5,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
76/100
critic score (17 outlets, IGDB)
71/100
IGDB user rating (271 ratings)
2.9h
time to beat (IGDB)
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$1.99
steam price (US)

21 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 01:00 UTC (census sample)

Layers of Fear is a 2016 psychological horror adventure game developed by Bloober Team and published by Aspyr. It was released on Linux, Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One worldwide in February 2016.

Health check

Healthy
  • · 21 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 786 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~98/week).
  • · Review velocity up 208% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 4% of 11,312 Adventure games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-28

Estimated sales: 692k–1.7M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 27,665 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

GOG$1.99-90%
lowest across shops (ITAD)$1.99-90%
Microsoft Store$19.99

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $1.99 at Steam (2024-11-27)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $19.99 · on sale 25 of 40 observed days · at its all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
33733720182026Week of 2018-01-01: 90 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 59 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 46 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 85 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 62 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 157 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 63 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 54 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 55 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 94 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 133 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 108 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 89 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 82 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 115 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 116 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 120 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 115 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 82 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 96 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 82 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 87 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 176 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 71 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 127 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 99 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 152 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 141 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 118 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 104 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 68 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 54 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 81 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 142 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 68 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 78 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 141 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 122 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 108 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 110 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 84 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 54 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 35 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 42 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 77 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 337 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 88 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 122 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 70 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 48 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 35 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 224 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 102 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 97 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 29 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 90 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 53 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 9 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

87102026-08-06 21:00 — 16 players2026-08-07 05:00 — 14 players2026-08-07 13:00 — 51 players2026-08-07 21:00 — 27 players2026-08-08 05:00 — 26 players2026-08-08 13:00 — 73 players2026-08-08 21:00 — 37 players2026-08-09 05:00 — 49 players2026-08-09 13:00 — 87 players2026-08-09 21:00 — 28 players2026-08-10 05:00 — 28 players2026-08-10 13:00 — 42 players2026-08-10 21:00 — 20 players2026-08-11 05:00 — 28 players2026-08-11 13:00 — 52 players2026-08-12 21:00 — 12 players2026-08-14 04:00 — 23 players2026-08-15 12:00 — 69 players2026-08-16 20:00 — 34 players2026-08-18 04:00 — 33 players2026-08-19 11:00 — 28 players2026-08-20 19:00 — 24 players2026-08-22 02:00 — 18 players2026-08-23 10:00 — 40 players2026-08-24 17:00 — 27 players2026-08-26 01:00 — 19 players2026-08-27 09:00 — 56 players2026-08-28 17:00 — 48 players2026-08-30 01:00 — 21 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$19.99$1.992015-08-272026-08-302015-08-27 — best price $8.492016-03-03 — best price $14.192016-05-17 — best price $13.392016-07-12 — best price $19.992016-09-15 — best price $9.992016-12-16 — best price $9.992017-03-13 — best price $19.992017-07-22 — best price $17.152017-10-14 — best price $5.002017-12-12 — best price $4.992018-04-22 — best price $5.152018-07-18 — best price $6.002018-10-12 — best price $19.992018-11-27 — best price $19.992019-02-12 — best price $19.992019-04-26 — best price $4.062019-06-20 — best price $4.992019-09-04 — best price $4.992019-11-12 — best price $19.992020-01-14 — best price $15.612020-03-03 — best price $3.992020-04-17 — best price $19.992020-06-20 — best price $3.432020-08-25 — best price $4.992020-12-05 — best price $19.992021-02-05 — best price $3.262021-04-10 — best price $16.192021-06-07 — best price $3.992021-07-26 — best price $3.992021-09-13 — best price $19.992021-11-20 — best price $16.192022-01-08 — best price $19.992022-03-25 — best price $17.342022-05-20 — best price $3.992026-05-24 — best price $19.992026-08-30 — best price $1.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

3461012026-05-30 — 140 pageviews2026-06-02 — 140 pageviews2026-06-05 — 188 pageviews2026-06-08 — 218 pageviews2026-06-11 — 145 pageviews2026-06-14 — 184 pageviews2026-06-17 — 135 pageviews2026-06-20 — 107 pageviews2026-06-23 — 158 pageviews2026-06-26 — 130 pageviews2026-06-29 — 114 pageviews2026-07-02 — 141 pageviews2026-07-05 — 148 pageviews2026-07-08 — 114 pageviews2026-07-11 — 130 pageviews2026-07-14 — 111 pageviews2026-07-17 — 165 pageviews2026-07-20 — 143 pageviews2026-07-23 — 101 pageviews2026-07-26 — 144 pageviews2026-07-29 — 129 pageviews2026-08-01 — 127 pageviews2026-08-04 — 118 pageviews2026-08-07 — 110 pageviews2026-08-10 — 128 pageviews2026-08-13 — 160 pageviews2026-08-16 — 121 pageviews2026-08-19 — 118 pageviews2026-08-22 — 145 pageviews2026-08-25 — 140 pageviews2026-08-27 — 188 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

27
achievements tracked
51.8%
earned "It's covered up for a reason"
5.6%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsmacOSLinuxSingle-playerSteam AchievementsSteam Trading CardsPartial Controller SupportSteam CloudRemote Play on TabletFamily Sharing2 DLC

11 supported languages: English, Italian, Polish, French, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Turkish

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)32,7196%27

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Player tags

DarkIndieHorrorPuzzleAdventureStory RichAtmosphericExplorationMultiplayerPsychedelic

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Gone HomeAmnesia: A Machine for PigsThe Vanishing of Ethan CarterSOMADon't Knock TwiceRusty Lake HotelRusty Lake: RootsDream Alone

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗