Wandering the dilapidated halls of Layers of Fear (2023), players will be trapped and forced to explore alone through the haunted environments plaguing the mental health of the many protagonists in the game.
There are a few moments in the game where players have access to the means to reach out to the outside world, and by calling for help (both in the Painter's Story and the Actor's Story), players will be rewarded with two achievements/trophies that could otherwise be missed on a first playthrough of Layers of Fear (2023).
The Painter's Story - It was worth a try Achievement
To unlock the "It was worth a try" trophy, players will need to work their way through the Painter's Story until they have access to a phone that can be dialed. There are several points in the story where a phone is ringing in the distance or may be momentarily answered by the painter, although the phone itself cannot be interacted with afterward. Players will need to progress to the fifth iteration of the magnum opus, a humanlike figure that resembles a skeleton or ghost. After the fifth iteration is revealed, players will make their way toward the Painter's study.
The moment players enter the room, a phone will begin to ring. After interacting with the book on the bookcase between the windows, the bookcase will move away from the wall and reveal a rotary phone. Players will need to find a code hidden in the room and dial it on the phone to progress forward; however, take a brief moment to interact with the phone and dial 9-1-1 on the rotary phone. Although the call will be unsuccessful, players will receive the 'It was worth a try' achievement shortly after.
The Actor's Story - The Perfect Storm Achievement
In the first chapter of the Actor's Story, players will have the chance to send out a call for help via Morse code to earn 'The Perfect Storm' trophy. The start of the chapter will have players exploring the ship deck by deck, descending deeper into the ship while giving preliminary insight into the story of the Actor and the mysterious director he is working with. When players reach the bottom deck where they can pick up the cane whisper item, there will be one additional staircase down at the end of the room that leads to a communications room. Inside the comm room, there is a Morse code transmitter and a headset that players can interact with.
Using the transmitter, send five fast inputs, followed by five slow inputs, followed by another five fast inputs. The transmitter should emit noise with each input and will ring out a pattern of five dots, five dashes, and five dots, translating to S.O.S. in Morse code. No response will come, but players will receive 'The Perfect Storm' achievement.
Layers of Fear (2023) is available now on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series S|X.
