The Faceless is a monster seen in Cry of Fear. They are first encountered in the College, attacking Simon in great numbers once he has obtained the fuse powering the building's electrical grid.
About the monster
Faceless are distinct for always attacking in large numbers and attempting to swarm Simon, but their durability is barely even that of a Slower. For an experienced player who's quick enough to avoid being surrounded and has ammunition in their gun, Faceless are hardly a threat.
Their main advantage against the player is early on in the College, where they appear in greater numbers, and the darkness limits your options for fighting them. Depending on your preferences, dual-wielding the phone and either the VP70 or Glock pistol, while aiming for body shots, are the two best ways to deal with them. They go down in four shots from the Glock or about one to two bursts from the VP70 on Hard Mode. Remember, however, that you cannot reload with one hand, so find a safe spot when you run low on bullets. Dropping unneeded weapons outside the College is recommended to save inventory space for the keys you'll need to use inside the darkened school building, reducing the amount of backtracking and run-ins with them you'll face.
Variants
A special variant of Faceless appears in the final boss fight of the first three endings. When the player confronts Wheelchair Simon, Faceless variants called "Twisters" are lowered into the arena by platforms in gradually increasing numbers. Twisters have metallic hooks for heads, except for one in particular, referred to as the "Twisterv" in the model files, due to its head being a valve. When killed, the valve falls from the Twister's body and is then used to begin opening the gate to reach Sick Simon.
Another variant of Faceless, which can only be encountered during the second visit to the Apartments, lies lifelessly on the floor down the ladder inside the Bloody Apartment Room. It fools Simon into thinking it is dead but will attack if he gets too close. Firearms are advised to deal with them, particularly the shotgun, which can finish them off in one or two shots (though it gets phased out by the better TMP, VP70, and Hunting Rifle as the player's inventory dwindles). Attacking this variant of Faceless with melee is a waste, as they attack quickly and move very fast—boasting the fastest attack speed in Cry of Fear—despite their deceptively prone position.
Lastly, there is a "ghostly" Faceless, which rushes at you after falling through the walkway during the hallucinatory sequence in the Bloody Apartment Room's "basement," following a second encounter with the Facehead. Ironically, they are "faced" Faceless, appearing at first glance to have no body in the darkened hall where you encounter them. Functionally the same as other Faceless, they can be easily outrun—existing almost purely for scares, especially after a false encounter with the Sawrunner.
Relevance to Simon
Considering the fact that the model is of a female character, they could represent Simon's feeling that he hurt Sophie. He can "see it in her eyes"; he can see the damage he's done to her and feels ashamed to look her in the face. The violently bloody model could represent the fact that, in real life, Simon brutally murders Sophie before ending his own life in Endings 1 and 2, so that he can "keep her" all for himself. Additionally, the faced Faceless could represent the anxiety caused by the doctor attempting to force intimacy upon Simon, asking him questions about his personality that he does not wish to answer. This idea is reinforced by the fact that they appear shortly after the corridor scene in which the doctor talks about Simon's refusal to discuss his personal life. Lastly, they could also represent the other students at the college Simon attended, as he thinks bitter thoughts of them as random monsters.
Gallery
| Monsters | |
|---|---|
| Enemies | Baby • Children • Citalopram • Crawler • Crazyrunner • Croucher • Dreamer • Drowned • Faceless • Faster • Flygare • Hanger • Hangman • Human Flower • Psycho • Sawcrazy • Sawrunner • Sewmo • Slower • Spitter • Stranger • Suicider • Taller • The Face • Upper • Watros |
| Bosses | Sawer • Mace • Doctor Purnell • Carcass • Sick Simon • Book Simon • Craig |