Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water PC review — A curious snapshot of horror's past

Fatal Frame Maiden Black Water Black Box Source: Windows Central

Fatal Frame is a love serial among long-time survival horror fans. I'd even go as far as to say Fatal Frame 2: Ruby Butterfly is ane of the scariest games ever made. Sadly, similar other genre contemporaries such as Silent Hill or Clock Belfry, the franchise has struggled to maintain relevance and mainstream appeal with age.

After a rather lengthy hiatus in the West following the release of Fatal Frame Iii in 2006, this photo-centric horror series attempted to reinvent itself with the launch of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water in 2022. Unfortunately, this shipped initially as a Wii U sectional, and the panel'south express install base immediately kneecapped the potential for Fatal Frame'due south big comeback.

Six years later, this entry is getting a 2nd chance thanks to a remastered re-release across essentially all major platforms. I've spent nearly twenty hours with the PC version, and it'south been fascinating revisiting this curious snapshot of a singled-out moment in game design. While fans of the serial and seasoned survival-horror enthusiasts will undoubtedly enjoy this haunting ride, some terrifyingly sluggish pacing and slow gameplay mechanics forbid this title from sticking a flick-perfect landing.

Fatal Frame Product

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black H2o

Bottom line: Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blackness Water suffers from some dated design decisions and redundancies in level design, but the unique combat and evocative environments make this a worthwhile run a risk for horror fans.

The Expert

Wholly unique experience
Compelling exploration of Japanese folklore
Engrossing environments
The Alpine Lady

The Bad

Primitive controls
Painfully sluggish pacing
Tedious jump-scare mechanics

Disclaimer: This review was fabricated possible by a review code provided past Koei Tecmo. The company did not see the contents of the review earlier publishing.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water: What's skillful

Fatal Frame Maiden Black Water Ghost Source: Windows Key

One of Fatal Frame's greatest strengths is its genuinely original have on survival horror. In a twisted fusion of the photographic camera-axial gameplay of Pokémon Snap and the tense atmosphere of games like Alone in the Dark, players must use their Camera Obscura to ward off evil spirits. Instead of a handgun or lead pipe, this mystical camera serves every bit your primary weapon, and the various film types you collect on your journey act every bit your ammunition.

Category	GameNameXXX
Title	Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water
Programmer	Koei Tecmo Games
Publisher	Koei Tecmo
Genre	Horror
Minimum Requirements	Windows 8.1, Windows 10, 64 bit/Intel Core i5 750 or over
Game Size	22.65GB
Play Time	15-20 hours
Players	Single
Launch Price	$40

While y'all'll spend nigh of your time in Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black H2o navigating Mt. Hikami in the third-person perspective popularized by many iconic survival-horror titles, equipping your Photographic camera Obscura seamlessly shifts the player's viewpoint to a commencement-person lens. Forcing the player to engage with enemies from the offset-person perspective adds layers of stress and fear that many other survival-horror titles struggle to offer. Haunting moments like fumbling to equip your camera while a mangled ghoul emerges from underneath a totaled car consistently provide nice jolts of adrenaline. This unique dynamic introduces fifty-fifty more tension when encountering the terrifying ghosts and spirits of this world.

Another expanse Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water succeeds in is the thorough way information technology presents and explores Japanese sociology. In addition to introducing its ain grim story involving suffering maidens and the painful sacrifices they endure to keep the ominous Blackness Water at bay, this horror championship spends a great bargain of fourth dimension explaining the cultural significance of the narrative themes. Discovering journals that detailed the spiritual beliefs surrounding water and photography in Japan added weight and critical context to many of the game'southward central moments, and makes information technology all hit harder for Western players. Cheers to the team's commitment to explaining this world's horror mythos, I found myself far more engaged with the events of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blackness Water provides no shortage of ghostly apparitions, just there are a few standouts that will surely permeate your nightmares.

The increased resolution and updated visuals provided past this remaster make the environments of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water more engrossing than e'er earlier. There's no shortage of evocative locations to become terrified in, from nighttime, dense forests with gentle streams to decrepit modernistic architecture. I also thoroughly enjoyed the residuum of tight interior spaces like nightmarish Japanese shrines or abandoned residential buildings and sprawling outdoor environments similar the peak of Mt. Hikami. The biomes' distinctive designs make every area in Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blackness Water memorable.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blackness Water provides no shortage of ghostly apparitions, but there are a few standouts that will surely permeate your nightmares for quite some time, including one particularly towering terror. Before Lady Dimitrescu exploded on the scene in Resident Evil Village and became the new gold standard for horror video game tall ladies, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black H2o horrifyingly introduced The Tall Lady. This lanky monstrosity clad in a uncomplicated flowing white wearing apparel lives upwards to her name. She effectively makes several frightening cameos throughout the game. I won't divulge any major spoilers here, but fans of campfire ghost stories or supernatural urban legends will unquestionably love how The Tall Lady is incorporated into the game.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blackness Water: What'south not skilful

Fatal Frame Maiden Black Water Enviroment Source: Windows Cardinal

"Tank controls" were the definitive way to experience a survival horror title at ane bespeak in history. These intentionally limiting control schemes were designed to reduce player mobility and increment tension when facing off against different creatures by making you but face in one predetermined management. Thankfully, for all our sakes, nosotros've more often than not moved away from this infamous era in gaming. Unfortunately, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water hasn't completely let go of the past.

I found my initial introduction to the game's controls to be somewhat jarring. In the third-person perspective, all player mobility is tied to the left stick, and while the right stick can freely rotate the camera, it has no bearing on how your graphic symbol moves. Notwithstanding, when using the camera in first-person, everything controls as you lot'd wait from a modern horror game. Information technology took some time for me to arrange to this flagrant disconnect between how I wanted the game to control and how it actually controlled. I wouldn't say Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blackness Water feels as primitive every bit playing the original Resident Evil or Silent Loma, but even for a 2022 title, there's serious room for comeback.

Fatal Frame Maiden Black Water Yuri Source: Windows Key

The engaging, episodic format of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blackness H2o oft takes massive nosedives thanks to stretches with painfully poor pacing. On paper, a horror title exploring a serial of unexplainable events from the perspectives of three different induvial sounds rather interesting. Unfortunately, it leaves a lot to exist desired when it comes to the execution. Instead of diversifying environments or emphasizing unique plot points, nosotros see our three heroes Yuri, Ren, and Mui essentially retreading the same ground multiple times over. One chapter will come across Yuri investigating a mysterious shrine. The next chapter will come across Ren studying that verbal same shrine. Ultimately these unnecessary redundancies lead to a bloated xv-20-hour horror romp.

Some gruelingly tedious jump-scare mechanics also grind the flow of gameplay to a screeching halt.

Some gruelingly tedious bound-scare mechanics besides grind the flow of gameplay to a screeching halt. While seemingly noble in their efforts, the team baffling decided to incorporate moments of tension every unmarried time you lot open a door or reach for an item. To grab film or healing items off the ground, players concur RT to initiate an odd mini-game, where whatsoever grapheme you're controlling slowly extends an arm towards these items. While holding this push, there's a chance a phantom arm will accomplish out from the darkness and take hold of your wrist, but if you release RT at the right moment, you'll be spared from this ghoulish cover. This entire procedure takes several seconds and happens literally hundreds of times throughout the game.

A similar design philosophy was incorporated every fourth dimension you open a door likewise. Instead of grabbing the doorknob and casually swinging a door open, our protagonists offer to spend far also much time slowly, and I hateful slowly, creaking each door open up. If sprinkled more than efficiently throughout Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blackness Water, tense mechanics like these could accept been fun and effective. Unfortunately, these gimmicks wear out their welcome in the first hour, and then you just have to deal with it for the next fourteen or more.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water: Should you play it?

Fatal Frame Maiden Black Water Doll Selfie Source: Windows Central

It'southward hard to say that Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is a render to form for the series or that this particular entry volition reinvigorate the interest of casual fans. However, as a self-proclaimed connoisseur of video game horror, it's reminded me just how much I've missed these games. Its unique incorporation of the Camera Obscura, distinctly Japanese environments, and incorporation of aboriginal folklore beautifully blend to nowadays an feel that is wholly and unabashedly Fatal Frame.

With updated visuals and slightly improved controls, this is undeniably the best starting point for players interested in trying the franchise for the showtime time. That is if y'all're willing to overlook some slightly dated gameplay mechanics and occasionally aggressive repetition. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water probably won't convert critics of previous Fatal Frame offerings, but legacy survival-horror fans volition accept a fantastic fourth dimension uncovering the truth of Mt. Hikami and its captivating Black Water. While maybe not one of the best horror games of 2022, at that place's no denying its exhilarant originality.

Fatal Frame Product

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water

Bottom line: Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water delivers a cute exploration of Japanese folklore with plenty of scares. Unfortunately, some questionable design decisions hurt the pacing.

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