Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake

It's not a flawless photograph, but Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake is memorable, terrifying, and artistically stunning.

I don’t mind spending time in Minakami Village (even if I never, ever want to go there in-person), but the majority of Crimson Butterfly is spent behind the camera, which is where I was the most frustrated and, importantly, not scared.

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake is arguably one of the scariest games we've ever played. Team Ninja has somehow managed to make an already terrifying game even more so, turning Minakami Village into a visually striking and tense playground for fear. The Camera Obscura combat remains novel and unique, but clunky controls and some drawn-out encounters can frustrate.

Fatal Frame 2 isn't quite the home run some may have hoped for, but it's an overall enjoyable and worthwhile experience that I'd suggest picking up at some point.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake is a hauntingly beautiful reimagining that successfully modernizes one of the series' most iconic entries with modern visuals and new mechanics. While the atmosphere and puzzles are masterfully executed, the experience is slightly dragged down by a combat system that can feel more frustrating than fun. However, the expanded story and atmospheric overhaul still make this a must-play for fans of the series and survival-horror fans in general.

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly is a horror classic that’s unfortunately weighed down by questionable design changes.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake is probably the best and most accessible way today to experience one of the most acclaimed series in the survival horror genre. The use of the Katana Engine has breathed a captivating, darkly beautiful visual style into the decaying village of Minakami, while the modernized camera system helps you better navigate the environment. If you appreciate the game’s fidelity to the aesthetics of Japanese horror films and its focus on building a suffocating atmosphere over action and an intuitive combat system, this is the game for you.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake delivers a full-fledged visual and audio upgrade, but the game struggles to offer a consistently engaging experience in terms of level design and gameplay, falling into the trap of repetition more than a few times.

Despite impressive new visuals and some genuinely dark plot hooks, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake struggles to make any real atmospheric impact. This is a remake that boasts a fantastic setting, filled with haunting environments and flavourful enemies, but suffers from a lack of tension building and from tedious, unrewarding combat. The mazy J-horror storyline teases a bleak ending that it bravely delivers, but despite this, the overall experience feels like waiting for an out of focus photograph to develop - it’s achingly slow and ultimately, pretty disappointing.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake is a solid remake of one of the genre’s greatest classics, preserving everything that made the original a timeless masterpiece while also enhancing and expanding the narrative with new endings.