Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blackwater Review (NSW)

Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong

Title: Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blackwater
Developer: KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Publisher: KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Genre: Adventure
Price: $39.99

---

The Resident Evil franchise remains the gold standard for all things spooky and frightening, but the Fatal Frame series is definitely no slouch. While Resident Evil had embraced conspiracy theories and biological monsters as its main plot points, Fatal Frame opts for more traditional scares, leaning on its supernatural aspects to really dig in deep to the players’ psyche. Protagonists in this series often find themselves caught up in ghostly events that bring up forgotten pains and twisted sacrificial rituals.

Fatal Frame emphasizes heavily on Japanese-style horror and slow spooks. It doubles down on its smothering atmosphere, and is more content in letting the tension stew as you see and explore the lost haunts it has laid out for you. Those who played the first release on the Sony PlayStation 2 a full two decades ago continue to recall an amazing experience, and while the older games do now feel dated with their tank controls and slow combat, the series still feels very timeless when you look at its story and its themes.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water seeks to emulate that same design, deliberately avoiding faster-paced modern horror game tropes. It embraces its slow-burn style to let the terror sink in. Taking on the roles of Yuri Kozukata and Ren Hojo, players must investigate and explore a haunted mountain where ghosts supposedly lead people astray, and tempt them to take their own life. What follows is a ghastly unravelling of the mountain's history and the curse behind it. Fighting off the spirits of the dead, players must lead both protagonists on a quest to quell the mountain's restless spirits and give its tormented denizens the peace they deserve.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water features Camera Obscura, which allows its wielder to fend off ghosts by taking pictures of them. Close-up photos of ghosts do more damage, and its film serves as ammunition, with higher-quality film being faster to load and stronger in its effect. These film cartridges do come in limited supply, though, and while the lowest quality film has unlimited use, it also deals the worst damage. Combat requires you to ration the film you have whenever possible, especially against the more dangerous ghosts that lurk around each corner. The more mundane ones simply lunge at you and easily telegraph their attacks. However, the ghostly shrine maidens and some of the more twisted enemies not only float about; they also disappear and reappear, teleporting from place to place to throw off your aim. These ghosts have their own unique attack patterns and quirks, and by learning them, you'll be able to do a special type of attack called a Fatal Shot.

Taking these Fatal Shots in Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water can happen only when the enemy is in the middle of an attack. While risky, these Fatal Shots not only do more damage; they also stun the enemy and throw them back, while also awarding you much-needed points to power up your camera or buy better film and healing items.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water makes use of a nice risk-reward system that incentivizes being patient during combat. It's a little clunky at times, especially with the game's love of fights taking place in tight spaces, but it's enjoyable, and at times, even tense. Those familiar with the series will already know of these mechanics, and will find it easy to get back into, especially given the responsiveness of the Switch. A few additions spice up the combat, though. Characters are able to dodge attacks, but precise timing is needed. Ghosts are also far more dangerous than earlier series incarnations, with a fair number of them loving to hide behind walls or floors before striking. An added "wetness meter" also encourages players to avoid fighting out in the open; while these areas do allow for more maneuverability, being close to water or out in the rain increases the damage these ghosts can deal, making them significantly more dangerous. It all adds up to a deliberate but methodical approach to combat, one that the series has always loved, and one that Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water embraces wholeheartedly.

Combat isn't the only thing overhauled. Exploration has also been changed, with characters now being able to sprint when needed. While the sprint is more like a jog and not all that fast, it does help in getting around the giant maps that Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water provides. With several distinct locations to explore, and the series' love for backtracking between areas to solve puzzles, it's a useful addition that cannot be understated.

Storywise, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is mostly a stand-alone story disconnected from the earlier games. While it does have a few callbacks to earlier series characters, it's one that doesn't need previous games to understand, but features all of what you'd expect a good Fatal Frame story to have. From slighted sacrificial maidens to ghost dolls to tormented spirits in agony, it's Fatal Frame as you'd expect it to be. While the plot may seem outwardly confusing, you'll find notes that piece the story together, explaining the concepts, characters, and events as they're needed. With the addition of the Fatal Glance that gives you a peek into each ghost's tragic end, it provides players a bit more flexibility and understanding when wrestling with the game's seemingly murky storyline.

Thankfully, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water divides the game into smaller, easier-to-understand chapters called drops. Each drop has very specific objectives to accomplish, and it later divvies up into smaller tasks that require trekking all over the place, it's often quite clear in what you're expected to do in order to progress. That doesn't mean exploration is streamlined, though; there are still plenty of areas to look around in, all with their own set of goodies and lore to find and understand.

All told, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water manages to capture what was most enjoyable about the older Fatal Frame games. It has the same sense of exploration and fear the older games had, and it's particularly fulfilling for lovers of the horror genre.

That's not to say that Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is exempt from any issues. There’s certainly some room for improvement, especially since it's a remaster of a 2014 release on the Nintendo Wii U. While the textures have improved, and the Switch's controls feel seamless, some technical issues do crop up. Undocked, the game has some slowdown, especially in some of the busier areas. Moving to a new area can sometimes trigger a loading screen, and while the game's load times never venture into the awful, it does take you out of the moment to see the world pause and see the flashing LOADING message pop up.

Design wise, some of what Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water does can be an issue. The over-the-shoulder camera does make it easier to traverse some areas, but sprinting can cause concern and make the camera go berserk when you're trying to turn corners. A little mini-game to pick up items and dodge ghost hands is enjoyable the first few times, but can get exceedingly frustrating because of the slow pick-up animations. Opening doors can also be quite slow, and while doing so can lead to tense moments leveraged by the threat of a ghostly face popping out to lunge at you, repeated actions of the same can also be quite frustrating – especially in areas that require multiple backtracking.

Make no mistake. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water has no dealbreakers. For all its issues, it does a lot right. It's heavy on atmosphere, filled with unlockable costumes and upgrades, and even has multiple endings to encourage repeat playthroughs. Content-wise, it might not be the best in the series, but it's certainly one that tries to give its all from start to finish, and one that does it admirably.

Fans of the series will definitely enjoy Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water. It delivers exactly what it promises, even for those unfamiliar with the franchise. It's not by any means a difficult game, but it's one that will keep you captivated from beginning to end.

---

THE GOOD

• Stays in line with the older Fatal Frame games' style of combat and exploration
• Runs pretty well, docked and undocked, and is a fairly smooth experience
• Can be surprisingly creepy, especially in some of the later areas
• Old-style Survival Horror at its best

THE BAD

• May be too easy the first time around, even to those new to the series
• Has some optimization issues when a lot of things happen on screen, or when transitioning to some newer areas
• Game design issues can slow down gameplay

---

RATING: 9/10

---