Fatal Frame: Maiden of the Black Water Reviews
Those looking for a spooky adventure for Halloween can certainly find one in Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water. Taking photos of ghosts while trying to keep dry is enthralling, while Mount Hikami's forests and shrines are among some of the spookiest locales in the franchise. Once you have gotten used to the mechanics though, it's far too easy to just plough through the game and the characters themselves are almost as vacant as… well ghosts! An enjoyable treat at least, but not enough tricks.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water versagt leider auf der kompletten Linie und bietet außer Fanservice in Form von Dead or Alive Ladies und knappen Outfits wenig. Die Steuerung auf dem Wii U Pad wurde schwach umgesetzt und auch die Geschichte bietet wenig neues für Horror Fans. Falls ihr aktuell auf der Suche nach einem neuen Wii U Titel seid, macht lieber einen großen Bogen um Fatal Frame.
Review in German | Read full review
Project Zero: Maiden of the Black Water is the new installment of the Project Zero saga exclusively for Wii U. Japanese terror, bloodthhirsties ghosts and a mysterious camera as the only weapon to combat them.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Project Zero Maiden of Black Water is a game infused with a scary, uncomfortable atmosphere that you will love as a fan of Japanese horror films. The story may not be gripping. But the atmosphere, the long playing time and the unique gameplay with the Wii U gamepad make the game at least worth a try. Still, the outdated design holds back maiden of Black Water from being an essential Wii U game.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Fatal Frame: Maiden of the Black Water is the worthy successor of its elders. The atmosphere is oppressive at will, we constantly have the feeling that a hand will come to catch ours (which often happens), the overall rendering is very pretty and we find the sensations of yesteryear.
Review in French | Read full review
Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is a survival horror with the right atmosphere. Unfortunately, it fails to enhance the Wii U GamePad.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Project Zero V satisfied us. The title effectively outlines a story characterized by suffering, loneliness and hatred, relying on the typical suggestions of Japanese horror productions. The final result has obvious flaws, which, however, fail to cool the enthusiasm for a production that proposes a way of conceiving the videogame horror almost of other times.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Using the GamePad as if it were the Camera Obscura we liked a lot, although it is better used in Off-TV mode. Otherwise it does not bring novelties to the saga, but perfects the formula to offer a worthy delivery. Too bad it arrives in English.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is going to be a tough sell for those who aren't familiar with the franchise. It's got a lot of questionable design decisions and feels like a more bare bones experience than past games of the series. But it's Fatal Frame, these games only come along in a blue moon these days, so savor them while they still exist.
Enjoyable combat and bold enemy design can't save Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water. With a dull, repetitive story that abandons any sense of horror, it's a shadow of what it could have been.
Overall, Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is a superb return for the series, and while it will undoubtedly frustrate most players with its archaic and downright atrocious control scheme, it makes up for its shortcomings with a fun and intuitive combat system, a scary and obscure story and stunning sound and art direction.
One of the best horror games in recent times and a compulsory element in the collection of anyone willing to be plunged into a world of fear where they have nothing to rely on other than their wits and a camera.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water finds a wildly effective new way to utilize the GamePad as the Camera Obscura, and builds some great story and atmosphere. Barring an odd control scheme and some tedious missions, this is a stellar horror title for any Wii U owner.
Instead of the in-your-face outright scare without substance, Maiden of Black Water goes for a sense of dread paired with an insatiable curiosity to know what happened next. It's a welcome re-introduction to the franchise in the West, a hit for the Wii U, which is still trying to prove it can appeal to "Mature" gamers. It will make you wonder just what was that sound down your dark hallway at 3am, and just when did your bathroom faucet start leaking?
After a few hours with Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, I know I'll be returning upon its release ... It's a clever twist on the classic formula, with an inspired use of the Wii U hardware, and a spooky, pitch-perfect Halloween game in its own right.
Maiden of Black Water is decidedly an example of a game where genre experience and fandom has everything to do with its appeal. Games like this are fan service at this point, and Maiden of Black Water strikes all the correct notes.
[I]t's got an interesting story. It's got some really wicked visuals. The ghosts are creepy as shit. Some of the jump scares are pretty bad. And it just has this sense of creepiness that all the Fatal Frame games have had. So if you're familiar with this franchise, you're gonna be right at home. If you've never played 'um before, it's okay. The games kindof connect via some of the characters, but it's usually a completely new story, so you can jump right in this and still have a great time with it.
Despite these nitpicks, this game is a triumphant revival of a series that has remained dormant in North America for several console generations, and for those who did get to play the Wii iterations there is much new spooky fun to be had. Fatal Frame is still the crowning king of the genre, and Maiden of Black Water holds the best representation of everything that makes the series great. The fact that an English release of this game exists at all is cause for celebration, and should definitely not be missed by fans of survival horror or Japanese ghost stories. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is good to the last drop.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is a disturbing tale well told. While the GamePad brings the series' camera-as-a-weapon concept to life in a way that feels very natural, the combat lacks real mechanical variety, which, combined with overly repetitive encounters, undermines the impact of its most terrifying enemies. Fortunately, there's an abundance of darkness to be found, with some of the most unsettling and stylish scares I've experienced in a while.