Fatal Frame: Maiden of the Black Water Reviews
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 is a unique entry in the horror genre that provides players with a different experience from the norm. Admittedly, certain aspects of the game feel dated and the storytelling doesn't quite bring out the full potential of its promising plot. The game's combat mechanics, however, are stellar with the Wii U providing the best implementation of the series' camera controls to date. If you're itching for a classic horror game that's different from the norm, this one's worth a shot — pun so totally intended.
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.
If Nintendo realizes that a large enough audience still exists in the West, the next entry in the franchise might be released in the west without such a long wait (and possibly a physical version for North America as well), another incentive for supporting Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water. For now, I'll just sit back, turn all the lights off, and enjoy the game.
Fatal Frame continues to treat the split between shooting and running as a productive tension, with results that are equally exciting and scary.
There's a lot to like about Maiden of Black Water; while we didn't find it overly scary, it is very good indeed at being eerie. You'll see ghosts out of the corner of your eye and when you check, they'll be gone. It's oddly cosy and non-stressful for a horror game, because your camera is such an efficient weapon and the combat it propogates is too action-packed to really let any dread sink in. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though we found the earlier PlayStation 2 instalments of the series were more interested in actively frightening the player. If you get absorbed in the storyline - which is easy to do as the episodic structure makes "just one more area" a compelling prospect - you'll find a good 15 or so hours of game here, and much more if you decide you need to get higher ranks as you improve your Camera Obscura with upgrades and other boons. Performance problems aside, this game's a real winner and worth snapping up if you're a horror fan who missed it on Wii U.
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
Koei Tecmo clearly hasn't missed a beat with this venerable horror franchise, as the fifth main entry plays as well as ever, with nice new touches spread around to make it a great and terrifying trip for any horror fan out there.
While there are several better titles in the Fatal Frame series, Maiden of Black Water has aged surprisingly well and can still deliver those scares and great fun.
There is a good reason why the Fatal Frame franchise is frequently placed in top-ten lists for scariest games of all time. This is a series founded on emotional dread and torment, with themes of sacrifice and spiritualism. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water proves to be a worthy entry in one of the more classy and dignified examples of survival-horror. The sad fact is that they just don't make games like this too often. The censorship that the localization team and publisher implemented is deplorable and disrespectful to Mokoto Shibata's work, and making this title mostly available via eShop only is not doing it any favours either. Perhaps one day Fatal Frame will be in better hands, but for now Maiden of Black Water ranks as one of the better horror games to come out in a long time.
While the characters are more bland than I had hoped, this doesn't necessarily take away from the story all that much. Some control issues do get annoying over time, but even they couldn't stop me from continuously returning to the beautiful and creepy environments of the mountain. If you're a fan of horror games with a bit more of an action feel, you could certainly do a lot worse than Fatal Frame, and now might just be the perfect time to dive in.
This port of the clever and under-appreciated Wii U J-Horror game might feel a little old, but is a terrific example of a familiar genre given a unique spin.
Although somewhat lacking on the horror front, PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water is a fun time with an interesting story and gorgeous graphics. The audio could use some improvement, but the pros far outweigh the cons.
FATAL FRAME: Maiden of Black Water blends its haunting world with rewarding gameplay to craft one outstanding horror experience.
Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is a fine introduction to a series most will have passed by over the years, though doesn't quite land the Fatal Frame it could have. It's still a worthy addition to any horror fan's collection and it's great to see the series being more available than ever.
If you love horror, especially of the supernatural variety, you owe Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water the chance to make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck
There are certain aspects to Maiden of Black Water that I can't help but question, but overall, it's a solid addition to the series, and finally provides gamers with the feeling of holding a Camera Obscura with the help of a GamePad. And that pushes the gameplay a long way. If it's a scarefest that you're after this Halloween, Fatal Frame is worth the download. Just make sure you have an external hard drive set up first – it's a massive 13GB.
Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water keeps the essence of previous titles in the franchise with its setting, story, art style and gameplay, while creating fantastic atmosphere and tension. However, the combat can be fiddly, while the necessity to traverse the same location multiple times, as well as the repeated information in the story text, may leave some players with a lacklustre experience.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is still an intruguing survival horror experience with creepy atmosphere and engaging story, but younger audiences may not like its old-style controls and slow pace.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is old-school survival horror. While the story can be convoluted and the controls make navigation harder than it should be, it's dark take on death and atmosphere make it a ghost hunt worth taking.