Fatal Frame: Maiden of the Black Water Reviews
An effectively creepy atmosphere combined with an intriguing story and unique combat, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is well worth picking up. It can slog some when it forces you to revisit the same areas that you just saw and the movement is clunky and awkward, but those can't sink the rest of the enterprise into the mire.
Technical issues aside, Koei Tecmo and Nintendo offer one of the purest horror titles in years.
I have some mixed feelings. On the one hand, I adore Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water for its deeply old-fashioned control scheme and clunky gameplay. I love the rough-around-the-edges graphics that speak of a time that was slightly browner. I love the darkness of the storyline and the bleak personalities of the unfortunate characters. I love all these things, but my heart also longs for an improved version that controls better, looks better and sounds better. Maybe a new game in the series will take care of this longing, but until then we still have a very decent horror game that is well worth a stab.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is quite chilling, but don't expect it to meet the graphic standards of today.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Koei Tecmo put in the effort to modernise Fatal Frame, and it shows. Not only have they ditched fixed camera angles, but combat has also been revamped to make ghost-hunting more fluid. While I miss the less-linear exploration, I know some players would greatly appreciate the guided episodic format.
Possessing a very unique atmosphere, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is a classic example of the application of many of the characteristic elements of Japanese horror by blending psychological horror with supernatural and folkloric elements while following a structure of increasing tension. Although it is possible to recommend it from a game's point of view, it demonstrates much more value from the perspective of a representative product of this very different genre.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
It keeps the charm of the franchise while offering some interesting moments, but it can't hide the fact that graphics and some gameplay elements are outdated. If you are looking for a plain and simple survival horror experience, you will probable be satisfied with this one.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is a very good throwback to the weirder survival horror games found on the PS2. It features a looming horror atmosphere I really enjoyed, and a unique gameplay hook with its motion controlled first person camera. While it’s not going to win any game of the year awards, I would think that Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water should be a must play for all survival horror fans, especially with its budget price.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water provides a very effective atmosphere, with good scares and chills, and is unfortunately consumed by constant repetition, losing much or all of its "charm" in the final chapters.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
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.
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.
Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is a welcome remaster and it's great to see this game reach the wider audience it deserves. I'd definitely recommend picking this up if you're a series fan, or are interested in what makes it so unique, but it shows its ages and loses some of what made it such a good fit for the Wii U. Whilst by no means a damp squib, this remaster doesn't quite get you soaked with excitement.
Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is a welcome remaster and it's great to see this game reach the wider audience it deserves. I'd definitely recommend picking this up if you're a series fan, or are interested in what makes it so unique, but it shows its ages and loses some of what made it such a good fit for the Wii U. Whilst by no means a damp squib, this remaster doesn't quite get you soaked with excitement.
Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is back. That's good news, and while it's not the best in the series, I've enjoyed it like crazy. It still retains the authenticity of the franchise, which makes it a more than valid option for anyone who wants to approach a slightly different survival horror that has a unique approach, but at the same time tastes like a classic.
Review in Spanish | 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 survival horror with the right atmosphere. Unfortunately, it fails to enhance the Wii U GamePad.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A compelling thriller that makes great use of the GamePad, but fails to truly scare or shock.
If you're bored of relentless jump scares in horror games, you'll probably get a nice kick out of this paranormal adventure.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water suffers from some dated design decisions and redundancies in level design, but the unique combat and evocative environments make this a worthwhile adventure for horror fans.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water does some things well and misses the mark on others. It generates tension well, but it depends too much on the simplistic, yet rewarding camera-based combat. Either way, Maiden of Black Water offers something compelling for horror fans to dig into, as long as you can accept its shortcomings.