Fatal Frame: Maiden of the Black Water Reviews
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water would be improved with a tighter pace, quicker battles, and more clarity when it comes to objectives in missions. As it stands, the game is often frustrating on both a gameplay and a technical level, but more importantly, it fails as a horror game, as its reuse of the same handful of scares quickly grows tiresome, with attempts to build tension falling flat.
An unasked for remaster of a tedious, badly written survival horror that is even less effective now than it was seven years ago.
Ultimately Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water ends up being a boring slog more often than a tense horror experience. The remaster will likely be welcomed by fans of the series, especially those that never had a Wii U to check out the original. However, any future Fatal Frame titles will have to evolve to feel at home in modern times.
It's unfortunate that Koei Temco has no intention of remaking or remastering the Fatal Frame series from the beginning. This slightly upscaled and modified port from Nintendo Wii U to current gen platforms puts forth a subpar experience that doesn't sell me on the series. It seemed to just be the most convenient installment to make available for the 20th anniversary and it shows. If you're like me and Maiden of Black Water is your first Fatal Frame game, I recommend you keep those expectations low.
The latest Project Zero horror has a bleak and affecting story, but is let down by dull combat and awkward level design.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is a disappointing Wii U exclusive horror story that is more likely to put players to sleep than it is to scare them.
This is all speculation on my part, but Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water comes off like a game that had some incredible artists with cool ideas for this setting and the Wii U tablet, but they couldn’t quite figure out a cohesive story to tell. To make matters worse, I get the impression they also didn’t want to scare away newcomers on a new system and toned the scare factor right down.
If this what Fatal Frame is now, I don't want it anymore.
Another wasted survival horror sequel, that ruins its chance to make proper use of the GamePad and turns fear of the unknown into fear of the same old thing.
Fans of Japanese horror games are advised to repeat older parts of Silent Hill, Resident Evil, or Forbidden Siren. Although Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is a thrilling horror, it is spoiled by its repetition and slowness.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water On the level of the improved version, provided a rather good improvement, but on the level of the game, it was one of the experiences that I do not want to repeat because the control is the biggest flaw in the game and the image of ghosts may cause you to be defeated and killed due to poor image capture in the game.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
There are bits and pieces that are cool or interesting, and others that are either duds or just too awkward to pass off as decent storytelling.
While this remaster has its share of Kodak moments, unfortunately, the negatives are simply too much to ignore. With Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water’s disposable cast of characters and underdeveloped episodes that start to blur together like like an old Polaroid, survival horror fans are better off turning their focus elsewhere to get their fix this Halloween.
The ABC of horror games is that they tend to be frightening, but Maiden of Black Water is not only true to that, but also fails to stand up to Fatal Frame name and delivers a simple, average experience on every level.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Like I said, a diehard Project Zero fan may find something to like here, and if you do find yourself enjoying shooting ghosts with film instead of bullets, there are plenty of collectibles to be earned by getting high scores (including some very out-of-place Nintendo-themed outfits). If you're that hardcore of a fan, you probably bought Maiden of Black Water on day one - so if you didn't, you may want to give it a pass.
As much as I love the Fatal Frame series, I’m not at all hopeful for the future of the series if the publisher thinks this title will renew any interest in it. It’s cumbersome, unfocused and simply not fun to play. Sorry Koei Tecmo; I really love the original trilogy, can we bring them back instead please?
A camera of the omnipresent hell, a slow pace, an absent fear, this episode can only really count on its atmosphere, when it is not spoiled by the back and forth and the repetition of the environments, but even it will surely not be enough to make you crack.
Review in French | Read full review
You could do a lot better than Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water this Halloween season; the PS5 has built up its horror library up just enough for there to be something else worthy of your time. Those cutscenes, though. Very creepy.
It commits perhaps the worst sin a horror game – or indeed any game – could commit. It is boring. Once you've made the audience yawn, you've lost your ability to frighten them forever.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of the Black Water is a game that horror fans will want to love, but will end up causing frustration due to broken controls and an annoying mission structure. The scares are still there though, if you can forgive the other mistakes.