Review: Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake (PS5) – A Terrifying New Angle on a Survival Horror Classic

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Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake is absolutely terrifying.

Team Ninja has created a truly scary and intense survival horror experience, but it does come with a few issues you might already be familiar with.

Koei Tecmo has recently tried to bring back the Fatal Frame/Project Zero series, but the results have been uneven. While both Maiden of Black Water and Mask of the Lunar Eclipse were remastered, we didn’t find either of them particularly compelling.

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly has received a complete and thorough remake, and the effort has really paid off.

The biggest change is that the game no longer uses the static camera angles common in older survival horror games. Instead, it now features a modern, third-person view, making it much easier to navigate the village of Minakami.

This is just the beginning of several welcome updates from the developers at Team Ninja. Returning fans of the original PlayStation 2 game will enjoy additional side stories that expand the narrative, and a completely new ending is available for those daring enough to try New Game+ on the incredibly difficult Nightmare setting.

Since this story happens well before the first game, it’s a great way for new players to experience the world of Fatal Frame. It introduces the series’ blend of scary survival horror, challenging puzzles, and its distinctive Camera Obscura fighting style.

The game’s visuals and how it plays are significantly improved, but it’s a very faithful remake of the original. While it looks and feels much better now, it still has some of the same problems people criticized years ago – which is a bit strange considering the game’s bleak storyline.

Mio and Mayu Amakura, twin sisters, are drawn into a mysterious forest by a red butterfly. They quickly become separated and find themselves trapped in Minakami Village, a forgotten settlement lost to darkness.

Minakami feels unsettling right away, filled with a dark and haunted atmosphere. Vengeful spirits are lurking, intent on hurting Mio and kidnapping Mayu, and they’re planning a dangerous, forbidden ritual called the Crimson Butterfly. While searching for her sister, Mio starts to learn about the village’s dark past and the sad story of another set of twins whose experiences echo her own.

The Crimson Butterfly remake feels like a classic survival horror game, with gameplay that evokes the feeling of older titles like Silent Hill and Resident Evil. Expect to explore scary locations and revisit areas often as you solve puzzles and progress.

As a player, I really get into how the game is set up. You basically explore different locations, piecing together the story by finding notes and keys. There’s a lot of investigating – I’m constantly using a spirit box and taking pictures of seriously creepy ghosts to unlock the next part of the nine-chapter story. It’s all about moving from place to place and uncovering what happened.

Crimson Butterfly Remake really knows how to deliver a good scare. We were constantly tense, anticipating something frightening – like when a door creaks open slowly or someone reaches for an object just out of reach. These moments are clearly meant to build suspense before a ghost suddenly appears and gives you a fright!

The developers are skilled at building suspense without relying on constant scares. A lot of the fear actually comes from what you don’t see, creating a more unsettling experience.

We haven’t been this genuinely scared playing a horror game since 2005’s Condemned: Criminal Origins. Honestly, this new game might be the scariest one we’ve ever experienced.

Right away, Mio and Mayu face their first ghost—a vengeful spirit who wants to strangle them. Luckily, we’d just learned about a special camera that can defeat ghosts, and the game gave us a lot of instructions on how to use it. That was a close one!

However, this leads us to our biggest concern about recommending Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake. It all centers around the series’ defining feature: the Camera Obscura.

While searching for Mayu and a way out of Minakami Village, Mio can fight off ghostly enemies by taking their picture, which hurts them.

Taking photos of the spooky enemies you encounter lets you examine their frightening new appearances, but the key is when you take those pictures. If you wait until a ghost is close and snap a photo while it’s attacking, you can activate a special move called a Fatal Frame. This not only blocks the attack but also dramatically increases the damage you deal.

The camera includes an unlimited supply of Type-07 film to get you started, but you can also use other types of film, each with unique characteristics. Some films reload quickly, while others are more effective at exorcism, meaning they inflict greater damage when used.

I’m really digging the toggleable filters they added! They’re not just cool effects, they actually change how you play and explore. My favorite is definitely the Exposure filter – it’s a game-changer in fights against wraiths, slowing them down so you can actually hit them. But even when I’m not fighting, it’s awesome because it shows hidden paths and treasure I’d normally miss. It makes exploring so much more rewarding!

I have to say, fighting the wraiths is really exciting! It’s a cool new way to battle enemies, though it felt a little awkward at first. Luckily, this remake made things way better. Now I can just click the right stick to automatically lock onto ghosts, and dodging attacks with the X button is a lifesaver. Once you understand how to use the focal points and focus, and get the Camera Obscura upgraded, combat actually becomes really fun and satisfying!

Unfortunately, it’s still not without its frustrations.

We didn’t like one particular enemy behavior: when a wraith gets mad. During a fight, there’s a chance they’ll turn red and become enraged if they’re attacked.

Okay, so fighting a wraith that’s really angry isn’t actually that bad. They still hit and move pretty much the same, just a bit faster. What’s seriously annoying is they start healing themselves, and they can do it whenever they want, which makes taking them down a real pain!

We don’t want to give away any spoilers, but during a key battle with a boss wraith, we kept failing to defeat it. Every time we almost had it beat, the wraith would recover and force us into another 15-20 minutes of fighting. What should have been a thrilling moment quickly became frustrating and tiring.

The stealth sections weren’t our favorite part of the game. In several areas, Mio loses her ability to fight, either because her camera is missing or doesn’t work on powerful ghosts, forcing you to simply run and hide. While we initially appreciated the change of pace, these sections quickly became frustrating. They often felt designed around failing multiple times – you might have to try a sequence two or three times to succeed. This is disappointing, as it diminishes what could be a truly frightening experience.

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2026-03-10 04:38