"Fatal Frame" (2001) Review
A snapshot of horror.
Fatal Frame is an excellent piece of survival horror that holds up very well today. Part of me wishes I had played this younger as I would have been truly scared out of my wits as a kid.
The game takes place in an antiquated Japanese mansion. While it feels compact in size to something like the Spencer Mansion in Resident Evil, exploration is rewarding and different sections of the mansion are skillfully interconnected. Every room oozes atmosphere and random ghosts often appear if you dawdle, making nowhere feel truly safe. The structure of the game makes it so you've seen most of the setting and its puzzles after only a quarter of the game or so, and the rest is mostly backtracking or re-exploring the same areas in a new configuration which can be tedious. However, the game is so brief that this is less of an issue than it otherwise would be.
The camera-based combat system feels novel and unique, and is very fun most of the time, especially when you nail hard-hitting dangerous shots (IE the camera parry). Certain enemies become very frustrating as they teleport and spin around you ad nauseam, but you are given tools to mitigate this if you're frugal with your supplies in the early stages.
If playing in English, the lifeless dub gives this more of a Scooby Doo vibe than they were probably going for, but the story was interesting and goes in some very dark directions as you unravel the troubled history of this place.
Overall I really enjoyed this and I'm excited to see how this series develops. Before I move on I might dip back into Himuro Mansion a few more times and try and find the secrets I missed, and I'm excited to do so.
4/5
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