Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake [REVIEW] – Re-Capturing a Terrifying Classic 

Survival horror typically follows a pretty familiar playbook… you know, you find yourself in a creepy location, scrounge around for a handful of bullets, and desperately try to blast your way out. But the Fatal Frame series has always done things a little differently, because instead of handing you a shotgun or rocket launcher to deal with the threat, it gives you a vintage ghost-killing camera. And now, Koei Tecmo has brought back one of the most beloved entries in the franchise with Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake, and believe me… it’s terrifying (in the best possible way). 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

The setup is pure classic Japanese folk horror, with players taking on the role of Mio, a schoolgirl who wanders into a gloomy forest alongside her twin sister, Mayu. Naturally, Mayu decides to chase a glowing red butterfly into the woods, leading the pair straight into Minakami Village: a settlement seemingly lost in time and trapped in an endless, horrifying cycle of ritual sacrifice. And yes, it’s full of ghosts, and yes, they want to kill you. 

If you played the original release, you’ll see that the story stays pretty faithful, though it does expand upon the lore with additional scenes, environmental changes, and scattered notes to uncover that flesh out the dark history of Minakami Village and the vengeful spirits that you’ll encounter within it. Want to know what makes this world-building especially chilling? It gives you little hints at what sort of ghosts you might encounter next… just read everything you come across and you’ll see what I mean. It helps set a wonderfully unsettling sense of atmosphere, and with the intriguing lore and engaging story beats, it’s easy to find yourself wholly gripped from start to end. 

A really nice addition found in the remake is the ability to hold Mayu’s hand as you explore, which slowly heals the both of you whilst adding a sweet, grounded layer to their relationship. It’s like Ico, but with ghosts trying to kill you… nice. You’ll wish you had someone holding your hand in real life too, because exploration in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake is INTENSE. There are so many spooky sights to see and the unnerving atmosphere will constantly keep you on your toes, making each corner you turn or hallway you pass through all the more terrifying. Admittedly, navigating the traditional Japanese architecture could be disorienting in the original release, but thankfully, the developers have introduced a helpful map system complete with optional waypoints to make things a little easier this time around. It goes a long way in making the confusing, twisting village layouts much more manageable, with this a quality-of-life feature that many players are sure to appreciate. 

“It takes a beloved classic and modernises it with deeper and more tactical combat, some stunning visuals, and an atmosphere that will genuinely make you dread turning the next corner.” 

When things inevitably go wrong, your only line of defence is the Camera Obscura. Combat in this game is all about holding your nerve, and to do any real damage to the angry spirits, you need to let them get uncomfortably close before snapping a photo. Timing it perfectly triggers a Fatal Frame, which takes off a massive chunk of their health, but if that sounds a bit daunting, the remake kindly includes a new lock-on and auto-aim feature to help newcomers get to grips with the camera’s rather steep learning curve. It remains an incredibly stressful system, but landing that perfect shot feels amazing. 

The remake actually adds a lot of welcome depth to the photography combat, and whilst you still have to manage different types of film (which act as your ammo), you now have access to different equippable lenses and filters to change things up a little. Some let you bypass a ghost’s defences, others let you dodge, and some are just used for solving puzzles or breaking magical blood locks blocking your path, with each bringing a welcome element of diversity to showdowns that was missing in the original game. There is even a new Fatal Time mechanic that lets you fire off a rapid barrage of shots if you manage to stagger a ghost properly, with the game rewarding those who are strategic and calculated with their shots.  

I’m a really big fan of the game’s use of the Camera Obscura (even if lining up shots is always super spooky), but as you get deeper into the story, some encounters can start to feel a little bit exhausting. Some of the ghosts are incredibly spongy, absorbing photo after photo without going down, and to make matters worse, enemies can randomly enter an aggravated state where they heal themselves and hit much harder. It drains your film supplies and seriously tests your patience, and with the game already feeling intense thanks to its terrifying atmosphere, everything can feel a little bit too stressful at times. Or maybe I’m just becoming a bit of a baby with age, who knows? 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

Visually, the game has been rebuilt from the ground up, and believe me, it looks absolutely brilliant. The original fixed camera angles have been swapped out for a modern over-the-shoulder perspective, and whilst that might make purists a bit nervous, it does not make the game any less scary. If anything, it lets you appreciate just how hauntingly beautiful your surroundings are, with countless sights to see that are simply stunning… you know… in that ‘this is pretty but incredibly scary and I want to go home’ kind of way. 

There is a catch to the impressive presentation: if you are playing on a console, the game is bafflingly locked to a 30fps frame rate, which also suffers from some stutters. It is a bit of a letdown for a modern remake and takes away from just how impressive it looks, so if you do have the option, playing on PC is the way to go to get a smoother experience. Hopefully, it’s something that can be fixed with a patch, because the performance can be a little sketchy in places – I can deal with 30fps, but the frame drops were disappointing.

Developer: Team Ninja, Koei Tecmo Games 
Publisher: Koei Tecmo Games 
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC 
Website: https://www.koeitecmoeurope.com/zero/crimson-re/uk/