Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake review for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch 2

Koei Tecmo’s been putting out some absolutely fantastic new titles lately such as NioH 3, Dynasty Warriors: Origins, the Ryza series, etc, so when they announced a remake of a beloved cult classic, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, I was thrilled. The Fatal Frame series sits right there nestled in with Resident Evil and Silent Hill to make up the final piece of my survival horror golden trio. Unique gameplay with the Camera Obscura, supernatural terror, and really creepy settings make it a must-play for fans of the genre. So how is the remake of one of the best, if not the best, entry in the series?

Since it’s a remake, the most obvious thing to talk about first is the visual changes. Fatal Frame II’s remake is a ground-up remake, so everything is completely redone from scratch. You can tell too, because it’s absolutely gorgeous. The super detailed textures blended with the nighttime lighting and decrepit village setting are absolutely terrifying, which leans heavily in the game’s favor for scare factor. Koei has absolutely outdone themselves when redesigning Crimson Butterfly. It also helps that the game includes a new crouch mechanic that leads you to new areas to explore. More often than I’d have expected I found myself noticing holes under buildings or little gates I could crouch under to find other items or collectables to either unlock some more lore/story from villagers or to get more film for the camera.

Being able to crouch and find new areas bleeds into another nice improvement of this remake, which is the gameplay. Crimson Butterfly’s remake plays really smoothly with simple filter switching, film switching, and more. The dodge ability makes encounters with wraiths even more tense, because now you can be grappled to the floor until you either free yourself by dodging out of the way or taking a critical photo. This leads to some really tense group fights and even bosses, especially when you’re trying to not get grabbed all the while dodging the jumpscare attacks.

Unfortunately, there is a really, really bad problem with combat, and that’s the tinnitus-style ringing sound effect that plays in combat. It might just be the film recharging in the camera, but regardless, it’s violently obnoxious to the point that if you’re planning on playing this game, you’re gonna want some sort of headache medication on standby. It got so bad so quickly that by the second boss I could maybe stomach one attempt in a play session before I had to put the game down and return hours later. This could very well just be a personal issue, but it’s a very glaring issue that I want to make abundantly clear for anybody that might have issues with tinnitus and their ears ringing. Turning the sound effects down can mitigate that problem but some wraith attacks have sound cues when they might go invisible or teleport, so it’s not really a long-term solution. I am sincerely hoping it can be toggled on release or that there’s some patch that removes it entirely like later entries in the series. This was in the original release too, so this remake would’ve been a great opportunity to remove it.

Other than the miserable tinnitus sound effect that needs a toggle of its own or to be removed completely, the sound design is fantastic too. The wind impacting the old wooden buildings, the water rushing through the nearby river, and the wails of the village’s spirits as you navigate your surroundings all encapsulate a truly haunting horror experience. The amount of times I heard something but wasn’t sure what it was so I had to carefully creep around corners and through buildings is a lot more than zero.

It’s hard to say anything that hasn’t been said about the game in general given it’s a really well-made and accurate remake of the original Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. It’s a haunting yet really interesting setting with a dark story that horror fans are sure to love. The remake looks fantastic, it sounds amazing, and it runs great on PC (which is where I played it). It’s just really difficult to keep going and pushing through the horrific ringing sound whenever you’re using the camera. Outside of that, it’s genuinely one of the best remakes I’ve ever experienced.

Koei Tecmo has absolutely blown it out of the water with this release, so big props to the team behind it. When it comes to doing remakes well, I’d put this up on the pedestal alongside games like the Resident Evil remakes. It is an absolute must-play for survival horror fans, and if you’re curious on what survival horror looks like outside of your typical association, you’ll definitely want to check out Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake.

Note: Koei Tecmo provided us with a code for review purposes.

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