Tecmo’s Fatal Frame series began in 2001, standing out from other horror games with its unique gameplay mechanics of fighting ghostly entities with the Camera Obscura. The original game saw various sequels and spin-offs, with a few receiving remasters or remakes on modern consoles.

The second game in the series, 2003’s Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, did get a kind of remake for the Nintendo Wii in 2012 titled Project Zero 2: Wii Edition, with added features, upgraded visuals and controls utilising the Wii Remote and Nunchuk Controllers. Now, in 2026, the second game, this time published by Koei Tecmo and developed by Team Ninja, gets a full remake as Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake haunts its way onto Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC. 

Teenage twin sisters, Mio and Mayu Amakura, are visiting Minakami Village, specifically an area where they used to play as children. Mayu ends up following a mysterious crimson butterfly deep into the woods. Mio, concerned for her sister, follows Mayu and the two are led to an unknown village. The village is oddly empty and has been cursed by a past event, trapping it in perpetual night and haunting it with deceased residents.

They soon find a camera called the Camera Obscura, are attacked by ghosts known as Wraiths, and discover the camera can be used to fight them off. Mio and Mayu must find their way out of Minakami Village while encountering more Wraiths and learning more about the mystery behind this village. 

Players take control of Mio, and the game revolves around exploring the mysterious village, battling Wraiths, and caring for her sister, Mayu, who walks slowly due to an old injury she suffered as a child. While walking around, players can and are encouraged to hold Mayu’s hand, who can walk on her own, which helps her move a little faster while gradually restoring both sisters’ health and willpower and reinforcing their bond.

Holding her hand is a new feature in this remake, not from the original game. This adds a personal touch and makes you care for the sisters more. Mayu won’t be with you for the entire game, which is something that’s relevant to the story, and we’ll let players experience this for themselves. 

The combat mechanics are what truly set this game apart from other horror games. After acquiring the Camera Obscura, players use it to battle the Wraiths, most of whom were human in origin. They have different characteristics and mannerisms, sometimes relative to how they died, which adds to the challenge. Most times, players will face one Wraith, which is still challenging enough, but occasionally, they will have to take on more than one, and those battles will truly test your mettle.

Using the Camera Obscura, players will enter first-person view through the lens, aim at the Wraiths, and take photos. A number of dots are displayed and turn red when they’re positioned over the Wraith, and the more red dots and clearer picture you can get, the more damage is delivered. Seeing the Wraiths coming at you while looking through the camera creates a different kind of intensity, especially when you miss the shot because of their sudden movements, and they use the opportunity to consume you. 

Different lenses can be found throughout the game, each with its own abilities that can affect a Wraith’s behaviour to your advantage. Different lenses can also reduce a Wraith’s speed, stun them, push them back, target them more easily, and more. Depending on your chosen difficulty setting, lenses can be scarce, forcing you to make every shot count. Other horror games often give you guns or other weapons to battle enemies, but having only a camera with powers, limited athletic ability and forcing you to get the perfect shot while under intense pressure, creates a unique feeling of vulnerability that needs to be experienced. 

Players also have a torch to see their surroundings better, even showing items they wouldn’t have seen or grabbed without it. Using the torch all the time might sound logical, but this will also awaken more wraiths you need to battle. This can either be a bad thing if you want to avoid them, or a good thing if you want to battle more of them, though you should also be mindful of the number of lenses you have. 

There are also some harmless ghosts that you might encounter, who only appear for a few seconds. If you’re able to snap a photo of them in time, you’ll learn about their stories, adding to the lore of the game. Players can also find various notes scattered throughout the game that were written by the deceased residents of this village. Some notes will seem normal, while others will be urgent, in distress and sometimes cryptic, all adding to the overall story. 

The story itself is also a big reason to play this game, especially for horror enthusiasts. Japanese horror games and even movies often never fail to be genuinely scary, and the Fatal Frame games have always nailed that aspect. Each game has different protagonists and their own stories, so newcomers to the series don’t necessarily need to play the other games and worry about missing out on story elements.

The cutscenes are done incredibly well, much like watching a movie, and the solid voice performances in either Japanese or English add so much to the emotional impact and visual fidelity. Other recent Koei Tecmo games have received high praise, but their cutscenes leave much to be desired, so it’s nice to see that developer Team Ninja are indeed capable of creating quality cutscenes. The original game had multiple endings depending on the choices you make, with the Wii version adding two new endings, and this new remake adds another two new endings, giving the game plenty of replay value and longtime fans another reason to experience this story again.

In addition to the new endings, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake also features updated gameplay mechanics and upgraded graphics. Gameplay-wise, there’s the hand-holding feature mentioned above, and the camera is now an over-the-shoulder view rather than fixed camera angles, creating a more immersive experience. Fans are divided on this, however, with some happy for the change while others believe it waters down the scare factor. Individual experiences will vary, and the game still has plenty of reasons to play it. 

The original game was already impressive-looking and still holds up well today. The Wii version enhanced those visuals, but the 2026 remake is by far the best-looking version of Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. The characters have more skin textures, clothing has more detailed fabric, and the environments have so much more detail than before, with buildings, streets, forests, and more, all nice to look at while still giving that creepy, uneasy feeling. The Wraiths look more realistic and can sometimes be distracting while admiring their details, but they look as terrifying as ever, especially when they lunge at you while looking at them through the camera. 

Fatal Frame hasn’t had a proper new game since 2014, but the two remastered games of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water and Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse have helped keep the series relevant. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake shows what it can look like on a modern console.

Longtime fans may not like some of the changes, but the added features, especially the new endings, will give them plenty of incentive to play through the story again for a new experience, and it’s also a great way for newcomers who may be interested to get into the series. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake is an experience unlike any other. 

Written by: Sammy Hanson