I won’t go into the narrative of Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse as I do not want to discuss anything that can spoil the experience, but what I can say is how it is extremely well handled and never feels forced. Each character stands on their own but also works well together and makes the story and narrative much stronger in the process. It also helps that the protagonists are a bit more natural this time and you can actually root for the characters.
Mask of the Lunar Eclipse knows its limitations and works the game around them. Every aspect of the game is working against you with there being no one to rely on, few resources to come to your aid, and less than many modern horror games provide players, all to increase the paranoia. You cannot even run as you are playing as characters suffering from Moonlight Syndrome, who will move with a light jog at the most, and constantly fight with the clunky controls that somehow give you more of a sense of fear and elevates the tension in a good way.
This is a horror game that truly lives up to the ideas of horror, because not only is working against you, but the content in the game will truly show you the meaning of fear. There are ghost experiences that really stand out, especially when compared to other games and the fear never goes over the top, which makes it worse. This is a special form of horror that combines overt terror with subtle terror to create an environment where you never feel safe but must also confront your fears.
You can fight back though, as you have the Camera Obscura and Spirit Torch that are capable of hurting the ghosts, and if you are playing on Nintendo Switch, which we did for this review, you can use both standard and gyroscopic controls to use the items and they both work very well. Which works best is up to you, and there are lenses to find as you go on, to help with different ghosts, and multiple types of film to find. To damage the ghosts you must get up close and line up your shot just right with the camera to dispel the ghosts, and getting a perfect Fatal frame is key.
Making the camera the way to combat ghosts is the best part of Fatal Frame as it makes you get up close to the terror, and makes you truly confront your fears. There is also a Mission Mode that lets you focus on shooting many different ghosts and a photo mode that takes full advantage of the camera gimmick. In many ways, the franchise is a horror take on Pokémon Snap and that always makes me smile to think about.
If you ever become overwhelmed though, there are other modes to try. Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse has an easy mode with features that will help you, such as the Camera Obscura automatically locking onto ghosts. This is much more significant than it sounds, as some of the ghosts can move too quickly and some can overwhelm in terms of numbers, so this is one change that will make the game more accessible, among others.
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is an excellent remaster of the Wii title in general and shows why this title was so well-liked by fans. The terror is more realized, and the Bloom mechanic is neat in how some ghosts will blossom, i.e. transform into a more powerful and more terrifying form, which really increases the sense of fear and urgency and ties into the story well. The game just looks amazing in general, and the redone visuals pop here with some really fantastic-looking environments and enemies.
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is easy to recommend as it is a brilliant remaster and a truly terrifying game in the best way possible. One of the best entries in the series has received a masterpiece of remastering, and the result is amazing on whatever platform you play. If you feel horror games have gotten too generic or lacklustre, then Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is the game to restore your faith in the genre.
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series and as stated, was reviewed on the Nintendo Switch
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
All images were taken from Nintendo.co.uk
