FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse

After its remastered release, Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse has undoubtedly given players more reasons to try this classic horror game. Exquisite and beautiful characters, an intriguing plot, and innovative storytelling make this work seem quite excellent in quality. However, as a game released 15 years ago, many of its mechanics have not been optimised and have been faithfully copied to the PC. Nowadays, some of the systems are outdated and significantly affect the player's experience.

Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is a finely polished, absolutely worthwhile remaster of the fourth game, held back from a higher score only by its outdated controls and sluggish character movement.

Survival horror fans, and fans of the broader Fatal Frame series, will find a lot to like about the remake of Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse after the over a decade-long wait. The classic photography-based gameplay and story of Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse make it one of the best in the series, and, with any luck, further Fatal Frame remakes or a continuation of the series will result from this release.

If Mask of the Lunar Eclipse has the same success found with Maiden of Black Water's port to modern platforms, then remasters of other Fatal Frame games or even a new game would have a better chance of being released. There is a lot of potential for renewed interest in the franchise, and despite gripes to be had with Mask of the Lunar Eclipse's remaster, the game itself still holds up as a solid horror game.

Creepy and compelling, the game is finally officially out of Japan and offering a good time for series fans. Even if the controls and movement speed still leave a lot to be desired.

For better or worse, Project Zero: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse brings an underplayed fifteen-year-old horror game to Western audiences in a well-preserved state. There's a fantastic atmosphere, and the horror is well-framed and executed with impressive restraint, but control issues of the time carry through to this remaster.

The unexpected arrival of a new episode of Project Zero, 15 years after its debut in Japan, in a reworked version translated into French, may delight us to the highest degree, but above all it highlights the urgency of modernizing the gameplay from the series. As it stands, this remaster is therefore only intended for fans of the franchise who have been waiting for a long time for an opportunity to discover this fourth opus.

Project Zero: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse still delivers a creepy, fascinating experience that draws on the imagery of Japanese ghosts legends to lead us to a cursed island where an absurd tragedy took place several years earlier. Unfortunately the game feels all the weight of these fifteen years when it comes to gameplay, structure and graphics.