Fatal Frame

 PlayStation 2
  • Publisher: Tecmo
  • Release Date: Mar 4, 2002
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 131 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 110 out of 131
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 131
  3. Negative: 4 out of 131
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  1. tsakiym
    May 18, 2015
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I do not have to say anything. But i need to write one hundred and fifty characters. i think my score can describe it.................................… Expand
  2. DemonicRobots
    Oct 19, 2021
    7
    Fatal Frame is a very good entry into the survival horror world during a time where Silent Hill and Resident Evil reigned. It features a young girl searching for her brother in a haunted mansion, fighting enemies with only a special ghost camera to defend herself. The story is good albeit simple, with a focus on what happened before you arrived in the Himuro Mansion. The gameplay was aFatal Frame is a very good entry into the survival horror world during a time where Silent Hill and Resident Evil reigned. It features a young girl searching for her brother in a haunted mansion, fighting enemies with only a special ghost camera to defend herself. The story is good albeit simple, with a focus on what happened before you arrived in the Himuro Mansion. The gameplay was a good change of pace, focusing on first-person camera shooting to defend yourself from ghosts, and incentivizing you to stare at your horror while fighting it rather than running away. All the ghosts are relatively unique characters and you can even find out their background and how they died. The puzzles are decent as well, but they really don't do much or involve any unique mechanics. Usuaully to unlock doors you don't get keys but rather find a blue zone, aim your camera at the blue zone, and that unlocks it. You have an upgrade system as well but it is very basic, and it is more making you more powerful rather than changing how you play and creating unique playstyles. The NG+ content is good as well, but the location being only one place that you've already gone through multiple times in one playthrough makes it seem like it simply wasn't big enough for what they wanted, and that shows. For a first game though they created really good bones, and it certainly did a good job sneaking its way into the third-place survival horror spot on the PS2, beating out Obscure, Siren, and more.… Expand
  3. YoutubeTGW
    Feb 24, 2014
    7
    I played the second one before this because this one was really hard to find. The ending just like this made me mad because of the dumb choice the character's brother made…All in all I did enjoy it.
  4. XV_
    Oct 24, 2018
    6
    My favorite part of Fatal Frame is the prologue, it has a nice and creepy rhythm and atmosphere and also promises a lot, the thing is that by one hour or two after that, it seems that all those promises about everything are gone.

    I have a lot of problems with FF, the story is interesting but never really good, the combat is good till you find that the ghosts have the upper hand and they    My favorite part of Fatal Frame is the prologue, it has a nice and creepy rhythm and atmosphere and also promises a lot, the thing is that by one hour or two after that, it seems that all those promises about everything are gone.

    I have a lot of problems with FF, the story is interesting but never really good, the combat is good till you find that the ghosts have the upper hand and they patterns are very fluid and semi-random Vs. your clumsy and slow controls, it also has a lot of backtracking but everything seems too similar that you will be watching a lot your map instead of your surroundings, speaking of surroundings, the exploration is awful and is one of those games that you need to check on everything and doesn't even have a visual cue (in critical parts at least) for you to guide yourself, also there's one puzzle that involves Japanese characters that really annoyed me because you have to somehow now its mechanics beforehand. I was about to quit this game so many times but I endured it because this game will not beat me (and because is really short), in the end, I kind of enjoyed some parts of this game but that's about it, although I sure hope the sequel is way better than this.    … Expand
  5. laniesweet
    Oct 19, 2021
    7
    A great, scary time hampered by clunky controls and bad voice acting. It's definitely one of those games I'd love to see a remake of since it was so good despite its flaws.

Awards & Rankings

86
#86 Best PS2 Game of 2002
27
#27 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2002
92
#92 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2002

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 22
  3. Negative: 1 out of 22
  1. GameZone
    90
    I am happy to report that after many hours of lost sleep, hearing things that weren’t really there, and near fatal heart attacks it definitely is not only the most terrifying game experience I have ever had, but one of the more solid ones I have had as well.
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  2. PSM Magazine
    60
    Feels quite derivative of a lot of other horror games. [Apr 2002]
  3. GameSpot
    71
    You'll honestly find some sequences rather creepy...As far as horror-themed games go, Fatal Frame is one of the most interesting--in regard to its premise and the way it plays--to surface in a while.
    Read full review
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