Survival Horror games have run the gamut of heroes and heroines. From tough-as-nails Special Forces to the more interesting John Everyman. If there is a survival horror game out there, chances are some character archetype is in it, and that flexibility of character dynamics is a strength of the genre, allowing for tons of unique experiences that can resonate with the right audiences. It really takes something special to go against the standard molds, but also to go against the normal conventions of a typical game to make it work.
You expect certain tropes with survival horror games. Maybe it's the classic 'tank controls' and pre-rendered backgrounds? Maybe the use of sound and lighting to trick the player into jumping at shadows. Sometimes the atmosphere is the gimmick, or maybe even the camera angles and simple blocking of a scene. Both indie and mainstream games seem to experiment more with horror games than any other genre, and it's why it's notable when a series latches down to a specific gimmick that is rarely, if ever, attempted.
Enter the Fatal Frame series, which spans multiple games across several platforms. is a survival horror series dealing with defeating undead spirits in Japan with a mysterious camera. You heard me correctly: a camera. While it sounds somewhat ludicrous, it works in the sense of a supernatural horror mystery that allows for unique gameplay mechanics that are rarely seen in other games.
Perhaps the best game in the series is Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly. Released in 2003 for the PS2, with a recent remake in 2026 for the Switch 2, PS5, Xbox, and PC, has you play as twin girls in Japan who stumble upon a seemingly abandoned Japanese village in the middle of the woods. The two pre-teens, Mio and Mayu, soon are engrossed in an ethereal setting of this village, with Mayu going missing several times chasing crimson butterflies in the forest, while Mio sees visions of mysterious spirits, including the ghost of a girl named Sae.
There is, of course, other themes here in Crimson Butterfly, with the most prominent being the sort of tragic relationship between Mio and Mayu. The two twins are characters who already have a past that strains their relationship. The inclusion of the spirits, including a pair of sister ghosts, the aforementioned Sae and her sister Yae, offers that haunting reflection of the possible fates of the twins on this moody journey they find themselves in. Throw in a shocking twist regarding this dead village that at first may seem completely daft, but recontextualizes everything into the metaphor of the lengths you go to protect your loved ones, and you have the makings of a solid premise for a horror game.
Without giving away too many details of the plot, Crimson Butterfly is more of a pure survival horror game where you can't truly kill the spirits around you, but instead purge them through the camera. Mio is not an action star, and the gameplay reflects this perfectly. Mio moves slowly, similar to the control schemes of old-school Silent Hill, but avoids the pitfall of pure tank controls because of its main gameplay gimmick, the use of the camera.
To use the camera, you need to press a button to enter first-person mode, and then press another to quickly snap a photo. You have indicators telling you when a spirit is nearby, blue for benevolent spirits and red for hostile ones. Other factors such as clarity and focus actually add to the mechanics; the clearer the shot is, the more damage a hostile spirit will take. Aiming with the camera is incredibly smooth and offers a whole secondary gameplay mode outside of the more standard exploration gameplay of survival horror games of its time. The developers at Tecmo made this almost like a mini-game baked into the main gameplay, and it is actually fun to set up shots. Sometimes you need to be quick and concise when snapping photographs. Plus the fact that you can upgrade the camera is a nice touch, adding some extra power to your paparazzi abilities when necessary.
Crimson Butterfly is also one of the few survival horror games to actually do puzzles well. We're used to the labyrinthian layouts of mansions and police stations, finding keys in what often feel like obtuse solutions. Crimson Butterfly instead opts for a more adventure-game approach. For example, finding a seemingly random item at the beginning of the game, only to use it for what seems like an unsolvable puzzle late in the game, adds a degree of immersion and doesn't fall into the moon logic trap; it makes sense you would utilize found items where they are. There are exceptions, such as a few timed races here and there and some locked doors which need an obscure key, but in the grand scheme of things, they actually fit within the setting. The only puzzles that were tedious were the escort ones, where you had to protect your twin sister from the vengeful spirits; since her A.I is kind of stilted, it doesn’t help much when battling ghosts for her soul.
The limited landscapes of the village also hamper the experience, mostly due to backtracking. You will have to get used to looking at the same areas for hours on end, sometimes multiple times, just to trigger different events and encounters that only occur when certain story beats happen. Granted, it adds a degree of believability to the experience, especially since you’re in the open and ghosts don’t really sit still, but overall it feels like padding just to make the game longer than it should be.
The game is, however, extremely scary in the cerebral sense. This is all thanks to fantastic imagery in terms of the graphics and the sound. When playing the game, you will be fearful of what you don’t see, because more often than not you won't see anything until the last minute. The camera is the only real lens to see the spirits shambling towards you, leading to some of the scariest moments as you snap a last-minute photo to cleanse them before they strike. It is not truly a jump scare in the traditional sense, but rather a test of reflex and bravery to see how close you can get before witnessing something horrific.
The visuals reflect this ethos as well. Everything in Crimson Butterfly seems washed out in terms of color, and every environment is finely detailed down to the last stitch in the dilapidated dress hanging in a closet. This is, of course, contrasted by the use of the red butterflies themselves, offering a hint of visual flair that also serves a story purpose. The character models are a bit flat when compared to other games, but the spirit models totally make up for it, often having semi-unique looks to them, with some grotesque, exaggerated features to make them feel more ethereal. It is clear a lot of attention was given to the fine details in the graphics, and the washed-out look of the game just adds to the sense of fear, rather than detracting from it.
The moody visuals of Crimson Butterfly are solid, but perhaps the greatest aspect that enhances it further is the sound design, which is nearly perfect. The voice acting is very strong, and the music is subtle and barely audible, which allows the sound effects to breathe. In a horror game, that is often the master stroke that ties everything together. In Crimson Butterfly, every bump, bang, creak, and shriek is augmented by the silence around you, and it makes your skin crawl with delight at the effectiveness of these simple tricks.
Crimson Butterfly has a solid reputation as being both a haunting and atmospheric experience. Many consider it among the scariest games ever made. It has atmosphere, a strong narrative thread, solid graphics for its time, and a gimmick for gameplay mechanics that doesn't feel stiff, despite being modeled after the stiff controls. The camera system works amazingly, and the overall presentation lends itself to something wholly unique. It's hard to think of a better compliment to give to a survival horror game than being an atmospheric, terrifying experience that is well worth playing for yourself, which you most certainly should.