Ever since the Fatal Frame series moved to Nintendo platforms, North America has been, for a lack of a better term, screwed by this change. Nintendo of America didn’t seem to have any enthusiasm for the series, and while Europe and Japan saw releases on the Wii, those in North America haven’t. As a big fan of the horror genre, I always felt a bit slighted by this. Fatal Frame was a series I followed on the PS2 and Xbox, so I’m very familiar with the style of gameplay and type of horror it is, and was always fond of it. So when it was announced that Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water was going to be coming Stateside, I was very hyped about this and it quickly became one of my most anticipated Wii U releases of 2015. So was it worth my long wait?

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water tells a story about a mysterious mountain called Mt. Hikami. The mountain has been responsible for many suicides, with people more or less in a trance by this mountain, and plunging to their death. Playing as one of three characters, you venture to this mountain in order to find out the reason behind the suicides, or to save people you know that are going to the mountain to commit this act. Without revealing too much, as the story is an essential part of the game, the three characters are all interwoven in terms of story and while it starts out a tad slow, it quickly ramps up into one of the most morbid horror tales I have ever witnessed.

Going into Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, I was a bit nervous that it would be censored in terms of content, but this is not the case at all. The prevalent theme of suicide is all throughout this game, including hanging bodies, people launching to their death, and many more twisted elements. As a long-time horror fan I really appreciated this dark direction and focus on supernatural events, rather than the more cliche “monster” element that a lot of current horror games use. If you are not familiar with the Fatal Frame series, you don’t battle creatures with weapons like in a Resident Evil game, but you battle ghosts and spirits. If you don’t have weapons though, how do you combat these?

Easily – with your GamePad.

The premise of Fatal Frame is battling ghosts and spirits with a device called the “Camera Obscura”. The “Camera Obsucra” allows you to take pictures of these ghosts that are attacking you and deals damage to them. There are different types of film to use with unique abilities, upgrades from the camera, and even different lens types that have different effects. You can upgrade your camera by using points you acquire from photos you take, with photos that deal more damage or photos that damage several spirits at once giving you more points.

The GamePad is essentially the camera for the game, and it works flawlessly. While some GamePad-specific games can feel a bit tacked on and clunky, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is not one of these. If anything, it adds to the tension of the game. The game tends to move at a slow and brooding pace, with the atmosphere being top notch, so when it’s time to use the camera, bringing it up to the screen like you would a real camera and positioning it to battle this entities is just riveting. If that’s not really your style, you can use the analog sticks to take pictures, but I feel that the GamePad as the camera is much more satisfying and helps draw you into the game more.

The GamePad also has full rotation for longer shots, which is needed in taking pictures of the environment to get “trails” of the people you are trying to find. Following the spirit trail is essential, and while it makes the experience a bit more streamlined and linear, I once again feel it adds to the game. Where I usually like an open world aspect, Mt. Hikami is a massive mountain with tons of areas to explore. While you might want to explore a certain area, and be disappointed that it’s not on your trail, eventually you will go to that area so don’t worry.

One unique aspect I liked was that after defeating certain spirits, you can “touch” the spirit which gives you points, but more importantly, they give you insight to why they are now a ghost. This is actually one of the scariest parts of the game, because the scenes are presented like an old VHS tape with fuzzy quality. One of the most disturbing moments I have ever seen in a video game or in any sort of media, period, was one scene that involved the shrine maidens and someone attempting to kill them – and I loved the way it was presented to the player.

Another great part about Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is the length of the game. The game is a very long experience, clocking in at around 15+ hours depending on your play style, and has lots of secrets and costumes as well. While you might not be keen on revisiting the game right away after completion, it packs a great punch for the dollar amount.

Presentation is key in any horror game, and once again, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water gets everything right. The graphics are dark, brooding, and atmospheric. Character models are clean and sharp, and although there is a few strange animations at times, it’s a beautiful looking game when all is said and done. The sound is top notch as well, with music being used as an element to increase tension, sound effects being loud and crisp, and a few audio scares to keep you on your toes.

With all this said, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is easily one of my favorite Wii U games to date. It feels like an old-school horror game but has the modern twists such as GamePad use and HD graphics to make it stand out in the gaming world today. It’s a shame that this game didn’t get a physical release, because I fear that it might hurt sales for this game. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is a must own title for Wii U owners, and horror fans in general might want to pick up a Wii U just for this game – it’s that good.