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Very few games have the ability to legitimately scare you. Some games are capable of capturing a few fleeting moments that make you jump, but there aren’t very many truly terrifying games. Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly is scary. There is no other way of putting it. Before the first 10 minutes of the game are finished, there’s a burning desire to go turn the light back on, but caught between intrigue and fear, you can’t move.

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly opens with a beautiful computer graphic video full of splendid detail and stunning quality. The video opens with a girl, Mio daydreaming about an unpleasant memory she and her twin sister Mayu shared. While playing around one day when they were children, Mayu tripped and fell of a long drop, permanently injuring her leg. When Mio finally snaps out of her daze, she notices that her sister Mayu (who was there before, just over her shoulder) is shrinking away in the distance into a thick forest. Seeing that her sister is running off, Mio springs in chase. It seems Mayu is chasing a glowing red butterfly, unawares to how far, or where it has lead her. As they get deeper into the forest, Mio begins to hallucinate, because as she gets closer to her sister, she begins to look like someone totally different, someone in a white kimono. Mio finally catches up to her sister as the forest opens up again, and Mayu is surrounded by butterflies just like the one she was chasing. When Mio approaches her sister, the butterflies scatter, and they can see a mysterious village laying before them. And so Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly begins.

Anyone familiar with the original Fatal Frame will know exactly what to expect out of its sequel, while anyone just getting into the series with Crimson Butterfly is in for a very hefty shock. Where most survival games brandish you with an entourage of weaponry, Fatal Frame takes a far more original take on the idea of survival by arming you only with a supernatural camera known as ‘Camera Obscura’ that has the power to capture stray souls. This, my dear friends, is the only defense you have against the village’s unpleasant ghostly inhabitants. The camera is capable of loading different supernatural films, each of which have a varying degree of effectiveness against your enemies. Finding these films, and conserving them is one key to success that one should become aware of early on in the game if they wish to survive. The camera also has different upgradeable components that will become of great use to you throughout the game, such as a slow motion mechanism that brings time to a crawl, making some of the faster ghosts easier to capture before they kill you. While the camera idea may sound like, and is obscure indeed, it works extensively well in adding to the helplessness one should feel during a survival horror game.

In order to escape the mysterious village you have become imprisoned in, you must unravel the sick, twisted secrets of the village. I won’t give anything away for the simple fact that it needs to be experienced to truly be appreciated, but I will say this: no matter what kind of a survival horror fan you are, nothing can prepare you for this game…well, save for maybe the first installment. The game has some simple puzzle elements that have become trademarks of the genre, such as find key to door etc. but there are also some more original puzzles in the game as well. There are not many friendly inhabitants of the village, barely any actually. This is by no means a complaint. If the village was full of people willing to help you on your way, it wouldn’t be very scary now would it? Instead you encounter a couple shady characters on your journey, both of which are mysterious in their own way and have their own reasons for being in the village. There are plenty of instances in the game where you will have Mayu following you around, and during these times, you should take heed to her reactions to things, as she can sometimes sense very important things, such as puzzles, or even ghosts. You must also be careful not to let her die, because she too is a target for the supernatural beings that haunt the village. It’s game over if either of you die.

Fatal Frame 2 has above and beyond the scariest atmosphere in any game to date, surpassing even its predecessor, the first Fatal Frame, which set a new standard for fear. Fatal Frame 2 boasts some of the best graphics this side of Silent Hill 3. Each area you come across is full of gritty, grueling detail, dim lighting, and moments that make your skin crawl. Moments when you see specters traipsing past you, then vanishing into thin air are ultra creepy, while some other moments, like watching a tattered spirit climb out of a chest and stumble towards you make movies like The Ring look like Saturday morning cartoons.

The game sounds as scary as it looks. There are plenty of instances in the game where you can hear what you can’t see, which adds to the atmosphere. Voice acting in the game is great, and really adds to the feel of the game. Mio and Mayu sound like helpless teenage girls, making them seem even more at odds with the village than it would seem if you were, say Chris Redfield. The ambient sounds, atmosphere and sound effects in the game are all superbly done, adding even more of a horrifying element to the game.

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly is easily the scariest game to ever come out. That’s ever, not just in recent history, ever! If it’s creepy you’re looking for, you won’t find anything that beats out Fatal Frame 2. The game isn’t very hard in the difficult sense, but the fact that you are literally scared out of your wits makes everything a bit more difficult than it should be. From the mysterious beginnings to the nightmarish climax, Fatal Frame 2 is the new standard for survival horror games.