PS2 Game From 2003 Just Got a Brand New Remake

A PS2 game from 2003, and one of the great horror games of its time, just got a brand new remake today. And while the original game was a PS2 exclusive, this new remake is multi-platform, available on Nintendo Switch 2, PC, Xbox Series X, and of course, PS5. While this new release is a full-blown remake, it has not been fully priced. Rather, it is available, at launch, for $50. And considering the horror game offers about 10-20 hours of content, this is a great value.

More specifically, publisher Koei Tecmo and developer Team Ninja — the latter best known for the Nioh, Ninja Gaiden, and Dead or Alive series — have released Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake. This is now the game’s second-ever remake after 2012’s Project Zero 2: Wii Edition. The first remake was notably a Nintendo Wii exclusive, though, which kept some from playing it.

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One of the Scariest Horror Games of All Time

For those who do not know, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly is a survival-horror game and a sequel to 2001’s Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. And where the first game was a decent horror experience, as evidenced by its Metacritic range of 74 to 77, its sequel was a substantial upgrade and scarier, as evidenced by its 81 to 84 range on Metacritic. This is a great range, especially for a horror game, as horror games typically score lower than games in just about every other genre. That said, most, in retrospect, agree this range undersells what many consider one of the scariest horror games ever made.

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What’s New for the PS2 Game

As noted, this is not an enhanced port nor a remaster, but a remake. This includes overhauls to both the game’s visuals and audio. Meanwhile, there is even a new gameplay mechanic called the “Holding Hans with Mayu” mechanic.

Unfortunately, where Capcom has been nailing its survival-horror remakes lately, this survival-horror remake is not quite as good. To this end, it has a 74 on Metacritic right now, down considerably from the original.

Critiques of the remake vary, showing no consistent pattern other than perhaps exposing and highlighting that the game, the original, doesn’t hold up very well in 2026, which is true. To this end, a faithful remake, minus some throwaway new mechanics, not scoring overly high is not that surprising. It’s also not that surprising when you factor in that this remake was made by a studio with minimal experience in making horror games.

All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the conversation over on the ComicBook Forum.