Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water has its moments. Using the camera obscura to excorcise ghosts is tense and exciting, and the exploration isn’t half bad, but it’s not enough to tip the scales in the right direction. Unfortunately, a combination of clunky gameplay, impractical character decisions, and overused text exposition hold this game back from where it could be. Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water arrives just in time to celebrate Halloween as well as the series’ 20th anniversary. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but sometimes it does feel unnecessary. Most of these chapters are bookended by a few small paragraphs of text to explain what has been happening in the interim. Each chapter of the game is called a “drop” and follows one of the main protagonists as they explore a new area, and usually deal with ghosts. Speaking of immersion being shattered, Maiden of Black Water’s story doesn’t do the game any favors. ![]() On some level it is just shameless fan service, and it makes immersion nearly impossible. It’s one thing to have fun with an outfit, but it’s another for a character to be fighting off the ghosts of people who committed suicide with a bikini on. However, the tone of the game never reflects these outfit choices. The alternate costumes also include a bikini, which seemingly intentionally reaches the point of comedy. There’s no denying that anyone hiking up a cold mountain at night through the rain in a sheer blouse and shorts comes off as somewhat impractical. ![]() The atmosphere that is brought by the dark and dangerous environments is sometimes lost by the characters themselves. Aside from the typical enemy ghosts that need to be defeated with the camera obscura, there are also special event ghosts that you can get points for catching on camera, but the player does have to be quick, making them some of the more challenging tasks the game has to offer. The environments are somewhat linear, but still explorable, with divergent paths and interactive locations peppered throughout. Maiden of Black Water maintains a dark atmosphere throughout the game. Ultimately, the gameplay is clunky, slow, and repetitive at its worst, and somewhat tense at best. The question of survival doesn’t really come into play too often, which can have an adverse effect on the “horror” half of “survival horror” as well. But unfortunately, even that is undercut most of the time by the plethora of healing items available to the player. While the character and the camera remain rather slow moving, the ghosts are somewhat more active, and the tension that can come from being attacked is palpable. ![]() Where this game shines is the combat, that is to say, taking photos of ghosts to exorcise them. If they all do it, then it just becomes normal. ![]() It’s a real missed opportunity not to be more selective about which doors close on their own. Not to mention that the doors, even the character’s bedroom door, all close right after entering the room, which forces the player to experience the elongated door opening sequence again. This behavior makes sense in an environment where actual ghosts attack, but it can be a bit distracting in a more familiar setting. Despite the fact that this shouldn’t be nearly as scary as hiking up a cursed mountain in the dark, the character still moves incredibly slowly, and when she opens doors, even the door to her own bedroom, she opens it slowly and cautiously. For example, there is a section of the game early on where the player must briefly explore the character’s home and place of business.
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