Review: Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water

I was thrilled with the prospect of reviewing Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water. I’m an avid horror fan and gorge myself on it using any medium I can – film, television and print, of course, but I always enjoy horror via games the most. There’s something to be said for being scared while you’re the one in control.

Knowing I was about to walk headfirst into an established franchise, I did some research before playing this instalment of Project Zero. With every new article I read on the first few titles in the franchise, I could easy see the parallels between enthusiasts and the way in which my childhood friends and I lapped up the likes of Silent Hill and Resident Evil. Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water felt like it would be a perfect fit for me… until I started to actually play it.

A collaboration between Nintendo and Tecmo Koei, this iteration of Project Zero stars Yuri, a teenager who stumbles upon a magical camera that can see ghosts. Yuri’s got a predilection to the supernatural; she’s an apprentice at an antique shop that doubles as a spooky detective agency. Together with a couple friends, Yuri delves into the occult with said camera obscura.

With the whole ghost camera premise, you’d think Maiden of Black Water would be perfectly suited for the Wii U. You’d be wrong. Like Zombi has proved of ZombiU, using the GamePad for continuous camera functionality isn’t always the right idea. In fact, the control scheme becomes a detriment. To use the camera obscura correctly, you have to take its name to heart. Be prepared to contort your body to find the right angle to take a photo of mostly-obscured ghosts. Using the motion controls in tandem with the GamePad’s thumbsticks, used to control Yuri and friends, gets tedious fast. I yearned for the ability to simply hit a button to go into a camera mode rather than treat the GamePad as one over the game’s 13 chapters.

The chapters themselves are pretty much the same event over and over: Yuri and friends have a reason to go up a spooky mountain. As they do so, someone gets kidnapped and they need to save the poor schmuck. After saving said friend, the crew escapes and you receive a pop-up that then explains how things panned out. Nothing like a wall of text to really feel like you’ve accomplished something, eh? The next chapter? Well, Yuri and friends don’t learn, apparently, and find another reason to go back up the mountain.

One definition of crazy says it’s the act of doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. Someone should tell Yuri to quit while she’s ahead.

Nintendo’s adult-but-not influence is readily apparent throughout, though Maiden of Black Water does manage some fairly atmospheric scares over its course. A lot of jump scares come as a result of the GamePad-as-camera setup, as you’re never sure what’s beyond your peripheral. Sure, they’re a tad cheap, but ultimately they’re welcome – said tactics are almost expected in horror, yes?

Moreover, Black Water’s worst quality is the way in which it holds your hand. Especially at the start, you’ll actually be pulled back to specific points if you haven’t used the camera in the way that Project Zero desires. It’s not mature enough to really bring horrific elements, and on top of that treats you like you need the Nintendo Super Guide. No thank you.

Project Zero isn’t a bad game, but it is a disappointing one. I was expecting so much more after going through the franchise’s honoured past. Instead, I got a watered-down semi-horror title that reeks of lost potential. Fans might be happy to throw themselves back into a game with the camera obscura, but I’ll take the likes of Alien: Isolation — or even Resident Evil: Revelations 2 any day.

Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water was reviewed using a retail copu on Wii U, as provided by the publisher.