Never before have I played a game that spoiled itself. Most games have an attract mode that plays if you idle on the title menu, usually some footage of a random snippet of gameplay or a short intro. Meanwhile, Fatal Frame 2 has a narrated trailer that reveals nearly all of the game’s plot points, including footage from the ending. If you watch it, the mystery will be completely gone, killing a major part of what makes the game interesting. Luckily, I decided not to watch the video until I had finished the story, but the silver lining is that this video was the first time the game’s polish was anything but perfect. It’s not just that it looks and feels a generation ahead of its time, but the level of detail that went into the animation is staggering. Just for one example, there are four different animations just for walking on stairs, depending on whether you’re walking or running, and going up or down. They’re all perfectly synced to the stair geometry as well, so you don’t get any weird floor clipping or shaky inverse kinematics. Even games today don’t bother with that level of detail, and it’s emblematic of the series’ focus on immersion. The problem is though, while I love calling out excellent polish, one can not live on polish alone. It has to enhance the existing story and gameplay, but Fatal Frame 2 is so similar to the previous game that it feels more like a reimagining than a sequel. The story is a functional copy, and while the gameplay streamlining is appreciated, it just feels the same. Horror games like this aren’t meant to be traditionally fun, so being interesting is what it relies upon, but a lack of originality works directly against this objective. As much as I respect the craftsmanship that went into this game, what can I say for a horror game that was so uninnovative that I was neither scared nor interested? It leaves me in a difficult spot when it comes to a recommendation, since it’s incredibly well made, but has parentheticals like “don’t idle on the main menu” and “it won’t be as good if you played the first game” which dampen my confidence. I guess the best thing for me to do is to suggest the series as a whole, since I really do like the concept of these games. If you like starting at the beginning, Fatal Frame holds up perfectly well, but if you want to go straight in without a clue of how the series works, Crimson Butterfly will be an incredible experience.