At its core, Deadly Body 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake is a sport all about exploring a decrepit Japanese village, zapping ghosts with a magic digicam, and holding arms together with your barely disconcerting (and ceaselessly supernaturally possessed) twin sister.
An expansive remake of a 2003 PlayStation 2 cult traditional survival horror title, it’s been overhauled with shiny new graphics and a wealth of quality-of-life options that make it the primary entry within the sequence that I might really feel comfy recommending to all survival horror followers fairly than a devoted subset of masochistic sickos.
It is perhaps extra approachable than every other instalment to this point, however that doesn’t imply it’s missing in depth and, after enjoying an early preview construct for roughly seven hours, I’m determined to dive again in for extra when it launches subsequent month.
Into the woods
In comparison with the multi-protagonist narratives of later Deadly Body video games like Maiden of Black Water, the setup right here is refreshingly easy. You’re Mio, a younger lady enjoying within the forest together with her sister Mayu. Flashbacks trace in the direction of a current accident which has left Mayu injured, sporting a visual bandage round her leg, and Mio wracked with a way of guilt and accountability.
After the looks of a mysterious crimson butterfly prompts Mayu to wander into the forest alone, you set off in pursuit and all of the sudden end up on the entrance of a ruined village at midnight.
Foreboding premonitions of bloody murders and whispers of a sinister ritual trace on the space’s darkish previous and, with Mayu nowhere in sight, you don’t have any alternative however to enterprise inside to discover. The primary home you enter is fittingly creepy, with creaking picket floorboards, torn paper screens, and an actual sense of rot. It’s not lengthy till you discover the Digital camera Obscura – the sequence’ trademark anti-spirit weapon and your solely line of defence towards the undead.
Whereas exploration is totally third-person, serving to you actually respect the concern within the protagonist’s physique language and emphasizing your vulnerability, whipping out the digicam offers you a first-person look by way of the viewfinder. Except you’re a seasoned Deadly Body veteran, your first ghost encounter, which unfolds instantly after selecting up the digicam, is more likely to be a messy affair as fight mechanics are very distinctive and deliberately fiddly.
The primary thrust of it’s that taking pictures of ghosts inflicts harm, whittling down their huge pink well being bars one snap at a time.
Though you’ve gotten a vast provide of primary movie, it must be reloaded painfully slowly – ceaselessly forcing you to place the digicam away so as to dodge incoming blows. Taking larger high quality pictures will increase your harm, as does taking a snap proper as an enemy assaults to set off a ‘Shutter Likelihood’.
Inflict one simply as you get the enemy right down to the proper stage of well being, indicated by a bit white line, and you’ve got the prospect to activate the titular ‘Deadly Body’ – permitting for a fast burst of excessive harm assaults.
In focus
The Digital camera Obscura has been massively upgraded for this remake, with a brand new focus slider that may improve harm additional with clearer pictures. Initially that is adjusted routinely, however an improve (bought utilizing factors gained by way of taking snaps) permits you to tweak it manually to maximise your lethality. There are additionally now a spread of toggleable filters, which drastically have an effect on the digicam’s capabilities and play an vital function in exploration.
One, for instance, permits you to reveal vanished objects by lining up the viewfinder excellent to match an present picture, whereas one other removes magical bloodstains that seal shut vital doorways or chests with helpful objects. All of those new additions are applied seamlessly, and really feel like pure methods so as to add a bit extra depth to what was initially a fairly simplistic expertise.
It’s not lengthy till you’re reunited with Mayu and set to flee, which helps you to strive your hand (pun meant) at one other new mechanic: hand-holding. Mayu’s injured leg implies that she doesn’t run very quick, so you possibly can maintain her hand to steer her alongside at a brisker tempo. It’s a great way of guaranteeing that she sticks with you always, and there’s one thing undeniably fairly candy about watching the 2 sisters dodging previous horrors at one another’s aspect.
Holding arms additionally heals you, serving to you save your restricted provide of well being objects for when it actually issues.
Deadly Body 2 was by no means the toughest sport within the franchise by any means, nevertheless it might nonetheless be fairly punishing – primarily right down to a save system that restricts guide saving to sporadic butterfly lanterns. Many fights may really feel, frankly, a bit out of your management.
One enemy would possibly shred you in a matter of seconds for seemingly no purpose, solely to be vanquished in your subsequent run by way of nearly immediately. A lot of your harm output is right down to luck, whether or not a particular enemy assaults in an easy-to-counter approach or if it occurs to be shut sufficient to {photograph} simply whenever you handle to reload for instance, and this unavoidably begins to frustrate when one slip-up loses you twenty minutes of progress.
I undoubtedly felt a few of that unpredictability on this remake, nevertheless it’s countered splendidly by a strong auto save system. Guide saving continues to be required if you wish to give up, however when you die in a struggle you’ll routinely be respawned proper earlier than you triggered it normally. It’s a blessing, and turns what could possibly be an actual nightmare into a way more lenient expertise.
I’m positive some Deadly Body purists will lament this new stage of approachability, however when you’ve been in search of an opportunity to get into the sequence then Deadly Body 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake is shaping as much as be an outstanding place to begin. Despite the fact that I’m removed from a Deadly Body beginner, I do know that I’ll be there day one when it arrives for PC, PS5, Xbox Sequence X and Sequence S, and Nintendo Change 2 on March 12, 2026.
One of the best horror video games for scares, frights, and screams
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