Graphics are definitely the strongest point of the game. Everything perfectly fits, nothing is casual or out of place. The way you get to see and acquire every element is very appropriate too. The Mansion is a labyrinth built to hide and show, with its number of shoji, paper windscreens, kimonos' stands, mirrors, windows and doors. The space is wisely administrated; it's the way the developers decided to reveal it little by little that most of all creates the suspense. Hidden passages or closed doors won't seem the same with the passing of time, since each night has its own way of merging space and story. Light effects add an incredible, vivid, touch and the attention for the detail is something that is very rare to find in other games. The textures are very realistic and you'll be stunned by seeing the reflex of your torch on doors and other surfaces. The ghosts are designed each with its own distinguishing features, and it's almost impossible to confuse them. Some of these spirits are actually so freaky and show on their spiritual bodies marks so strong of their torturing personal stories (the broken neck lady, the blinded woman etc.) that looking at them is, at least for the first times you meet them, quite disturbing. They're not made of flesh and blood, they come out from nowhere, from the most secret passages and corners of the house, passing through doors and walls, appearing right round the corner, and they'll try to grab Miku with their evanescent limbs. They're often not that easy to notice for this reason. Stylish black& white FMVs complete the picture, making this game unique and captivating.

Fatal Frame nearly lacks any kind of soundtrack. There are not themes, no tunes, no songs or other similar things we would expect to listen to while we are playing. This surely is a choice of emotional impact to underline the sense of loneliness and emptiness of the Mansion, to make us hear what Miku herself would hear. The only things we can hear are the sound of Miku's steps on wooden floors or dead leaves, the creaking of opened and closed doors, the creepy voice of ghosts. In particular the work done on the ghosts' voices is brilliant. Voices are apparently immaterial, they have no direction, no clear recognizable characters, yet they are very different and peculiar depending on the ghost. Since in the game each spirit has a story, the voice changes a lot according to the character's background. Only phrases are a bit repetitive and though this can be seen as evidence of the obsessive nature of the ghosts haunting the Himuro Mansion, listening the same lines of dialogue and cries over and over again becomes a little annoying. Or probably sentences sound so annoying after a little time because ghosts themselves, when you meet them billions of times everywhere you go, especially during the last nights, are somewhat annoying creatures.

The game is long enough to keep you busy for some time, as any other title of the genre. After clearing the game once you get extra gameplay modes among which you can choose to play again - one of these modes will allow you to get an alternate ending! Once you've completed the game you can also access special contents. Plus, for your very pleasure, there are three additional Miku's outfits available. The only regret is that with a more balanced gameplay the player could have enjoyed playing Fatal Frame even more, while there is the risk the player could be not so intrigued by the atmosphere and could not find the game as scary as he expected it to be. In these cases he could get bored of it after the first nights. Especially if running out of items due to a wrong strategy, he could not like the idea of having to restart the game. Still, for a lover of the genre, there is material enough to enjoy the gaming experience.