With Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse celebrating its remastered version with all-new clarity and stunning models, it felt only fitting to take a look at some other video games that are similar to the Fatal Frame Franchise in case you were still itching for more exciting horror survival games!
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Best Survival Horror Games Similar to Fatal Frame
This list of video games is not ranked nor tiered, just a collection of fantastic horror games you have to try if you enjoyed Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse. Due to mature content and sensitive topics, most of these games are advised for older audiences.
Rule of Rose
Rule of Rose is a Fatal Frame Game in disguise if the setting were English rather than set in Japan. This peculiar game is set in the year 1930 with young Jennifer returning to her former orphanage after being away for years. There, she encounters the cruel group of elite girls dubbed the Red Crayon Aristocrats. To keep from being bullied and made to carry out cruel jokes, Jennifer must survive among a rabble of crude children together with her trusty dog, Brown, to climb up in the ranks of the Aristocrats and face the elusive Prince.
Originally released in 2006, this game faced a number of controversies for some of the topics that it covered and has even been banned or made very difficult to locate in certain states. The only platform it released on was the PlayStation 2 and can be notoriously difficult to find unless you want to drop a couple of hundred dollars. It is available as an emulator which makes your life a lot easier. This game is very on par with Fatal Frame with its combat being absolutely dreadful and a pain to deal with, making it difficult for any gamer to get through it with a clear head. But what it lacks in fairness, it grants in a compelling story that is sure to churn anyone’s stomach.
Kuon
Made by indie developers, Kuon is the number one game most similar to the Fatal Frame Franchise. So don’t question why it’s second on the list, I was thinking these off the top of my head. Likely inspired by Fatal Frame, Kuon has many of the same mechanics including exploration, dealing with ghosts, and participating in the story with three different characters. With a twist, however, Kuon revolves around the omnyoji, exorcists, that are there for a mission and each protagonist has their own unique weapon to combat the ghosts. One wielding a fan, the other a naginata and a knife, which may not be very saint-like, but it makes me feel a lot safer in a house full of ghosts.
It’s your classic PlayStation 2 game that was released in 2004 by FromSoftware in Japan and came out in North America by publisher Agetec.
Clock Tower / Haunting Ground
Clock Tower and Haunting Ground fall into games similar to Rule of Rose where you are absolutely and utterly defenseless when fighting against these enemies. So you just got to use mechanics to run and hide from harm, hoping you’ll get away. PlayStation games like these were absolutely brutal to handle given their wonky camera angles but dang, were they still a riot to play.
Clock Tower has a total of four games with the first debuting in 1995 and Haunting Ground was another game made by the same developer. But followed mechanics similar to Rule of Rose where you have a trusty sidekick to keep you company and help you out in battle. Other games similar to these include Siren and Nightcry, these developers really love using scissors as weapons.
Ju-On: The Grudge
If you liked the movie, then you are sure to tolerate the game! This game has some pretty good scares but all of the absolutely terrible controls you can expect when it comes to integrating a horror survival game with the Wii. While it’s an absolutely ingenious idea to try and place real fear in a player by making it more immersive, the Wii wasn’t always the best place for that. Worse still was that this game came out in 2009, but if you have the patience then this is a fun game to experience if only for the scares.
Spirit Hunter NG/ Spirit Hunter: Death Mark
If you adored Fatal Frame for its ghosts and specters then look no further than Death Mark and its sister game No Good. These games have fantastic art and a stunning array of characters you will grow to know and love. That is if you can keep them alive. These games delve into around 5 to 6 ghostly mysteries that the protagonist has to exorcize or defeat. With no Camera to protect you from this one, you have to use your wits and knowledge to combat these ghosts and real with every haunt that is sure to crawl right under your skin.
Death Mark and No Good are available on the PlayStation 4, and the PS Vita and have also debuted on the Nintendo Switch. Having originally been released around 2017-18, these games saw an update when the Nintendo Switch adopted its unique popularity in 2022. Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II was released in Japan in December 2022, but the English version is said to come out sometime in 2023 with no set date released yet.
DreadOut
Based on Indonesian ghosts, DreadOut has come out with a few games with their first being of a school trip gone array. Most similar to Fatal Frame where instead of an outdated and antique camera, you are actually using your smartphone to take pictures of ghosts. You can gain documentation on the different types that you come across and fight back against the specters that come to haunt you in the abandoned building your school trip has come across. True to other Fatal Frame franchises, you’re trying to save your best friend from some ominous and misguided spirits trying to get back at the land of the living.
These games actually came out much later than the Fatal Frame games, starting in 2014 so these are actually a lot easier to access than some of the other PlayStation games. Available on Steam, these games can be played on any PC and even your Steam Deck if you want that ghost closer to you than your computer screen.
White Day: A Labyrinth Named School
You would think on such a sweet day that couples would be exchanging chocolate and treats rather than dealing with a bunch of scary specters but in White Day, you play as the transfer student Lee Hui-min. After having struck out on delivering a gift to your crush, Lee Hui-min discovers her diary left behind on a park bench. Wanting to return it to her, he returns to the school to catch up with Han So-young only to discover that the school has locked everyone present in with no way to get out. Not only do you have to deal with the unruly specters that haunt the classrooms but you have to avoid the prudent janitor who will punish any trespassers severely… with a bat.
This game had a peculiar history of having once been made in 2D for mobile devices in Korea. Having garnered enough popularity and support, it upgraded to the 3D exploration we know and love today, starting first on mobile devices in 2015 and upgrading to the PlayStation 4 and available on PC stores such as Steam. This game has seen many remakes and remasters in its time and the latest version is a must if you enjoyed Fatal Frame. You will not regret this Korean Survival horror game.
Devotion
Taking a bit of a different direction, Devotion is more of a walking horror simulator where there is not much of a combat system but rather the experience of exploration and discovery behind the game’s story. You explore your surroundings as a former screenwriter and father of a broken family, trying to reclaim the memories of what happened to your wife and daughter. This game truly has a beautiful yet sad story that is only made into a horror game with the ghosts of your protagonist’s past coming back to haunt him as he tries to save his crumbling family.
This game was released in 2019 and is available online for Windows and Mac through the Game Devs website at Red Candle Games.
Araya
Another homage to the Fatal Frame style, Araya is a game set in Thailand that came out in 2016 that follows the story of three different characters. After receiving a text from her deceased friend, Marisa goes to the Bangkok hospital to investigate her murder and the series of events that led to the tragic demise of Araya. Taking a step back from having any combat involved in the game, your role as Marisa, and the two other protagonists who come to investigate the hospital for their own reasons is to find out what happened to the peculiar case of Araya and avoid the lingering ghosts and resentments that reside in the hospital.
Having been released at a later date, this game can be found available on Steam and has a fantastic story to dive into that is both heartbreaking and yet compelling.
Chilla’s Art Games
With so many to choose from, how could anyone just pick one good horror game out of any of Chilla’s Art Games? These beautiful yet absolutely terrifying renditions of art are displayed in a unique gaming experience that is both a walking simulator and often an exploration experience where you have to survive through a series of reclaiming items or solving puzzles. Chilla’s Art Games have gained more and more traction through their notoriety and reclaim what is beloved about horror games by throwing terrifying images in the player’s faces and making them face true fear, that sometimes conclusions have an inevitable end that you cannot fight against.
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These games can be found in a collection or bought individually through Steam, having started rolling out more of their popular versions to release in 2019 and still continuing to release to this day with Karaoke having been released as of this year.
