If one was to compile a list of “undeservedly overlooked” video games, I’m sure we could all list a few. Right at the top of my list would be the Gamecube-exclusive Horror Adventure Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. Having leapt from the early days of gaming into the current generation, I missed out on a lot of last generation’s greats, and Eternal Darkness was one of them. Because I only owned a Wii initially, I did my research hoping to dig up any Gamecube games worth playing, and finding this one, was lucky enough to snag it as a rental to give it a whirl.

Eternal Darkness is a strange, wonderful beast. It combines the point-and-click genre with survival horror, as you journey through time and take on various characters in the epic battle to thwart the ultimate evil. Most of these characters you will only control once in their particular level, with the only constant character being Alex, the protagonist, to whom you will always return, and who will fight the final battles.

What makes Eternal Darkness so memorable is the way in which the developers play with the gamer’s mind throughout the adventure, and truly in a way unlike any game before or after. As the game explores the concepts of good and evil, it also delves into the delicate nature of sanity: as your characters confront various evils, their sanity will be affected. The more your character is in a room with zombies, for example, the faster his or her gauge will drop. As that gauge shrinks, the characters begin to hallucinate: they can see things that aren’t there, hear strange voices, see blood dripping from the ceiling, even envision their head being removed from their body and talking to them. But the horror doesn’t end with your character alone.

No, Eternal Darkness will play with you, the gamer’s mind as well, if you let your character’s insanity go unchecked for too long. You might experience something as benign as thinking you’ve collected ammo when you haven’t, to the truly “terrifying” error messages that make you think your game save was corrupted or that it deleted all your saved games. The best thing about the sanity effects is that they are so varied, they really do keep “getting” you, even later in the game.

The other thing that really surprised me about Eternal Darkness is the fact that the writing really is outstanding. Granted, the story/plot wasn’t earth shattering, but the actual quality of each sentence, whether it was narration or simply the description of an object, caught me off guard. Having played my fair share of adventure games (which usually involve a lot of description), it was so refreshing to see that the developer really put a lot of effort into making sure all the details were done well. I only wish more games would take a page out of Silcon Knights’ book and give us some well-crafted sentences!

The story of Eternal Darkness is not really its strong point, although it is an interesting one. Alex, the protagonist, arrives at her Uncle’s mansion to find him brutally murdered. She soon discovers her family has protected a very important secret, and many different individuals throughout history have given their lives (and even their souls) in order to prevent an evil being unleashed on the world.

Although it can be hard to track down a copy, if you own a Gamecube (or a Wii), do yourself a favor and play this game. This game definitely goes on the top of my list of games I’d like to see re-done for the Wii (or even the PS3), or that I would like to see a sequel. I also wish more developers would play this game for inspiration, as Eternal Darkness has so much unique concepts that really are worth revisiting: the ensemble cast throughout time, the sanity effects, that terrific writing, and more. Not to say the game is perfect (you do a LOT of backtracking, for example), but it is still an important part of gaming history that, sadly, was overlooked by many gamers. Why? Perhaps it tried to do too much new, perhaps because it was a new IP exclusive to Gamecube. Whatever the reason Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem didn’t succeed, it still won’t keep me from hoping for a sequel some day.

Title:Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Silicon Knights Platform(s): Gamecube Release Date: June 24, 2025

       

Tags: eternal darkness, gamecube, sanity effects, sanity's requiem, silcon knights, Spawn Kill Favorites, Wii

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 at 4:42 pm and is filed under Editorials, Featured, Spawn Kill Favorites, Wii. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.