Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (2002 Video Game) User Reviews

Breathtaking.

[JG2001 · 10/10 · 2 August 2002]

Eternal Darkness had an unusually long period of development. Work on it began in 1998 as a game for Nintendo's Nintendo 64 system, but when the game's developer, Silicon Knights, was made a full subsidiary of Nintendo, the development was switched to the then still in development Gamecube hardware. Although many games that spend four years in development have a lot left to be desired, Eternal Darkness overcomes that barrier, delivering an experience that no other game has ever produced.

Although the game features an intricate storyline, a diverse cast of characters and an excellent system of play, what sets Eternal Darkness apart from all other games before it is the Sanity Meter. As characters are spotted by enemies, the meter gradually empties. Although it can be refilled, when the meter is no longer full, the game begins to play tricks, not only on the character that is going insane, but also on the player. A diverse range of insanity effects keeps players on their toes, not knowing when an effect will occur or what it will be.

While the Sanity Meter is a major part of Eternal Darkness, it wouldn't be enough to sustain a game by itself. However, Silicon Knights has put together one of the best gaming experiences in recent memory. Very little about the game can be considered truly flawed. Even the graphics, which show hints of its days as a Nintendo 64 title, have a certain charm to them, the faults overcome by the overall presentation of the game.

The plot is very intricate and incredibly thought out for a video game. Rather than play existential as Metal Gear Solid 2 ended, everything weaves together to form a coherent knot. The voice acting is top notch and only adds to what is a truly incredible experience. Eternal Darkness is sure to be recognized as a classic and destined to be followed by many inferior imitators.

Nintendo's first "grown up" game

[general_kaiden · 10/10 · 11 November 2007]

When Final Fantasy VII made it's debut on the Play Station, video gamers everywhere realised that video games had then become a new medium for telling stories. Just as novels could never be translated properly into movies, so to the narrative of a video game remains distinctive and offers a story that can be told with originality and style. So Nintendo takes its first steps into a new genre with Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. Telling a two thousand year long story with second party developer Silicon Knights at the helm, famous for the Blood Omen series.

The story starts with an enigmatic monologue by the narrator Edward Roivas, and then we are thrust into the shoes of his grand daughter Alex. After a dream sequence where she is chased by zombies, she awakens to a phone call from an Inspector Legrasse from the Rhode Island Police who tells her there's been an "Accident with her grandfather."

A quick flight later, and Alex deals with the sight of her grandfathers mangled body, as well as an inept police force. Frustrated by the police, she takes it on herself to find the culprit and so unfolds, what is in my opinion, one of the best told stories in a video game, and for any other medium for that matter.

Dark magic, darker characters, and the now famous 'sanity meter' forge this delightful foray into the horror genre. The game is classified as a "survival horror", but this is a poor way to describe the game. More of a psychological thriller, the game isn't scared to try to mess with the players head, and mostly succeeds.

Borrowing from classic horror stories, we see numerous references to the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. Even the character Inspector Legrasse is named after the Police Inspector from The Call of Cthulhu, so it's no surprise that the game is brimming with eldritch terrors and ancient beings vying for the future of the planet.

The sanity meter itself is an ingenious device, sitting alongside the health and magic meters. When an enemy locks eyes with you, the meter drains. This varies between enemies. The lower the meter is, the more insane the character is. This causes a wide range of hallucinations, from a dismembered head reciting Shakespeare, to a message stating the control is unplugged when monsters are swamping you. This latter effect is one of the games most magnificent features, playing with the player's head.

GAMEPLAY- The game play mechanics are simple and solid. The stick is used to move around, A is to attack and B is for everything else. You can unleash a small combo using the A button repeatedly, or select body parts to hack at with a simple targeting system, though the selected limbs flash obtrusively. A major annoyance is that using horizontal attacks is useless in small areas, which the game is filled with, as the swords will always clash with the wall. Eventually you'll learn to aim at the heads of all enemies, this brings the blade down vertically and it's the weak spot of most of the enemies anyway. After you learn the magic spells though, you can assign spells to four 'quick spell' buttons, so you don't have to dig into your magic book for the spell you want over and over again.

GRAPHICS- When first playing, the graphics seem rather outdated. This isn't too surprising as the game was in production for a long time and was originally slated for a Nintendo 64 release. The models are clunky and the textures seem overly pixelated. But as the character is drawn more and more into the world, so too is the gamer. The larger rooms are impressively awe-inspiring as well as the imaginative sets. But the lighting effects are what make this game visually stunning. The spell casts are always a pleasure to watch. The camera angles are excellent, stylistically giving us a full view of what is going on, and never becoming obtrusive.

SOUND- The sound effects and music are top notch. Eternal Darkness has Dolby Surround capabilities, which really show off the extra touches. Echoing footsteps, insane whispers coming from behind you, and creepy music that reverberates throughout the house. It's horror as best as it comes.

An excellent and well-crafted game, with one of the finest stories ever told. This is the kind of game that game makers should inspire to make.

Avoid insanity as you try to stop the world from plunging into Eternal Darkness!

[Aaron1375 · 8/10 · 8 July 2015]

This game came out on the Nintendo Gamecube and it seemed like they were trying to appeal to the more adult gamer with this offering. Though, they would have some resident evil games on that system, this was their exclusive brand. Granted, they did not ever go beyond this particular game making it pretty much a one game series, but within that one game are quite a few series! Graphically, it still holds up very well, though I have stated in the past that I do believe graphics pretty much peaked during this time and now all that is done is clearer and more detail. The story in this one is pretty good and it offers a few twists on game play, but at times the game play mechanics themselves can prove to be a tad frustrating as far as fighting monsters and such. Still, with this one, Nintendo was letting us go into the darkness with an offering of their own and I do believe for the most part they did a pretty good job.

The story has a young lady named Alex going to the home of her grandfather. He has been killed in gruesome fashion and the police have no leads or clues as to what happened to him. She decides to explore the house and see if she can perhaps turn up something. She ends up finding a book called the Tome of Eternal Darkness and within it she will live out various other peoples' meetings with the Darkness that is going to try cover the world in Eternal Darkness. Can the various people who encounter the tome hold back the darkness, or are we destined to lose the light?

The game play is about the most problematic part of the game. I love that you get to control such a wide variety of characters and use so many interesting weapons. I also think the whole insanity effect was cool, just wish I could explore more while insane, but they make it so if you run out you lose health, which kind of sucks as the more entertaining thing in the game is trying to figure out if you just got your head knocked off for real or if it was just the character going momentarily crazy. The levels do have a bit of sameness to them, but at the same time you revisit stages during different time periods so you can see what age has done to the places. The fighting, now that is kind of a pain. I understand they were going for making you tense as you try to reload a gun and it takes a moment; however, at times it is also very difficult targeting the enemy too. You also get killed by camera angles and such as well. The magic casting also took forever, which for the most part was not too big a deal, that is until you had to face this huge creature during the war and time your magic attacks. Overall, not too bad as it was an earlier game so one can expect the controls to be a bit more difficult as making games like this were still not quite the norm.

So overall, a good horror survival game which obviously used a whole heck of a lot of H.P Lovecraft stories and influence. I think the story got a bit weaker as it progressed, but not a lot. It would have been interesting to see if they could have done a sequel, but the only way I could see them doing it, is if they made a completely unrelated story, but then you run into the problem of making the same game with only different locales and characters. They would have also had trouble trying to come up with different insanity effects too, so I can see why they did not immediately make a sequel. I think they could do one now though as it has been a long time since this game came out.

What can you say?

[EddieMink · 3 September 2002]

I mean, really? What can you say about a videogame that truly transcends its medium?

Eternal Darkness is a masterpiece of storytelling. The best way to describe it is as an interactive novel. I personally don't have the time or the interest to play videogames right through until the end normally, but this one... BOY. I was hooked. I didn't stop playing until I finished the baby.

There were great moments, like there are with any piece of cinema, when the use of music, dialogue and story subversion created moments so exhilarating and original, that it suddenly becomes incredibly sad that it isn't going to reach the wide audience that it so deserves.

Go. And buy it now.

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (Short Game Review)

[Cirene404 · 9/10 · 1 June 2019]

Positives:

• Atmosphere
• The Sanity system
• Story
• Characters
• Voice acting
• Gameplay

Negatives:

• Not much

The Silent Hill of Nintendo

[williemanga150 · 9/10 · 9 May 2014]

Get this; this is a psychological horror game published by Nintendo. You heard right, PUBLISHED by Nintendo. If you're a fan of Silent Hill, then this game is a must-have, but may be hard to find in game stores. The game plays similar to Silent Hill, with some RPG elements and an... interesting new mechanic I'll save for later. Alexandra Roivas, your protagonist, must investigate her home for information concerning Pious Augustus, a Roman warrior and servant of the Ancients, to stop him from taking over the world. A world of visceral graphics, tormented characters, intimidating monsters, some puzzle solving, and amazing visuals. As you progress, you'll witness the history of torment committed by Pious. The mechanic that makes this game infamous is the effects the intimidating environments have on you. Indicated by the signature Sanity Meter, it determines how long you can survive without the game messing with you. And when I say you, I mean YOU! Not just the player character, no. You and your TV. These "Sanity Effects" go over the top trying to shock you. Creepy crawlies seemingly appear from out of nowhere, the ambiance gets worse, and the illusions become extreme, ranging from your character's head exploding to him walking through the floor. The most unusual illusions are the ones that screw with you personally, and essentially break the fourth wall. Its like Pious himself is possessing your console. The game's camera becomes unstable, says your controller is disconnected, turns its own volume down, and even crashes itself, only to flash back to the previous room or the entrance of the room you're in, as if nothing happened. This game is pure nightmare fuel, but art-like gaming at its finest. Play at your own risk. (Evil Laugh!) 9 out of 10

An excellent horror title full of surprises.

[bfp06 · 9/10 · 10 October 2006]

Eternal Darkness is a excellently excituted Horror Adventure game thats like no other. The game starts with the main protagonist Alex Rovias, a young women who's ageing grandfather is horribly murdered by an unknown killer. She is called in the middle of the night by the police to her grandfathers mansion to identify the (headless) body. After the police has left she takes a look around mansion to uncover any clues of why her grandfather would be killed. She ends up uncovering the whole of her grandfathers work and it turns out she is the only key to saving the human kind from the Matarok and a roman turned 'evil god' Pious Augustous' The game has 12 playable characters all spanning over different time periods who all are all connected to the main storyline or Alex rovias in one way or the other. in between each chapter which starts with Alex finding a artifact or script which can be used to activate there story written down in Her grandfathers book (it has a significant name which sadly i do not remember). The Controls are well set out and moving the character isn't too much bother as the camera is pretty good overall, it can be a little niggly in battles but nothing that marks the game down. Each character will have a different weapon, Alex uses a shotgun when she does encounter a battle, and the various other characters have knifes, torches, darts, pistols and rifles to name a few, but what really makes some battles great is the magic you can use. Press a direction on the Gamecubes d pad and a magic spell which are learned throughout will be activated, the magic can be used for various things, in battle and out. such as freezing monsters, unlocking doors, uncovering secret passages or killing certain creatures. It adds well to the variety. The most unique thing about this game apart from its excellently executed story line are the 'sanity effects', this is wear it gets its 'horror' title, be warned this game will trick you more than once, i remembered leaping out of my chair when it suddenly said "deleting file", then to my relief it was just another sanity effect. Once i went into a room and all my characters limbs fell off, then all of a sudden the screen flashed and spiders were crawling over the screen and.... you are dead. Boom back to normal, its pretty weird stuff. But adds to to the fun. The graphics to be fair are good, not excellent but good. They arnt the best you will see on the game-cube as it was origanally slated for a N64 release, but character models and environments are pretty nice to look at, but that saying it is around 4 years old now. Overall i say if you have a game-cube get this game, its fun, spooky and at times unsettling but really has some great atmosphere. You can pick it up for around 8 pounds these days so what are you waiting for!

Graphics - 7/10 Gameplay - 9/10 Sound - 10/10 (god damn those door scratching effect) Longevity - 8/10 Overall - 9/10

Quite possibly the greatest horror game I have ever played

[legomasterh · 10/10 · 28 January 2022]

This game doesn't stoop to the level of jumpscares (except for one part but I feel it was well earned), the atmosphere alone strikes fear and unease in a person. If you can get your hands on this game, play it alone, at night, on a CRT. You'll never have another experience like it.

Horror in its most psychedelic form

[Field78 · 9/10 · 12 October 2005]

A survival horror game that starts out in a classic mansion and features zombies. You might think Eternal Darkness is another Resident Evil clone. But, just as in the game itself, looks can be deceptive, because ED quickly follows its own unique path and its layered story makes up for a hell of a game experience. In a genre that is dominated by physical horror, ED makes great use of the fact that nothing is scarier than your own imagination, and that real fear is in your brain.

The story is essentially an intricate framework of stories about several different people, who were chosen by fate to fight the Ancients, an obscure race of beings, their sinister human followers, and the coming of the Eternal Darkness. For the game play, this means that you can play with 12 different characters, spread out over 4 different locations in 12 different eras. You learn how these characters got involved in fighting the Ancients' sinister plots by experiencing it yourself, gathering story elements and magical incantations that are carried over to subsequent stories. The overall story gets more and more shape in the course of the game, as returning visits to the same location in other eras are used in very creative ways.

A unique game play element is that you not only need to watch your physical health (as their is no lack of hideous creatures and enemies), but also your sanity. As your character encounters monsters, mental health decreases, which causes hallucinations to occur in increasing proportions. These are in-game, like bleeding walls, sudden footsteps and faint voices and cries, but also directed to yourself as the player. You may think you're going crazy as well when you see flies on your screen, the audio fading out, or the screen suddenly going black. Or is it all just an illusion? All of this comes in very nice graphics (though the cut-scenes could do with some more polygons), features a terrifying Dolby Pro Logic II soundtrack, a touch of gore, loads of puzzles and weapon action (guns and swords), and smooth intuitive controls. No annoying movie clips of doors opening, no irritating camera angles. Just perfect.

Not nearly as good as the praise it gets

[pledgerock · 6/10 · 17 November 2023]

The good first. Eternal Darkness provides a millenia-spanning story of gods and demons and ancient texts that is intriguing if more than slightly convoluted. The game also includes one of the coolest elements that was incredibly original: Sanity's meter. If your character has low sanity you experience sanity effects. Maybe your protagonist will walk into a room and have their limbs sliced off only to scream "this can't be happening!" Maybe the volume will act like it's lowering. Maybe the game will tell you it's deleting all your save files! It's definitely the selling point of the game.

Now. The controls. Oh my GODDD!!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!! I had to actually give up. I was playing as Peter Jacob and gave up on the boss fight. The controls haven't aged well at all, they're clunky, confusing, and downright frustrating.

The boss in my playthrough was a giant blue squid. First you gotta dodge some stuff and then attack it. Stage 2 time. It'll send zombies to get you but you gotta do the magic attack at the right point. Nope sorry not like that! It's gotta be at the exact moment! Now! Oh sorry YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MAGIC TO CAST THAT SPELL. Finally, stage 3! It stomps you a million times so you have to evade its giant feet in a small tiny circle and then attack it. Oh you don't have enough magic? Bummer! Oh you got hit? Guess you can't run! Oh look you're dead. FOR THE TWENTY-EIGHTH TIME.

The magic in this game is infuriating as is all combat. You'll be forced to fight foes who can kill you after they do this weird ritual where they all die in unioson but it can also kill you? Ok now you need to slice people's heads off in this small narrow hallway. Oh you can't swing your sword? Oh look you died aga-well you get it.

Look this game definitely has its moments. The story is awesome (but again hard to follow and sometimes downright goofy). The non-combat parts are fine. I liked walking around the mansion and discovering things. But everything else. One word: Frustrating.

The Best Survival-Horror Game, Hands-Down!

[ruks-mail · 13 January 2005]

I do love my Mega Man, believe me, but this title is SO, SO, SO MUCH BETTER than any Mega Man game ever released. When someone says "survival-horror," you probably think of the Resident Evil series. Can I tell you something? If I compared survival-horror games to, say, automobiles, ED makes any other survival-horror game look like a Ford Pinto right after the bumper was smashed in.

The story opens with young Alex Roivas receiving a call to identify her grandfather's body-- he recently experienced a mysterious death that left him as nothing more than a pile of bloody flesh. Alex vows to search the old mansion for clues, and in doing so, uncovers a dark family secret: a huge book in her grandfather's study attracts Alex's attention, and it is through this book, the Tome of Eternal Darkness, that the story unfolds.

Your avatar changes as you complete each chapter of the Tome. All the characters come together to tell of the Tome's historical accounts, and the purpose behind the book itself.

Though the concept of basing a game around a book instead of its characters is certainly unique, it's not ED's strongest selling point. That would be your Sanity Meter--a glowing, green vial that tracks how kooky your character's mind becomes after you are attacked. When your sanity begins to fade, the game will do things to mess with your mind: tilt the camera, make you see dripping blood from the walls, and make you appear upside-down in a room--and those are some of the milder effects. The stronger, more brain-tickling pranks will genuinely make you angry, frustrated, frightened, or confused: the TV will appear to suddenly shut off, or your character will spontaneously split apart, for example. ED is survival-horror done right: you're dropped into monster-ridden territory with limited weapons, a magickal book, and only your wits to guide you. It's not anywhere near as difficult as Resident Evil, and the fact that you play through different periods of history with an alternate-universe twist gives ED a lot more credit in my book.

With copious amounts of blood, gore, death, references to the occult, and plenty of creepy- crawlies and scary moments, this is very much a grown-up's game--but MAN, what a great game it is! For all those momentarily fed up with kiddie games on the 'Cube, snatch this treasure up from the video game store's bargain bin and put some hours into it--you won't be disappointed.

Scary and messes with your mind

[magzimillian · 30 December 2003]

As you play through the game you have a level of sanity, and if your sanity goes as low as it can get your character goes insane. Things such as your character 'dies' or the game 'turns off', but none of this is really happening. The game is actually very easy, but it gets harder after a while. In the beginning of the game Alex sees that her grandfather died, and she finds chapters of a book that answers her past, and soon she finds out how he died. You play as many characters throughout the game, but after about 8 chapters you start playing as Alex. I give this game an 8 out of 10

Quick Reviews!!

[malkane316 · 22 March 2005]

One of the most impressive early games on the Gamecube, successful because it offered a genuinely scary alternative to Resident Evil, but has sadly been overlooked. Graphically the game is not so impressive, as it was originally intended for the N64 and has in places just been adapted to suit the Gamecube. If you are a fan of horror games, Silent Hill perhaps more than Res Evil, then you should try this out as it has a brilliant atmosphere throughout, and is unique in a few ways. Blending survival horror with RPG and action, Eternal Darkness is a very big game with a great plot and style.

Alex hears that her Grandfather has died, and visits his huge mansion. There are still a few servants about, many mumblings odd things about death, monsters and insanity. Alex soon finds a book which recounts the past events of her family and its involvement with an interstellar and apocalyptic evil. We are sucked back and forward through time as the story unfolds, playing as different characters, each with individual powers. By the end Alex must face the evil herself.

The insanity meter is the main piece of ingenuity here: when you encounter a bad guy, your insanity level drops. This leads to strange things happening in the game such as flies appearing on the screen, and limbs falling off to name two out of many. To mention more would spoil it. Rather than being distracting, it works brilliantly, adding greatly to the atmosphere. Some of the average bad guys are not great, but the ones which appear out of your servants are pure evil, and will leave you cursing at the screen. The boss fights are good, although the final seems a little underwhelming. But the tension never lets up, and even small things like loud knocks and floating books will get jumps out of you. The voice acting is the best i have heard, the music is extremely good, and the use of weapons and magic is well-executed. This is not an easy game, and not one for kids. Anyone who sees games as childish should play this alone at night- it will change their minds. The WWI, church level is one of the best 'levels' or parts of a game i have ever played. For real shocks at, now, a cheap price, this is ideal.

8 out of 10