3/5 ★ – Visionary_Gamer's review of Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem.
Eternal Darkness actually shocked me. I knew nothing going into this, only that it was a well received, critically acclaimed venture. I thought it was just another spooky mansion resident evil style survival horror, not a story spanning 2000 years.
Whilst I appreciate the idea and admire the ambition, the story wasn’t for me. It didn’t really grab me as I hoped it would. And I found myself fumbling through the various characters, dragging myself through the game. Again, it’s a very interesting premise, but for me the execution was off.
Graphics are okay. It can be a bit blocky at times but never ugly.
Gameplay wise, it hasn’t aged well. There are a variety of weapons and spells but the combat is clunky, and the spells a little awkward to cast.
The sanity effects were excellent and developers should do more of this. At first, they were rare, as I kept my sanity meter high. But by the end I was purposely letting my sanity drain to see these wonderful effects. The upside down room effect in particular was very cool.
The sound design is impressive along with the voice acting. The sound of the hundreds of screams whilst picking up the Tome of Eternal Darkness was very unsettling. And the deafening whispers when casting spells was impactful.
Eternal Darkness is a game I’m glad to have experienced and I understand why it has its cult following. Bit it’s gameplay and story aren’t enough to sustain its length. It’s not a long game by today’s standards, but I really felt it dragged after the initial fresh excitement.