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The Quest to Keep My Sanity

by Danny Bivens - August 27, 2012, 12:56 pm EDT
Total comments: 14

This...can't...be...happening! Danny finally plays through Eternal Darkness.

An eternal darkness and ancient magick threaten to destroy the world as we know it, and all you have is a dirty old book, bound in flesh, and the stories of the people inside. Learning spells, how to wield weapons, and trying to keep my sanity, I delved into this Silicon Knights GameCube classic from 10 years ago hoping to smite the oncoming darkness and save all of humanity. Keeping your mind from going completely insane, both inside and outside the game, is a constant theme in Eternal Darkness. While many of the gimmicks used to achieve this state are a bit antiquated in the era of HDTVs, and though I had a slight knowledge of what was in store, I would still find myself creeped out by the game’s aesthetic and the thought that this could actually be happening (probably not, though) in the real world without my knowledge of it.

I’ll be honest, I usually don’t get into games like Eternal Darkness simply because they creep me out and sometimes give me nightmares. After hearing so many good things about the game over the past decade (coupled with finding it at a used game shop for $3 with the case and manual), I thought it was about time I put aside my fears and delve into the experience headfirst. As I expected, the game is still as creepy as it was the first time I played it nigh 10 years ago.


Even for a game released seven months after the GameCube launch, the controls are well implemented and hold up very well. Combat is responsive and feels great. There is something satisfying about targeting specific body parts of enemies and seeing them fall to the floor after a bit of hacking at them with a sword. This accompanied by the great camera work create a compelling experience that hasn’t been duplicated since. For example, I would be exploring an area and then upon going to the next room, the camera would be focused on me but I could hear zombies behind the camera moaning and limping towards me, and usually toward their death. It’s a really great touch that is very reminiscent of older Resident Evil games minus the cumbersome tank controls. Whether I am playing an engaging game or watching a thought provoking movie, I tend to really, and I mean, really get into the story. Eternal Darkness was no different. The ease of the controls helped transport me to these ancient (and sometimes not so ancient) locations to almost make me feel as if I were really there. Each satisfying swipe of my sword coupled with the great camera work enhanced this. The sanity effects were just the icing on the cake and even when I stopped playing, I would sometimes hear or see things that shouldn’t have been there only to find it was just my imagination. Thankfully, my own “sanity meter” was never low enough to make me scream, “This...can’t...be...happening!”

Visually, Eternal Darkness is not going to overwhelm you and wouldn’t have even done so upon its release. Originally developed for the Nintendo 64 before being moved to the GameCube, you can tell with some of the games geometry in the game is very N64-ish with higher resolution textures on them. The human character models as well aren’t really anything to write home about. Where the game really stands out visually is with the enemy designs. Seeing a creepy, zombie who is basically a skeleton with flesh, or the Gatekeepers, who’s bat-like wings and creepy way of walking are enough to send shivers down your spine. These creatures, horrifying in their own rights, stayed with me outside of the game. Even though they aren’t picture perfect, they were realistic enough to be believable and I would sometimes have daydreams wondering what I would do if one of these creatures were to come crashing through my sliding glass door right into my apartment.


Where the game truly shines is in its sound design. For a game from 2002, the voice work is pretty well done and beats the pants off of voice acting in other games from the time period. Enemy moans are creepy and foot steps are squishy and convincing. Once the green sanity bar is really low, the sound and tone changes quite a bit. Babies crying, doors being pounded on, the occasional cry of your character pathetically saying, “This can’t be happening!” and the slight off-balance camera shift really add to the mood and set this game apart from other horror games on the market. Unlike Resident Evil games, which are usually more surprising more than they are creepy, the sounds used in Eternal Darkness are truly those out of your worst nightmares. They really made me think, “If this stuff were real, it would have to sound something like this.” As a gaming experience, if the sound design didn’t work, the product would not have delivered.

Eternal Darkness isn’t perfect, but it is definitely one of the most unique and undoubtedly the most creepy experience you will find on the GameCube. I don’t know why, but I always played the game at night and would constantly feel uneasy while and after playing. Upon going outside at night to throw out my garbage, I would swear that the bush a few feet away from me was a Xel’lotath zombie, but found out that perhaps I needed to refill my own sanity meter. In a way, playing through Eternal Darkness was kind of like a quest to keep my sanity. Of course, I don’t think I’ll need to check into a psyche ward anytime soon (thought, don’t all crazy people say that?!), but this game can be incredibly disturbing and made me think some crazy thoughts and creeped me out even when the controller wasn’t in my hands.

Talkback

Ian SaneAugust 27, 2012

I exclusively played this with the lights out. :)

I think one thing they flubbed on was having the sanity meter be visible.  I think this would have worked really well if you were not quite sure how sane you were at the time.  I enjoyed the sanity effects but I could kind of know when to expect them.  If my meter was empty, there wasn't going to be any effects.

I think the sanity concept is still largely untapped in videogames.  What if instead of a level based game, like ED is, you had more of a open-world title?  Your sanity would be much more crucial because if you go around shooting bad guys that turn out to be innocent civilians, you'll have the cops after you.  Think GTA but instead of evading the cops, you're trying to avoid the psych ward.  As the game progresses you have to weigh your actions - is this real or just my mind playing tricks?

... and Nintendo should secretly release my idea as the next Animal Crossing and not tell anyone!  So you think you're playing the harmless family-friendly game and suddenly the cat next door is trying to kill you!  AHHHH!

RPG_FAN128August 27, 2012

Yeah I would agree with both of those.  Since you can recoup any lost sanity by a finishing move, and fairly early in the game (depending on the alignment you chose) you get the ability to recover your sanity.  It's highly possible to complete the game with full or almost full sanity.  Having that meter invisible would be pretty interesting!


An animal crossing horror game!?  Bahahaha.  The more unexpected something is, the scarier it is!  That would be a stellar idea.

Stoeff.atAugust 28, 2012

too late for me ... got up at 4 am and now it is half past midnight. anyway - unread 10/10.
i am really looking forward to reading this tomorrow at lunch break and hope you fell in love with the game as i did.

StogiAugust 28, 2012

Hiding the bar is an excellent idea, but am I the only one who never healed their insanity?

Ian SaneAugust 28, 2012

Quote from: Stogi

Hiding the bar is an excellent idea, but am I the only one who never healed their insanity?

I stopped healing my insanity when I realized it was more fun to play like that.

Spak-SpangAugust 28, 2012

I have to admit of playing this game and loving it...but not willing to finish the game, because it creeped me out.  The mood it set, and the rune and magic system just scared me...because everything had a weight of realism to it.

That said, I also played the game wrong.  I was too worried and upset about my sanity meter that once I learned the spell to keep your sanity higher I was always casting it to keep the insanity effects away...so I realize now I avoided have the fun of the game...even though I did so for my own sanity. 

I think I would love a sequel to this game...or even an HD remake, because it was truly a unique and special experience...though we will probably never experience that sequel that would/should be.

S-U-P-E-RTy Shughart, Staff AlumnusAugust 29, 2012

This game was pretty cool, but I think it being too easy hurt it. I would pay good money for an HD rerelease with hard mode.

Infinitys_EndAugust 30, 2012

@ Ian Sane: Try playing Amnesia: The Dark Descent. :)

StogiAugust 30, 2012

I keep coming back to this thread and reminding myself of playing in that church turned infirmary where everyone was wounded. I don't remember who you play as or even what era, but that chapter, amongst all the others, stands out in how utterly fucktasticly scared it made me.

LouieturkeyAugust 30, 2012

Quote from: Infinitys_End

@ Ian Sane: Try playing Amnesia: The Dark Descent. :)

I second this.  Quite possibly the closest thing to what Ian asked for with the sanity meter.  Awesome, awesome game.  PC only though.

Stoeff.atAugust 31, 2012

@stogi: it was the WW I setting and you played a soldier. the end boss was in this pit where they fed flesh to him.
i do not remember which part came before, but you also played in the church in the middle ages.

tendoboy1984August 31, 2012

Gotta love those shittastic graphics. For a game that was moved over to the GameCube from the N64, Silicon Knights should have done a lot better with the graphics. The 3DS remakes of Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 64 look much better than Eternal Darkness, and a 3DS is pretty much a portable GameCube / Wii.

TJ SpykeAugust 31, 2012

The graphics (minus the human characters) were not bad in June 2002 when the game came out and are not that bad now in person.

I agree with TJ, here. The human character models looked a bit aged, and odd at times. Everything else, especially the creatures, looked great. Sometimes environments are a bit of a mixed bag, though. The geometry sometimes looks like an N64 environment re-skinned...Which is exactly what it was.


@Stoeff.at Man, I loved all of the stages that happened in France! The WWI setting was probably the coolest, though, as you mentioned.

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