"Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem" was a truly pivotal piece of gaming back in 2002. The deep mythology, the unnerving ambience, the easy-to-learn gameplay, the "Sanity" effects...

...but some years have passed. I have revisited the dark tale in order to once again discover its brilliance. But the simple truth is that "Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem" is a product of its time, and was put on its pedestal way too soon.

I am not writing this review to simply analyze the videogame's faults. Frankly, there are ton of 5-star games available on Amazon that are well worth your time and money in spite of their flaws. But with "Eternal Darkness", you must tread carefully. You are reading the reviews of memories, not the review of the game as it is in 2009.

I guess the best summary I can give you is that for every great idea in "Eternal Darkness", there's always some sort of caveat to remind you that you're holding a controller in your hand. So, my personal review is going to be a "This Is Good, But" kind of review. Let's bullet-point this one, shall we?

* The game's combat is much simpler and easier than most survival-horror games. You will often control a sword, or other form of blade, with the occasional pistol or projectile thrown in. Frankly, the guns are worthless. The game will quickly teach you how to take down your enemies. BUT "better" doesn't mean "great". The combat leaves much to be desired. Even with the magic system (more on that later) implemented in the later stages of the game, you are still hacking and slashing some pretty boring-looking foes.

* "Eternal Darkness" is famous for its sanity effects. Whenever your character is spotted by the enemy, you slowly lose your sanity, which can eventually lead to some very frightening moments. I'll leave those moments for you to discover, which I'm sure are on YouTube in case you wanna pass the game up. BUT, other than eventually harming your health, these sanity effects get old once you've seen them. The only way to really enjoy them is to deliberately delay killing your enemies. Some may get a delightful cackle from going nuts, but it's not THAT genius when you think about it.

* The game uses a magic system in order to not only enhance combat, but to solve some nifty puzzles. As the game progresses, you learn more spells, and can make them more powerful. There's even a Ro-Sham-Bo kinda system to the magic. BUT, learning the spells is kinda cheap. In order to create spells, you need Runes. In order to use the runes, you need to decode them. Learning the spells requires little to no thought whatsoever, because you learn them by just searching for different pieces throughout the stages. Because you take little part in creating the spells, learning them is tedious.

* "Eternal Darkness" has a mythology and story that spans centuries. You will play as various characters who've encountered a supernatural evil, leading to moments of sheer horror. BUT this method of storytelling means you only get a brief adventure with the characters. Their histories, their dreams, their motivations, their effects in time...you will learn less than you hope. It becomes very apparent that main character Alexandra Roivas is merely someone who just finds their different stories in her family mansion. You want to know more about how her grandfather was mysteriously & gruesomely murdered. Instead, you begin reading the stories of others, waiting a long time before Alex is personally involved.

* The game featured some great graphics for its time. The levels in particular look pretty sharp even today. I never understood the criticisms for "Resident Evil" graphical presentation, because it immerses you in artistic creation. The environments (except for the Persian desert) are uniformly strong. BUT, the character models aren't consistently good. Some look amazing in closeup, while people look blocky. Some are very well-animated in their movements, while others move like constipated apes. Even the corpses aren't consistently drawn well.

* Sound plays a major role in this game, and it's the only near-perfect element in the game. The music is subtle and minimal. The screams are terrifying. The shocks are heart-stopping. The voice-acting is excellent. The weapons sound good. The creatures are intimidating. What's most remarkable is the background & surround effects. Early in the game, you're in a monestary where if you approach an office, you can hear a muttered secret meeting taking place. Other than maybe the Roivas mansion's "gong-gong" rhythm, I've no complaints here.

* The game has three different endings. BUT, the differences are mostly cosmetic, and minimal at best. Finishing all three versions of the quest will unlock the ultimate ending for the game, but the drive to complete the game three times is questionable.

* "Eternal Darkness" has some good scares in it, some of them "BOO" moments, others just disturbing. BUT, while disturbing moments leave long impressions, this game is only as scary as you want it to be. Once you go through the jump-out-of-your-seat moments, you're not likely to be scared on your second playthrough. And going back to the sanity effects, only you are in control of how mad your character gets. Sadly, there are only a few moments when the player doesn't control the sanity...those are the best surprises.


I first played "Eternal Darkness" in July 2002. I thought it was extraordinary. If I had done an official review, I probably would've said 9.5 out of 10. To this day, most critics' reviews average out to that score.

A few years later, I popped the game back in. I finished the game, but somewhat reluctantly so. I put the game aside, and told myself, "Maybe I'm just not in the right frame of mind to enjoy this fully. Another time, perhaps." After all, some great games can't be played on a regular basis, and need time to grow in your memories before you revisit them.

So, now it's 2009. I have tried a third time to play "Eternal Darkness" from start to finish. About halfway through, I have decided to stop. It's just not that fun anymore.

There is nothing shameful about a videogame that pioneered a genre years ago, and has fallen by the wayside. Our memories are real. We really did enjoy the worlds, tales, and experiences that "Eternal Darkness" gave us years ago. But it's time to acknowledge that its core value as a videogame is diminished.

If I may quickly sidestep, one of my all-time favorite series is the "Metal Gear Solid" franchise. Those have much more emphasis on story & cinemas than they do on actual gameplay. But the differences is that those stories are brilliant, a pleasure to revisit, and the gameplay itself holds up in the time passed. "Eternal Darkness", on the other hand, has a good story that isn't worth playing through. I loved the end, but don't like getting there anymore.

"Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem" belonged on its pedestal in 2002.
It's time to gracefully bring it down, and not pretend that it still possesses the same magic.

Game arrive in great condition, good graphics and storyline. Don't let kids under 13 play, it will give them nightmares