Top 50 Video Games: Number 34

#34: Eternal Darkness - Sanity's Requiem
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Publisher: Silicon Knights
Released: 2002
Players: 1


The last rays of the setting sun say goodbye to Miss Roivas. It's going to be a long night.


When you turn on Eternal Darkness, you are greeted with the words of Edgar Allen Poe: "Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, doubting...." I think Poe would've approved of this game. Eternal Darkness is another one of those games that I picked up even though survival horror games usually don't interest me. It just looked too good to pass up, and I'm glad to say I didn't. The story is, Alexandria Roivas' grandfather has been murdered. He was found dead in his mansion, the body mutilated. The authorities have no leads, so Alex decides to pay the mansion a visit and take matters into her own hands. She discovers that her grandfather was studying some dark stuff. She finds the tome of Eternal Darkness - a purely evil book that has been in her family for generations. The story is told in chapters, chronicling the book's passage from character to character throughout history. You will play as each of these people. All told, the game will put the player in the shoes of 12 different characters.

The game's atmosphere is artfully done. The music is dark and creepy, torches flicker, and occasionally you'll see the walls bleeding. When I got the game I promised myself I would only play alone late at night with the lights off. This gives the spookiness of the game an effect that could never be achieved in daylight. I remember a point in the game where Alex was creeping down into her grandfather's hidden study and there was suddenly a loud knocking on the wall. I think I jumped right out of my chair. It's moments like these that make a game memorable.


Anthony, one of the early holders of the Tome of Eternal Darkness. Possessing the book doesn't do him any favors.


The game play, the meat and potatoes of any game, is quite good too. The combat system is fairly straightforward, and while each character plays slightly different, the combat system ties them all together fairly well. The game's magic system is unique in that the various characters discover runes and must piece them together to make spells. In addition to health and mana, the characters also have a sanity meter. The more damage you take or crazy shit you see, the lower this meter gets. Eventually you start seeing things that aren't there, or the game screen will tilt and rotate, etc. I've entered a room and watched helplessly as enemies beat on me and a "Please insert a Nintendo Gamecube controller into port 1" message was on the screen. I've had Windows blue scren errors. Once, my character was loading his pistol and he accidently shot himself and died. Of course, none of these things actually occurred in the game; my low sanity meter made me see it.

Eternal Darkness has one of the best, most entertaining stories of any game I've ever played. The atmosphere is dark and edgy. Eternal Darkness is the first - and best - game I got for the Gamecube. After so many family friendly years, Nintendo has finally turned to the Dark Side. Powerful it is.