This game is the equivalent of a cult classic movie: there's a fairly small following, but those who know about it really love it. I assume anyone who visits this page is part of that following. So tell me, what all did you like most about this game? Was it just simply the novelty of the sanity effects, or was there something else that drew you in?

If I had to pick just one aspect, I'd go with the writing. The game has a great plot and great voice acting, but all of that wouldn't matter if it weren't for the excellent writing. I think it's the best written game I've ever played. I'm not a diehard fanatic about the game, but I can easily quote several passages from it at any given time. One of my favorite moments in the game was when Ulyaoth spoke to Augustus through that magic mirror (sorry, don't know what else to call it) for the first time. "The universe is a yawning chasm filled with emptiness and the puerile meanderings of sentience." That was the moment when I realized this wasn't just a good game, it was something special, something to be played again and again.

Interestingly enough, both Ulyaoth and Augustus are voiced by the same person, Richard Doyle.

I could go on about how much I loved all of the other written and spoken dialogue in the game, but you get the point. Anyone else care to share what they like most about the game? Don't limit yourself to just one aspect if you don't want to.


Note: In case this forum post is showing up anywhere other than the Eternal Darkness page, that's the game I'm referring to here.

What game dude?

"What game dude?"

And what I liked most about this game might not be what you're looking for because it's not exactly tied to a specific point...but I loved how the game surprised me. I went into the game expecting something completely different (having not read many articles etc) and when I started playing the game I found out I was completely wrong. It was such a pleasant surprise and that's honestly what I love most about the game.

That's a good enough reason, Kush. I hadn't thought about it, but that's an aspect that I really liked too. I actually saw Eternal Darkness at E3 in 2000 (was fortunate enough to know the right people in order to go) when it was on the N64. It looked good but I didn't grab the controller to play it. I then saw it again at E3 in 2001, on the Gamecube. It looked really, really rough around the edges. It looked like they took the N64 game and just stuck it on the Gamecube. Graphics were nearly the same. At worst, it looked like a standard zombie fest/survival horror game with last-gen graphics.

When I finally got my hands on the final product, I was pleasantly surprised by just about everything. It wasn't anything like what I was expecting. If I had to nitpick, I'd say the graphics weren't anything special. The animation and crazy camera angles made up for it though.

Also... I love the whole HP Lovecraft slant to the game. I forgot to mention that in the original post. Anyone who loves this game but hasn't read his stuff, you'll probably really dig it. Avoid the movies that are directly based on his work though, most of them are terrible.

I actually liked the Lovecraft stuff the most. I played the Cthullhu Pen and Paper RPG before I actually heard of ED and when I read about the sanity system on the back of the box, I was sold, because that is one of my favorite mechanics in the Pen and Paper RPG. My favorite part(s) have to be the moments when the game brakes the fourth wall though. When the "please buy the sequel"-screen popped up, I knew it was just playing with me, but having seen similar screens so many times and the timing being absolutely perfect, I literally jumped up and screamed at the TV. Then I realized what actually happened.

I really enjoyed the pacing of the gameplay.  The combat and magic were based on your ability to deal with your character's weaknesses and best position yourself to provide enough time to take out the enemy before it could attack you. Now that I think about it, it was kind of like RE4 in that way. I really liked the somewhat slower pace without being boring like turn based systems.

I really liked the whole game but the sanity effects were easily my favorite, it really drew me in. It broke the fourth wall in a way that didn't seem forced or tacky, but in a way that really enhanced the horror-like nature of the game. Messing with you by slowly degrading your character's grasp on their surroundings then "deleting your save" or having your character's limbs fall off one at a time, or even "muting" the television really throws you off your guard and makes you feel just as crazy as they are. I haven't come across another game that's done something quite like that, anywhere near as effectively as eternal darkness managed it.