Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

Platform: Gamecube
Genre: Survival Horror
Developer: Silicon Knights
Publisher: Nintendo
Release: 23 June 2002
Rating: Mature
Price: $15

Eternal Darkness is a horror game done well. It's not exactly scary, but it's creepy and unsettling. Not the kind of game you want to play at night, at least. It's rather original as horror games go, in the way it tells its story.
The plot revolves around one Alexandra Roivas, whose grandfather has just been murdered. The police being left without any clues, Alex decides to investigate herself. In her grandfather's mansion, she finds a mysterious book: the Tome of Eternal Darkness. As she reads the Tome, she learns of those who have owned it before, and of the ancient evil they have combated. I will not reveal any more, but this serves as the basis for the gameplay. The mansion functions as a hub, and Alex as your gate to the other characters. As you begin each new chapter, you take control of a different character, and see what they lived through. Each character has their own stats and weapons, as well as one of several different locations to explore.
There is one other feature that makes Eternal Darkness unique: sanity. As you encounter monsters, your character's sanity meter will drain, and it can be restored by finishing off those monsters decisively. But if your sanity gets too low, you will start to experience hallucinations. These can range from the music changing, to hearing voices, to the game pretending to glitch (one particularly memorable one has your memory card pretend to erase itself). These break the Fourth Wall brilliantly, and leave you questioning your own sanity as well.
As a whole, Eternal Darkness is a very creepy and memorable experience. If you have $15, pick it up.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.

--Kotaro