Happy Video Game Nerd – Eternal Darkness

Posted by derekalexander on Thursday, May 31, 2012 · 79 Comments

Last Halloween, Derek said he had a score to settle, watch his review of Eternal Darkness until the end you’re gonna help him settle it!

Edgarschainsaw

Quick! Pick up your head and reset the game!!
Yowza

You honestly aren’t missing much, although I last played this about 5 years ago. I think there’s a reason to play the game 3 times (the thing you choose at the beginning) for some special secret ending but you’re better off watching it on youtube to get your fill of the story.

I also agree that the combat was terrible. This game was highly praised, with the inclusion of “you can target limbs on enemies, this is revolutionary!” statements thrown everywhere, but when I finally beat the game (only once) I was never compelled to play it again. Fantastic review as always though, you may as well celebrate Halloween every month of the year with so many horror games out there.

NightStarX

Agreed. Totally agreed. Derek is spot on. This game really is crap. The story? Great. Graphics? Great. Sound design? Great. Music? Great. Gameplay? EPIC FAILURE.

You can polish a turd and dip it in gold, but it’s still a shiny, pretty turd. Graphics, good music, sound, and story are nice, but it’s not what makes a game good. It’s all about gameplay. The one area in which this game fails immensely.

ichi_the_killa

Derek’s words on battle in this game – “Boo Hoo, its too hard”

NightStarX

Uhm. No. If you actually payed ATTENTION to the review, it’s more like “The game’s insane difficulty comes from cheap, unfair, bad game design”

That’s NEVER ok.

Earthbound_X

Nah, he was playing wrong, he somehow missed that he can use magic to regain sanity.

http://www.facebook.com/samgamgi Guilherme Rezende Rehder

I agree. In a game where you have a lot of things to use like ED, If it gets too hard, you should experiment with what you have, instead of hit the buttons faster like an action game, because, well, ED is not an action game.

The gameplay is kinda clunky, I agree, but if you play it how it was supposed to be played, you’ll be fine. But if you play it thinking you are Kratos, it is definitely going to be hard.
Tossedllama

it depends too what magic you start out with. I started with the blue magic option to complete 3 play-thru’s and couldn’t cast +health or +sanity for a while. that was hard.

http://profile.yahoo.com/CTMCQK35AUT37FP7ULITVC4DOQ eric

It’s not just the magic. Look carefully, Derek uses the auto-targeting to attack his enemies rather than selecting the targets manually. This means Derek has been playing the game without fully utilizing a significant gameplay mechanic.

http://profile.yahoo.com/CTMCQK35AUT37FP7ULITVC4DOQ eric

If you look at the video you can tell Derek doesn’t know of or use manual targeting.

Kaleion

I’m guessing it’s not you’re type of game, I don’t remember having any of those problems when I played, in fact I thought the combat was really easy, and I find it funny that you compared it to RE1 remake because I had a lot more problems because of the camera and combat in that game, but anyway, last time I played it was around 3 months ago, so I’ll replay it and tell you if you’re right, but as a sidenote, I never thought of the scorpion things as a recovery item, I thought they were meant to be a threat.

Thierry Vanroy

There! What he said! You cannot critique the combat system when you yourself put it in the same category as Resident Evil where they STILL keep the combat system broken ‘for the atmosphere.’ ED is art and I never considered it an action game. There’s that part where you get cornered and just get stuck hacking a seemingly infinite amount of respawned zombies with your scythe. What does that tell you? Broken system or intentional “it’s not about the fighting, though go ahead if you haven’t learned that lesson yet.” In Resident Evil, they aren’t this honest.

Really, what did you expect this game to be?

And yes, I in fact played it last week after I saw a different review. The only thing I can add perhaps is that I don’t play modern games, so I can’t compare it to whatever kids play these days. But if that’s where you compare it to, then I… am just old, I guess?

I have no complaints. And if you can appreciate the art of Lovecraft coming to life, then yes, finish it. Preferably, take a day off and finish it in a marathon-style, because you really need to immerse yourself for full effect. I’ll tell you when I finished the game was the day I went to the bookstore and immediately bought Lovecraft’s work because I just needed more.

Still a fan. Of ED, Lovecraft and your show by the way. In my eyes, you alll aged very well. ^^ (Start making more episodes though, does this mean your next episode will have to wait for Halloween?)

http://blog.trenchcoatsoft.com Ross

It’s worth pointing out that one facet of Eternal Darkness is that the different playable characters vary wildly in their fighting ability, with one of the later characters being a much more proficient fighter than anyone in the early parts of the game, and another being much more magically adept. A big part of the clumsiness you observed in the fighting system derives from a (possibly ill-conceived) attempt to distinguish some of the characters as not being used to physical altercations, the idea being that when playing as those characters, you should avoid fighting when possible and use a more tactical approach to keep enemy encounters manageable, this being a common play-style for Survival Horror at the time. Unfortunately, the game does not do a very good job of communicating this to the player. Obviously, the choice made as Pious also has a distinct influence on how combat plays out, as it will lead to the player facing primarily red, green, or blue enemies, and consequentially facing more physical, sanity, or magic-based attacks. By the numbers, red is the hardest, but I found that it was a huge advantage to have the monsters be more physically-focused, as it put less pressure on my sanity.

Also, I have one little anecdote I like to tell about playing this game. One time, about two-thirds of the way through the game, my gamecube crashed. I must have sat there staring at the error screen for about 20 minutes, expecting it to turn out to be an insanity effect (Especially since there *is* an insanity effect that simulates the game crashing) before I realized it was for real.
Renoknight42

I remember this game. I remember loving it too. I feel I must have played it about a year ago or so remembering all the reasons mentioned about the combat system. I do however feel that depending on which way you choose to go in the beginning the rune you pick as the spartan guy will determine the pain you will suffer at how easy the game will be. That does determine when you get your elemental ruins with the one you picked as him being the last ruin you get if I remember correctly. So for the least frustrating experience when it comes to health I think it is best to pick blue that way you get the red heal spell and green sanity heal ability before you get the magic regeneration ability. As for the combat ehh aside from the big guys I am pretty sure just take the heads off the zombies and they stop being able to find you. Another note is the beginning is painful until you start getting the spells later one that make the game easier. It is an old fashioned survival horror game though so I find running from monsters when a viable option is usually the best option because if i remember correctly the monsters don’t follow through rooms. I dunno i just feel like its a trap in these old school survival horror games to constantly fight the enemies when that’s not really how the games operate
Itsayatta

Eternal Darkness > Resident Evil 4, by a whooooole lot

NightStarX

Uh. No.

Fox

BRB going to replay Eternal Darkness
Edgarschainsaw

You’re playing it wrong dude…I agree with Renoknight42′s statement and think you should start running from the enemies you can as much as possible. I believe that unless enemies give you experience, money and/or items, avoid them…otherwise you’re just asking for punishment.

On top of that, this game is worth playing for it’s storyline. On top of that, the weird moments get more and more weird as does the plot. I find it panders to those who enjoy occult-based stories involving plenty of sun worship and living dead…so unless that’s your thing…

In my opinion…if you don’t enjoy the game…then that’s that. I know people who just love the worst garbage…like farmville and sports games…goats eat garbage! The point Derek, is to be whatever animal force you choose to consolidate your soul with.
http://nerdcast.net/ Jurgen

Do I´m the only one who misses the music intro for the HVGN?

http://profile.yahoo.com/CTMCQK35AUT37FP7ULITVC4DOQ eric

No, I miss it too. It is, in my opinion, far superior to the AVGN intro song in every way.

MegaGaerry

I played this about a month ago for the first time and I really liked it. Yeah, the combat system sucks and is sometimes pretty unfair. But, as others also mentioned, I often just ran away from fights. And later in the game, you get even more pretty useful magic spells. I also heard the game plays much different depending on which color you take after the first chapter. So, maybe you could try again and take a different one, that could change things in favor of your playstyle.
RonJeno

I’ve beat the game 4 times and have played it off and on for years. It’s one of my favorite games. I agree with a lot that’s been said, the game is more tactical than the initial hack-and-slash feel lets on. Understanding how the magic system works is vital, i.e. I used all quick spell slots all the time and often switched spells around depending on the situation. I remember running from enemies a lot early on. Also the alignments chosen at the beginning have different difficulties.

I don’t remember having any trouble with the combat or the sanity meter. As for all the problems you pointed out with the effects of the sanity meter when it gets low, that’s the point, it’s supposed to give you problems. That’s why you don’t let it get low in the first place. The effects aren’t a gimmick meant to entertain you, they make the world more dangerous for your character. If you want to live, don’t let the sanity get low. I’ve never had a problem keeping the meter up. Sometimes I would let it fall just for the fun of it.

I never thought of those little scorpion teleporter things to be refill centers, they always felt like traps to me so I usually avoided them. As for the spell that’s unavoidable, there’s a shield spell that stops it.

It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind about it. If you’re not having fun with it, it’s probably just not your type of game. I loved it because it played like a survival horror game with a magic system in real time. The mood also has a very isolated feeling in certain parts, reminded me of Metroid somewhat. Love the game and sorry you’re not able to enjoy it.
http://twitter.com/Anaphyis Anaphyis

Just replayed this game a few months ago and I had a blast. The problem is that it doesn’t really telegraph how you’re supposed to play it. Avoid enemies when possible, in a room full of zombies concentrate on lobbing of their heads first, then finish them one by one. And don’t just use magic for healing and enchanting, the barriers for example are great against the big guys. And you can use a healing spell to recharge your sanity once you get the green rune, I almost never went into the trapper dimension and only because I couldn’t kill off the little pests from a distance fast enough.

But yeah, even if you struggle with the combat, playing it through to the end is definitely worth it.
kaleion

I find it weird that people are saying to keep you’re sanity up, I just remember the game being so easy that I purposefully let it be low, because otherwise it wasn’t that interesting, I still liked it, but it just seemed so easy, hmmm…

I really need to replay this to say anything remotely accurate don’t I?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Austin-Kelly-Mackert/100000790359124 Austin Kelly Mackert

It’s interesting to see a different perspective on this one, as most seem to really enjoy it. I have to admit that, despite the hype, I have *yet* to play this game. For now, I think I will pass. The flaws you pointed out are likely to annoy me as well, and man does that combat look clunky!
http://www.facebook.com/martinkuepper Martin Küpper

You can’t like Eternal Darkness? Wow, I really feel sorry for you. Eternal Darkness is an awesome game, but sadly not for everybode. But as for the combat, I really, really, REALLY have to disagree.
Yes, I’ve played the game recently. Infact I even did my own video-review a few month ago. And let me say this: no, the combat is not broken. That’s just wrong. I don’t blame you for your opinion… that whould be bullshit. But I wonder, why you couldn’t say “It doesn’t work for me” instead of claiming it to be broken… and then you even ask us, if we had played it recently. In other words: If we think the game works fine, you imply, that we just say that, because we haven’t played it for a while?

One look in the comments tells me, that I’m not the only one feeling like this was wrong… so, next time you’d better try to stay with “it doesn’t work for me”.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Niko-Lähteenmäki/1319051384 Niko Lähteenmäki

I’m on the same page as you: I didn’t play this through when I was a kid, but I still have this game though. I remember it being too hard and WAY too spooky. Story was excellent and really interesting, it was a shame that I never finished it. Luckily I noticed that you’ve made a review of this game. I’ve watched it now and I have to say that you got me inspired once again. Like, almost every time I watch your review, I just have to find the game and play it, because of YOUR enthusiasm! The way you describe things, issues and good things is just at it’s own league. And even now, when you said mostly bad things about the game, I STILL want to try this and give the game a new chance. You got me curious, man!

So here’s the deal: I have nothing but free time tomorrow and Sunday, because my girlfriend is out of town for the weekend, so I’ll grab the game from my shelf tomorrow and start playing it. I will post again on Sunday evening (I live in Finland by the way, so clock is maybe 2pm at your region) and tell how I’ve been progressing.

Btw, thank you Derek for ALL the videos and reviews that you have made, your enthusiasm is admirable and hopefully you post a video sooner than october.

Yours sincerely
A fan from Finland since Metal Storm (this message may include crappy English, sorry about that)
http://www.facebook.com/evan.joslyn Evan Joslyn

Maybe its just me, but you don’t seem like you go for the head first…I ALWAYS go for the head, once you cut off there heads, they will not move temporary, which gives you time to do whatever magic you want to summon.
Stick2zero

If you ask me ill be just cheating my ass for revenge on this game.
Emil Ekholm

In defense of the combat: The complaint I always heard was that it was boring, lacking variety. Not that it was difficult or made difficult by cramped rooms. In this video, it seems that you are sometimes swinging without targetting, and thus hitting enemies in the torso. This is not recommended, as it generally accomplishes nothing, whereas decapitation blinds the zombies and chopping limbs off disarms them. Pardon the pun.

Fighting in cramped spaces can be made easier if you use a smaller weapon for close combat, rather than the biggest, most badass sword you lug around but can’t swing properly. I almost want to think that this is an intentional design choice, forcing you to adapt your fighting style to your surroundings.

As for finishing moves, it should not be difficult to tell when you can perform one. A fallen enemy will fall with a different animation than if it were just pushed over, and the enemies will be blinking if they aren’t coming back up. That should be a pretty clear clue.

I never considered Trappers helpful, and the zone they send you into is more of a hindrance than anything. As you’ve concluded, it’s not ultimately beneficial always. What helps you get further is patience. Magic is constantly replenished at a slow rate, so just duck out in an empty room and wait for the magic to fill up so you can heal your health or sanity. It may feel like the coward’s way out, but it allows the game not to be generous with health items, and you’re never so screwed over that you can’t recover.

The complaint about a lack of checkpoints is invalid for the fact that you can save anywhere, anytime, provided that there isn’t an enemy in the room. Feel free to save as often as you like and more often than you need.

Derek, I can appreciate that this might not enjoy the gameplay regardless, but I definitely feel that you were missing something for reasons listed above. I encourage you to beat the game so you can experience the full extent of the story. It might not get more fun, but these pointers should make it easier, and the story is worth it.

Emil Ekholm

* I appreciate that YOU might not enjoy the gameplay regardless. Sorry.

screamqueen3110

hey derek,
this was acctually a game i experience just a few years ago for the first time so i didnt have the whole nostalgia goggles thing clouding my judgement. i personally enjoyed this game, however i would never dream of saying that you should enjoy it to. as you said it might not be your thing. when i played i hadnt really heard much about the game apart from its good, play it lol and weird things will happen. so i went in with fresh eyes. As i played through i didnt realize about being able to restore your sanity meter so i mainly focused on health, yes i died a few times but overall it wasnt too bad. i also am not very good with the tank controls so i found the movements a welcome change, although i do agree sometimes the combat is clunky but personally didnt bother me too much (same with the knife in resident evil) they are both clunky but never really made me not enjoy the game as i was so invested in the story. anyway, i’ll end by saying i would love to see either an updated version with new insanity effects or just a sequel to this game. however with the recent news about the lawsuit finishing, i dont see it happening, which is a shame. oh well.
Rokogu

I’m thinking maybe the game just isn’t your cup of tea. I played this game through like a year ago (it was also my first time ever playing this game) and i had a great time playing through it! Personally i don’t remember ever having any problems with the combat, I know i died a few times at the last boss but other than that, i don’t remember anything too frustrating and I think you also just had a bit of bad luck because some of the things you said happened with your sanity meter sounds pretty annoying but i never had anything like that happen to me. But this was about a year ago and i haven’t really played through a second time yet(i know you asked that we play through again before we comment, sorry). So like i said, maybe the game just isn’t for you
KeithCourage

Finally the return of full HVGN episodes! I was starting to get a little worried there for a second. Nice redux on the tone of the intro “Metal Man” riff. I tried really hard to plow through Eternal Darkness but after getting my ass handed to me hundreds (possibly thousands) of times due to poorly developed combat mechanics and camera, I just completely gave up. I’ll never be able to get the sound of my knife harmlessly bouncing off of whatever wall I was too close to instead of connecting with an enemy, out of my head. Top notch review, as always.
KeithCourage
http://www.wehatevideogames.com
http://www.facebook.com/fracassi Anthony Fracassi

I guess I like Eternal Darkness quite a bit. The clunky combat never bothered me too much. It’s not quite as bad as some of the sequences in Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (riding in the back of a truck while residents riddle you with bullets). I don’t think the combat is really any worse than the first Silent Hill game. I remember way too much kiting in SH, and then when I got to your possessed cop friend ( I can’t remember her name) on the carousel, I had no bullets left. So yeah, ED has a pretty sad combat system, but it’s not really any worse than most other survival horror games of the time.
FireAza

While I haven’t played this game recently, and can’t comment on how the controls have aged, the story, characters and atmosphere make the game very worthwhile. I don’t recall experiencing the frustrations you where, and I would guess if I tried to play it recently, I’d probably find it a little frustrating thanks to being spoiled by modern control systems. But you know, sometimes even the worst flaws can still be overwhelmed by the good points of a product.
anonononon

Well F me in the A if it isn’t a new HVGN! WOO HOO!

http://www.facebook.com/fracassi Anthony Fracassi

would you settle for a Z in the Q?

anonononon

That’s harassment and I don’t have to take it. (Though I do want to take it. All of it. )

Cynic667

I respectfully disagree: The combat isn’t unfair, just unusual: getting head-first in cramped situations is a real threat that is easily avoided by kiteing enemies or lure them into gateways. The possibility to target the head is there for a reason; use it! It makes unfair battles to doable battles. The magical zap from the hulking enemies can be avoided when you aren’t playing sitting duck and use your superior agility (with certain chars) or more heavy load out to put them down quick (with others). So I kinda agree: the battle system is punishing when you aren’t playing like the designers thought you should play, which is a problematic design decision. But “broken” looks different. But, on the other hand, this “my way or no way” approach to battle makes certain Bosses a real chore (looking at you, Guardian).

The breaking of the fourth wall in sanity effects are really ingenious imho; read some (academic) articles that point out that it’s a interesting case of the immersion/interaction paradigms that we are used to measure game content (unfourtunately the best article on this is afaik only in german, but nontheless, if you can read german take a look at the book Neitzel/Bopp/Nohr (Ed.): ‘See? I’m real…’. Multidisziplinäre Zugänge zum Computerspiel am Beispiel von ‘Silent Hill’
http://twitter.com/RetroGamerRy Ryan Rardin

I’d say it’s like the D trilogy in a way. It’s flawed and definitely not for everyone, but still worth a look to at least see if it’s your cup of tea.
mrmojorisin27

I agree with many of you guys, the game is not broken. It’s the way you played it, there is some spells you can summon to refill the sanity bar, and yes it’s super easy that way, there are some other spells for enemys too and just finish’em. Actually the only way to play it “hard core” is by leaving low the sanity, so please, it’s not a Devil May Cry, not even a recent game, that statement is unfair.
http://www.retrowaretv.com Kevin Willingham

Booooo hardly a broken game. I’ve played through it many times without ever feeling like I couldn’t fight properly. The way you fight the monsters is about brains not brawn. You can never run into a room and swing or shoot away and take all the monsters down. You need to think before you leap most of the time and when it comes to guns especially since you need to conserve ammo. The spells help most of all since you’ll need the protection to tilt the scales and later you’ll need them to make your weapon actually work against certain beasts. Plus sometimes you don’t need to fight or just have to make a daring escape to collect yourself and try again. Of course the sanity meter is there to work against you, while sometimes it is just a good scare it will throw you off your game by tilting the screen or distracting you with other things, and of course draining your life once it goes all the way down. If it didn’t do anything to the actual game play from time to time it would get old. You are one person (or I guess really a line of related persons overall) against an ultimate evil you can not defeat it with worldly might alone, it is one of the central plot points.
Kisimpson

Advice: Focus on enemies arms, use healing magic a lot (it regenerates when you run, just do that in empty rooms), kill/avoid trappers most of the time, magic and by extension health and sanity regenerate.
Earthbound_X

Like others have said, I can’t disagree more, I last played this a few years back, and it’s was still great. I never had any issues with the combat.

No offense, but you were playing the game the wrong way, you are supposed to use magic to regain your sanity as well. Not sure how you missed this.

I can’t say I ever actually wanted a Trapper to trap me, that just seems weird, but I guess you somehow missed that you can use magic to regain sanity. Hell, you can even use magic to regain magic, not that it works out most of the time, haha.
http://www.facebook.com/jeanmichel.chambert Rvd Jean-Michel Chambert

So you think this game is too hard ?
I didn’t have this problem, well yes the combat controls kinda sucks but I’ve seen worse (it’s not Iron Man or Dr. Jekyll).

I bought this game a few months ago. I never played it before, I heard it was a good game with really great Lovecraft like story (and I’m an avid Lovecraft reader, I really love that genious writer).
I played the ame and finished it twice now and I gotta say I had fun with this. It wasn’t as scary as Silent Hill 2 or Amnesia, it was also clunky as hell but man this was of hell of an experience.

Derek I think you should reconsider this game (but maybe it’s not your thing), play it again and finish this time. You don’t always need to kill every monster. After a while I got passed of the clunky combat mechanics, you’ll get used to it.
http://www.facebook.com/jayethomas30 Jay Thomas

Awesome, finally a real HVGN episode
Alfredo

so, Charlies Angels and the other stuff from “Is It Really So Bad” should be played, but this shouldn’t?

kaleion

OK, he never said that, and really if he doesn’t like it who cares, I mean I still think it’s amazing and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one, besides I for example have actually a lot of the same problems with Resident Evil, and I personally think it’s awful and I can’t stand it, does that means that it sucks, no it only means I don’t like it even though I like games that are similar to it, like Eternal Darkness, so really I’m just thinking he just can’t stand this game in the same way I can’t stand RE, even though they are similar.

http://www.facebook.com/cfwhite77 Chris White

I agree that the combat feel a little aged. But I think you might be approaching the combat wrong. I hardly ever have issues with my sanity meter running low, especially not it running out. In a common play through I usually only completely loose sanity twice, maybe three times during a play through.
Frederick Lembart

The trapper dimension is not something good! You should avoid or kill the trappers with ranged weapons.

Use more magic !

Every enemy has a weakness, use the magic incantations accordingly ( this will make the combat really easy! ), for example: use green magic to defeat blue monsters.

Aphbiz

He’s right your not supposed to go to the trapper dimension, that’s not how you regain health or sanity.Use a spell for health,finish off enemys for health, and magic refills as you move around. If it gets tough just use Damage Field (Bankorok + Redgormor). For instance that “Gorilla Monster” you fought. If you cast damage field right at the entrance to his room you can stand in it let him get close and attack. He will take damage from your attack and the spell and wont last long. It’s an easy game if you use your magic properly for both offensive and defensive things.

MichaelD

Indeed if you use your magic well the game becomes easier and easier. Once you get the green rune you can bring your sanity back not to mention if you can find the purple one. Take your time plan your magic well and stay prepared and its easy.

Mason

I actually just played through this game for the first time two weeks ago. I will concede that the combat hasn’t quite aged well, in that it felt a little clunky, but I never found myself in a situation where I thought the game was broken. Actually, and I’m not saying this to be an ass, I thought the game was fairly easy. I only died a handful of times as I played through it.

I’d just like to point out a few things. First, are you aware that you can regain sanity by casting the Recover spell with the green alignment? Second, are you aware that your magic replenishes as you move around? If you’re extra low on sanity, try casting a spell to bring it back up, run around in circles for a few seconds, and cast another recover spell. This will help you when you’re desperately in need of a sanity fix. I never really found myself doing this very much, though. Like you said, it always pays to do finishing moves. This may have had something to do with the alignment that I picked while playing as Pious in the beginning of the game. I’ve only played through it once, but I suspect that, depending on which one you pick, certain enemies will drain certain stats faster. I picked the blue one and I didn’t have any real trouble throughout the game. Maybe try that?

While I did find that the combat system hadn’t really aged too well, I did find myself adjusting to it fairly well. I primarily used my melee weapons throughout the whole game, and I found that the best way to dispatch foes is to aim for their head. Don’t even bother with the arms or torso. Most enemies will go down with just a few hits. You mentioned the “gorilla-like” enemies (Horrors) having an unavoidable attack. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure I was able to avoid that attack. I know that some of the later enemies have a similar attack and that I was able to avoid that one, and I think the same applies to the enemy in question.

Having said all of that, though, I would definitely say that this game isn’t for everyone. Personally, I found it to be an amazing experience, but, then again, the combat system seemed to click with me. I think that with everyone’s input, it might be worth it for you to revisit the game. But, then again, maybe this game just isn’t for you. Either way, keep up the great work, man. I’m really looking forward to the Parasite Eve video.
Aphbiz

I actually played this again recently so i was glad to stumble across your video. Too me at least, its still just as good as it’s ever been.I’ve beaten it a couple times and never died once(even when I was thirteen or so when it came out) so what exactly are you having trouble with control wise?Also, Im not sure if you know this; but depending on which ruin you pick at the beginning, it not only changes the difficulty but the way you have to play. For instance the skeletons that can look at you and take your sanity would take your health if you picked a different rune. I really think you should beat the game for story at least.
What I would suggest is to look up which runes do what, then start a new game and pick the one that you think fits your playstyle. If you still don’t like it after that than I guess it’s just not for you. Have a nice day.
Fsnews

I used to purposely lose sanity to check out the effects. I always thought the chick in the green outfit was hot too.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_2BOP4Z5KE5N7T5MUGIV6TEFMT4 Thomas

Your review actually makes me want to finally sit down and play this game now, after being seriously tempted to do so numerous times. (:

On a completely unrelated note, I’d like to suggest you take a look at Corpse Party this Halloween. I know JewWario already covered it, but I’d be very, very curious to see what YOU have to say about a game that… honestly has very little gameplay, and mostly just tells an extraordinarily creepy, painfully atmospheric story.

Full disclosure, I’m the guy who translated the game, so I do have a personal bias here… but it’s honestly one of my favorite survival horror games of all time since before I even knew it was a possibility that I might one day be working on it, and I *think* you’d really like it as well — especially since you enjoyed Sweet Home so much, which is probably the closest comparison I can think of (aside from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, anyway).

Just something to keep in mind! Sorry to be such a blatant shill, but honestly, I speak as a fanboy here first and foremost.
josh the nes nerd

i have never played it but looks as if their slow like Michael Meyers so if you use any common sense you should be able to defend easily with your brains
Guest

Don’t bother beating this game. Unless you’re willing to go through it three full times, then you’ll never get the “good” ending.
http://www.facebook.com/barry.carenza Barry Carenza

Yes you should finish it. I enjoyed it back and launch and just replayed it again (was easier this time). I found nothing wrong with the combat and had a blast. Sometimes you have to roll with the punches as they say. Just try again. From one gamer to another. And if you’re still having problems, invest in an Action Replay lol.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bill-Collignon/100000084787504 Bill Collignon

Did you know that you can actually heal your sanity health? Worried about your magic meter? If you run around, your magic will gradually recharge. Now knowing these things, your problems will be minimized while trying to play Eternal Darkness again.
http://twitter.com/RetroGamerRy Ryan Rardin

Also, try choosing another artifact at the beginning of the game if you’re finding it too difficult. Red means enemies deal more damage to your health, but less to your sanity. Green is the opposite of red, and blue just makes enemies take magic from you sometimes. I’d go with the blue artifact first because magic regenerates over time.

http://profile.yahoo.com/CTMCQK35AUT37FP7ULITVC4DOQ eric

And you get the ability to restore health and sanity early on and restore magic has no effect whatsoever.

http://www.facebook.com/aaanswine Alex Answine

just wanted to say that the gorilla monster’s (known as a “horror”) attack is not unavoidable. The energy attack will target the place where you are standing at the time he casts it, so all you have to do is move from your current spot to dodge it
http://www.facebook.com/people/Niko-Lähteenmäki/1319051384 Niko Lähteenmäki

Okay, so I’m at the chapter nine right now and I have to say this too: It is still a gem. My only complain is that the fighting mechanism is pretty good most of the time (aim for the head first and then arms), but when you are in a tight corridor with 2-5 enemies, it gets really stiff. However, there aren’t that many spots when this happens, so YES: give the game one more chance! And this time:
1) Try to remember that blows to the head and arms are more effective than blows to the body
2) Finish the enemy EVERY SINGLE TIME
3) USE the spells to keep your sanity and health meter high, it is not a shame to do so
4) Enchant your weapons! Sometimes that is a matter of life and death
Play the game through, I’m going to do so too!
kshade

The sanity meter is not just a gimmick, it’s an integral part of the game’s design that, I think, is supposed to make you play whatever character you’re playing as more like the protagonist of a horror novel, ie NOT someone who jumps into combat, all guns blazing. I played this game four years ago, pretty much right after going through the whole Silent Hill series, and while the combat isn’t exactly the centerpiece of the game it didn’t feel worse than it is in those games, with the tank controls and the constant need to stomp on things. Also the path you chose at the beginning will determine which meter you will have to worry the most about, conveniently color coded. The red one seems to be the easiest for me.
Jfkwasfunny

Once I found out that you were gunna finally do Eternal Darkness, I played thru it for the 6th time. Play it all the way thru please, for your own sake. From the footage that was shown in your video, I think your almost half way through and theres much more to experience. Now… If you want to take it really far, play thru it 3 times with different beginning choices effecting the endings and you will be treated to a 4th and final ending cutscene that explains SO much. Honestly, play thru it once and look up the video on youtube or something if your not enjoying the battle problems (I totally agree with you and so do so many other peeps). Its like killer 7′s ending, everything adds up at the end to make you feel accomplished and relieved that its all over.

Love your videos,
keep the peace!
Gold_Ultima

It’s funny, I actually played this in January and found it quite easy compared to when I played it as a teen. I thought the combat was a little too easy actually, since I was rarely hit by enemies, and actually felt that the controls made the game less scary, since enemies could be dispatched so quickly if you slash in the correct places. You didn’t really mention, but where you aware that you could choose what appendage to slice off? You also seemed to be aiming for the torso on enemies that you shouldn’t quite often in the footage. Enchanting your weapon only made it even more freakishly easy.

It’s crucial to understand that certain enemies take away certain things and that your decision for what rune to pick at the beginning of the game changes your path through the game a fair amount as well as the ending. Also, you get magic that replenishes things like your sanity, health and even your magic meter, making the game even easier.

So overall, if I had any complaint it would be that the game is a breeze overall, but fun to blast through when you are in the mood for horror, and don’t want to deal with the controls of a game like Resident Evil. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it Darek, but of course, no big deal if you don’t.
Krisi92

I guess there are already enough comments here, so you probably won’t read this, but…
Yes, I really do like this game, and yes, I’ve beaten it recently.
It does get easier once you learn both health and sanity recovery spells.
The trapper dimension is something you usually want to avoid. They can make things a little quicker, but they are not safe at all, and it’s annoying if many of them are in the same room, so just take them out. Also, you have to shoot the only trapper in Max’s level to get its autopsy.
You can refill your magick by running around. So if you are in an empty room, you should do that. Refill everything.
Also, I never had problems with the combat system. They work just fine. You should usually aim for the head of a monster so it dies more quickly. Blocking wouldn’t really make sense in my opinion… How is a young girl or an old man supposed to block an arm swing from a giant monster?
Alexander-Crossover

Damn, now I really want to play this game again, hope my old wireless controller for the Gamecube works for my wii. I should have kept my old gamecube.
Fredrik Norr Dax

I played through it semi-recently, and I found the game to have pretty much the same issues now as it had back when it was released, so that has not changed. Controls were not all that good back when it was brand new either, and the camera could sometimes get in the way.

The trappers are meant to be a bit of a double edged sword, and not a pure bonus room. Sometimes you want to be capture by one, but most of the time, you don’t.

The trick to playing this game is proper use of magic. You will need to master the magic system in order to finish this game. Also, the rune you picked at the start of the game will have a pretty big impact on the game itself.
Another thing that you need to learn is how to target specific enemy bodyparts on the fly. It can be a bit awkward at first, but it is doable.
Alexander-Crossover

Well I took your advice and went right back and beat the game to see
if what you said is true and honestly you’re wrong, both you Derek and
you SwedishKuriboh.

Now I remember the game the first
time I played and I had some difficulty but after a few tries I figured
things out, and you know what, I’m surprised that you had such a hard
time with the combat expecially since in the first chapter you learn how
to target limbs. Here’s the secret to combat: for zombies hit the head
by targeting with R and holding up then do the arms (holding left and
right) then just attack if it’s still alive, against the gorillas (known
properly as Horrors) just get clsoe and chop the heads. Oh and for the
magic, it’s damn easy to avoid, as soon as you see him charging up just
run in any direct and you’ll avoid it, I haven’t taken a single hit from
them even when the invisible stamina meter is low.

As
for finishing moves, I’m surprised you didn’t notice that a “dead” enemy
blinks to tell you that it’s dead so you can finish it. Yes I admit
that it takes a while to get used to the controls but it’s a lot mroe
fluid that Tank style in pre-RE4 resident evil games, I wonder if you
went into this expecting more of a “Splatterhouse” style of controls as
opposed to Resident Evil or Silent Hill, yes it’s a bit clunky but it’s
clunky for the same reason that RE and SH are, because you’re not
supposed to be a combat powerhouse, well except for Pious and the last
flashback character.

And yes, I know that the trapper dimention is a good place to heal but you should avoid it in general.

Now, Derek, should you keep playing this game? Yes!

Eternal
Darkness was the first Survival horror game I ever played and when I
first played it I thought it was a MYST style puzzle game and examined
anything and everything, I even spent a lot of time in the room with the
telescope, trying to figure out that puzzle (which isn’t important till
later) and the story and combat only get better as you go. Now yes it
is a bit hard to fight in that game and it takes some learning to do so,
but then again so do games like Splatterhouse and Ninja Gaiden, both of
which are considered classics but hard to fight in unless you know what
you’re doing and until you get used to the controls.

This
game has some really freak-out moments, if your sanity is low after
Paul Luther’s chapter then you will see a very creepy site when you go
to the piano, then of course there’s the close up bathtub *shudders*.

The
game gets better the farther you go, both because of plot, atmosphere
and the introduction of guns, though the final battle is a bit tricky if
you didn’t find the secret “Infinity+1 sword” which I can guide you to
if you wish. I’ve beaten this game about five or six times total
(including the time just now I beat it) and I can safely say that, yes
it has flaws, particularly in combat, but you’re not giving it enough
credit.

Honestly, when Yatzhee can recommend a game
over you, I really have to doubt your efforts here. Seriously, Yatzhee
of Zero Punctuation loves this game and we all know how high his
standards are.
http://profile.yahoo.com/CTMCQK35AUT37FP7ULITVC4DOQ eric

Auto targeting? I always chose my targets manually, that’s part of the fun!
http://profile.yahoo.com/CTMCQK35AUT37FP7ULITVC4DOQ eric

Also, I disagree with the finisher thing. Just look for a flashing “B” button, you can also use magic for sanity and health. Only the blue zombies blow up, you gotta remove their heads (IIRC) or kill them quickly because they start chanting when you remove their arms. Magic regenerates slowly, the trapper dimension is *NOT* a healing room, it’s a trap as per the name “trapper” which has an opportunity to heal magic, sanity, or health.

All told I think you’re playing it wrong: you mislabel certain gameplay elements (the trapper rooms), unaware of certain elements (you don’t manually choose the body parts to slash relying instead on auto-targeting I never used which is bad because removing the head is how you prevent loss of sanity from an enemy’s gaze), and not to brag but the only times I had trouble maintaining sanity was on Xel’Lotath’s (sp?) branch which doesn’t give you the magic to restore until much later in the game than the other paths.
Joshua Curtis

Alright I’m going to be fair here Derek because I actually do like your reviews so let me get that out of the way first before I go further.

This was a good Impressions video but that’s only what it could be considered because you didn’t finish the game before making the video. Taking it as such I really can’t say I agree or disagree because of the simple fact that I have not played this game before so verdict on whether to get this game ,for me at least at the moment, is invalid.

I’d say that you should go through the game start to finish and then give the game a proper review as we’ll know that you have finished it and then I’ll be able to make a good determination on whether to get this game or not because honestly I wanted to get this game for a while but never had a proper review to go by.

Have a good day man and take it easy
Gussy

wow i’m going to have to look for a copy of this game, thanks Derek for broadening my horizons
MichaelD

Most frustrating review ever I just want to take Derek aside and show him a few tricks….
Allseeneye

I really like this game, but if you dont prepare before combat, you´ll die quick, the oponents dont leave the room they are so go back a room, there are plenty of magic, form a shild, defend orves, etc. that if you dont use it, your just being cheap, the magic auto fill itself
http://twitter.com/jesternario jesternario

(I’m writing this as running commentary to the video)
* I have played this game lately. In fact, it’s one of my favorite games to play regularly (annually, in fact)

* Biggest way of dealing with combat is to aim for the head. Zombies are color coded for convenience. Green will keep fighting without a head, but most of the zombies will stand in place and randomly attack what’s in front of them, allowing you to kill at your leisure. red will regrow their heads eventually, while blue can’t use their explosive attacks if they can’t scream.

*first spell you should have casted in your example was a three-point “heal health” spell, followed by “heal sanity.” keep both at three point spells on your quick cast.

*trappers are best to avoid and kill. they can’t see you, so as long as you’re not walking, you do fine. As for the trapper dimension, its not a healing place, it’s a place of punishment that is designed to annoy you. Just use the healing spells on health and sanity (you can even use them for MAGIC).

*Yes, its a good game and is worth playing through to the end (though the ending seems somewhat cathartic to me). The later levels make the whole experience worth it, in my opinion. The game take place in only a few locations over and over again as the years go by, making you constantly go “Hey! I remember this place. It’s so different now!
If you keep your sanity up with “Heal sanity (green heal spell),” the sanity aspect is non-existant (which can take some of the fun out of the game. it’s up to you).

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