dancrane212
Member
If I remember right the
game doesn't make a big deal out of creatures being in the mansion when it finally happens either
insanity effect at first
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LTTP: Eternal Darkness (OMG, whaaaaaat?)
- Thread starter The perfect Dark
- Start date
If I remember right the
The perfect Dark
Banned
This is just sad. Games after Gamecube/Ps2/Xbox went in the wrong direction (except for the Wii). I can't stand these cinematic AAA games anymore. I want more oldschool games with clever level design and replayability. I want to use my brain. I want to solve puzzles. I want to get stuck.
Thank god Nintendo hardware is pretty much unbreakable so I can replay all these great games as often as I want.
Nothing beats the
Blue Screen of Death Sanity effect for me. I though my Gamecube broke
TheRedSnifit
Member
It failed because it was set up by Dennis Dyack.
I'm pretty sure there's an interview with ex-Silicon Knights guys saying that the game was a mess until Nintendo stepped in and basically took over the management.
Schopenhauerian
Member
For those who may not have seen it yet, Mama Robotniks long research thread (A post-mortem of Silicon Knights) is definitely worth reading:
wow. thats too bad. Having the backing of Nintendo at a high level is a big deal. Tho i understand the wish to develop more ambitious projects.
They really could've done more with the IPs they were being offered than with Too Human. Oh well.
Sammy Samusu
Member
Retro better pull through. The sequel is coming.
Zap Rowsdower
Banned
Silicon Knights were the textbook example of a dev that a needed a publisher breathing down their neck otherwise they made nothing but garbage.
The perfect Dark
Banned
Oh my god. This is painful to read, lol.
SporeCrawler
Member
Incredible game. 2002 was incredible for gamecube when we had REmake, Eternal Darkness, Sunshine, RE0, Metroid Prime, Zelda WW all in one year (and that was before I even finished the first flood of games Pikmin, Luigis mansion, Smash Bros Melee).
Eternal Darkness is a game that is really unique imho. I think only bloodborne was really similar in tone to this game.
Eternal Darkness is a game that is really unique imho. I think only bloodborne was really similar in tone to this game.
Z..
Member
The writing in RE is pretty much as crap as the writing in ED, it just doesn't even try where as ED pretends it's better than it is. I thought ED had amazing writing/story when I first played it in 2003. It absolutely does nail the tone and atmosphere to a T, but the actual story is paper thin and completely meaningless. The voice acting and soundtrack help elevate it to the point where it's very easy to mistake the hoakey posturing for actual quality but in all honesty, it is a complete disappointment with nothing to say.
The NGC along with the Dreamcast were formative machines/libraries for my gaming tastes and up until I actually replayed it last year ED was a game I counted among my all time favorites, but going back to it was a tremendously disappointing endeavor.
As for the gameplay and where it stands compared to RE, I really cannot agree at all. The level design in ED is amateur hour compared to the brilliantly designed mazes REmake and RE 2 provide. The levels are incredibly shallow and the gameplay, while decent, is completely unremarkable. It really doesn't help that the game is not scary at all. It's one saving grace are the much touted sanity effects, but quite frankly they quickly become an afterthought and a nuisance more than anything else, especially since you'd really have to actively sabotage yourself to ever realistically encounter them since the magic system is so broken (ie. easy to abuse and renders the game laughably easy) and at the end of the day do they even add anything to the game?
I revisited the game in the context of replaying my fav 6th gen horror games and saved it for last because my memory told me it was the crowing jewel. REmake, Silent Hill 2/3, Fatal Frame 2, Siren 2, Code Veronica and RE 0 all held up nicely (with varying degrees of greatness)... Eternal Darkness (and Blue Stinger) is decent but hardly worth playing as anything more than a curio these days and it's something I'll probably never replay after this. 16 year old me had different priorities, it seems...
Regardless, if you're enjoying it more power to you! Kudos on the Sunshine avatar, btw... replayed it last year too and unlike ED I ended up loving it more than I ever did back in '02.
It's Reyn Time!
Member
Tier, Mantorok, Sequel, Pargon, Pargon, Pargon, Pargon.
The perfect Dark
Banned
I can see where you're coming from. And yes ED is not really a scary game but it has a very creepy atmosphere and that's what I love about it. The level design is more straightforward than RE Remake for example but I think the pacing is way better because of that.
Mario Sunshine is my favorite Mario game and I'm currently replaying it, too
Yeah i loved Bloodborne and it was the closest game to come to scratching that Eternal Darkness itch since a sequel never came out.
D
Deleted member 752119
Unconfirmed Member
I loved it. I rarely replay games and I played this back to back to back to do the three paths and get the full ending.
Succinct Verbosity
Member
I believe Nintendo own the rights, including the rights to the sanity engine
but isn't that at odds with Dyack's Kickstarter attempts?
if Silicon Kinghts don't own anything about the game, under what kind of legal ground were they allowed to kickstart sequels?
or was that some "bloodtstained" thing, were you just ask people for money to do a rip-off of the original?
Grimm Fandango
Member
I'd certainly buy a remastered edition.
TheRedSnifit
Member
"Spiritual successor."
Yeah it was pitched as a "spiritual successor" basically it was exactly like the Bloodstained situation. Its also worth mentioning that the specific demo they shoved for the Kickstarter was from the cancelled Eternal Darkness 2. At some point roughly in 2010-2012 it seemed Nintendo was interested in developing a sequel with Silicon Knights but that ended up getting cancelled since Sillicon Knights at that point were pretty much almost bankrupt. So they just relaunched it as a spiritual successor under a different name.
I don't want to rain on anyone's parade with this post, but I wonder if any of you guys who really love this game see the same problems that I do, and how you overlook them or whatever.
I really like the atmosphere and the collection of short, connected narratives, but I get bored by the repetitive locations (cathedral, mansion and especially the ruined temple) and some repetitive elements, like the late-game mission where you are
I also think that the sanity system could be better. I think that it's too simple to cure with magic. I admit, this could also be because I played on the blue rune version. Doesn't it make magic more powerful? Someone else in this thread mentioned that having a visible sanity meter also makes it too easy to know when you need to heal your mind. Maybe Sanity could be restored through a limited consumable item instead?
Great atmosphere, creative narrative, but clunky levels and slightly broken mechanics.
I really like the atmosphere and the collection of short, connected narratives, but I get bored by the repetitive locations (cathedral, mansion and especially the ruined temple) and some repetitive elements, like the late-game mission where you are
Edward Rovias running around in the city below the mansion putting runes in pylons.
I also think that the sanity system could be better. I think that it's too simple to cure with magic. I admit, this could also be because I played on the blue rune version. Doesn't it make magic more powerful? Someone else in this thread mentioned that having a visible sanity meter also makes it too easy to know when you need to heal your mind. Maybe Sanity could be restored through a limited consumable item instead?
Great atmosphere, creative narrative, but clunky levels and slightly broken mechanics.
My personal opinion, of course...
I loved reusing the same environments over and over, if only to see how these familiar areas changed over the centuries. While they were "the same", the layout of the levels changed radically and, more importantly, you began to see the ravages of time or the issues of the era crop up. Playing as an ancient temple guardian one era, then jumping forward hundreds of years to an adventurer exploring the ruins of that civilization felt inspired. Watching a Crusade-era church shift into a makeshift hospital during World War 1 was dynamic. It wasn't just the characters that changed with time, but these familiar places also took on new life and new perspectives from the eyes of those who revisited them centuries later. I thought that was supremely cool, especially as you encountered remnants of prior actions performed by prior characters. A puzzle already solved, a door already opened, or sometimes getting to the exact point your old character perished and pushing beyond into something new.
Loved playing as Paul Luthor and having to kill the zombified husk of Anthony that was locked in that one room, as an example.
I honestly didn't mind the puzzle elements either. Then again, I'm from the era of block puzzles and old-fashioned, early-3D stuff, so Eternal Darkness was a step up from there but I acknowledge it's a tad old-fashioned now (but I still don't mind it).
Yes, depending on the rune you initially chose, that can affect lots of gameplay from that point forward. I played through all three times, and it's a lot harder to manage magic if you go red or green. I'll also admit outright that I, too, wish the "sanity meter" was invisible or less easy to track. Whenever my sanity was low, I was EXPECTING things to go south or get weird, and a lot of the trickery I experienced would have worked a lot better if I never had seen it coming. With certain spells, it was way too easy to get sanity back as well. I wish it had been more under-the-hood, like Silent Hill 2's profiling system, but I still appreciate it being in the game in any form at all.
plushyp
Member
Is this true or hopeful speculation?
Deadpool_X
Banned
OP, based on the color alignment you picked at the beginning of the game, it changes the enemies you face and the difficulty of the game. To get the true ending, you have to play all 3. Even if the true ending is a little weak, it's worth it just to experience the game all 3 ways.
Earthbound64
Banned
Agreed. I love that in this game, and wish more games did stuff like it.
The perfect Dark
Banned
wait what? I picked green...what does than mean?
Small sample of the bestiary changes.
Yeah, the alignment you pick at the beginning alters the enemies, the puzzles, and the story in both small and large ways.
Depending on which artifact you chose in the first chapter it changes some stuff in the game. like enemies,cut scenes and how you solve certain puzzles. Its fine if you picked green as your first.
The perfect Dark
Banned
lastrealgameralive
Member
I. Person mentioning T-rating would better suit the game.
Don't agree with this because the M-rated moments provide a jolt to the player that could not be adequately substituted for under a T-rating. You'd diminish the horror. But it does leave me curious on how much content from the game would have to be cut had they PG-13'd the game?
II. Persons downplaying the game's scare factor.
I see this a lot where people state that Resident Evil 4 was never scary to them because they've beaten the game so much they've somehow blocked out their first playthrough. Eternal Darkness isn't as scary as REmake, which I contribute mostly to the stages taking place in more open areas, but it certainly has enough scary moments that freak the player out. It is interesting to see that critique of the game's sanity effect being too easy to keep stable. (I felt the crimson heads were too easy to prevent in REmake fyi.) While that is true for the most part, I still had one particular occasion where I got a little careless and the game freaked me out far harder than any other horror game. The sanity gauge was handled rather well in that it lets you get cocky and punishes you when you least expect it.
Don't agree with this because the M-rated moments provide a jolt to the player that could not be adequately substituted for under a T-rating. You'd diminish the horror. But it does leave me curious on how much content from the game would have to be cut had they PG-13'd the game?
II. Persons downplaying the game's scare factor.
I see this a lot where people state that Resident Evil 4 was never scary to them because they've beaten the game so much they've somehow blocked out their first playthrough. Eternal Darkness isn't as scary as REmake, which I contribute mostly to the stages taking place in more open areas, but it certainly has enough scary moments that freak the player out. It is interesting to see that critique of the game's sanity effect being too easy to keep stable. (I felt the crimson heads were too easy to prevent in REmake fyi.) While that is true for the most part, I still had one particular occasion where I got a little careless and the game freaked me out far harder than any other horror game. The sanity gauge was handled rather well in that it lets you get cocky and punishes you when you least expect it.
Earthbound64
Banned
I actually found the fact that it was more open to keep me even more on edge, since stuff could sneak up on you from anywhere, and I constantly felt like the direction I was facing wasn't the one that I needed to be watching out for, that something was lurking in a corner just out of sight.
The perfect Dark
Banned
The moving statue (head) gives me the creeps
The perfect Dark
Banned
I can't believe how good this game is. This is definitely going to be in my Top 10 best games ever made list. Woah.
I'm currently in the chapter where you play
.
So many "Wait, I've been here before" - moments. I love it.
I'm currently in the chapter where you play
Paul Luther
So many "Wait, I've been here before" - moments. I love it.
That's one of my favorite chapters. The mystery of that chapter is thick with dread and darkness.
lastrealgameralive
Member
Ah. The horror of open spaced venues versus cramped rooms and hallways.
I. Persons requesting sequel
Why not a remake instead? Imagine playing through the game with remixed rooms in stages and a complete revamping of the final stage. All that but with a very important feature I'd like to see implemented: player decisions creating different scenarios to take place like in Clock Tower [SuperFamicom]. If you had that and made slight changes to the sanity effects gauge to make it slightly more challenging to manage..! A Sanity + Scenario system.
The perfect Dark
Banned
Just finished it. Yeah this chapter was really good and the ending was pretty brutal. I love the design of this game, I really love the gameplay. So much puzzle solving.
This is one of those games (like classic RE or Silent Hill) that needs to come back. I don't mean Eternal Darkness 2 (that would be awesome though). I'm talking about creepy adventure horror games with lots of puzzles and great level design. I'm talking about games that try to be games and not movies.
I don't give a shit about motion capturing or intense action scenes. I just want my old horror games...I want puzzles. I don't want baby puzzles like in RE7.
The perfect Dark
Banned
Sorry for DP but is there a NG+ when you start a new playthrough or do you have to find all the spells again (and combine them)?
There is a new game plus of sorts in order to get the true ending you will need to replay the game on your old save file. You will have to find all the spells again though.Since the main runes will be acquired in a different order.
Shikamaru Ninja
任天å ã® å¿è
Coming from Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen, I was disappointed with the overall narrative and presentation of the game. It was good - just couldn't help but feel they didn't fully realize the potential of this game.
Then I played Too Human. I realized my expectations would never be satisfied. .
Then I played Too Human. I realized my expectations would never be satisfied. .
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
I was a backer of the successor. I made a series of videos chronicling the experience (in part):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk2KigdcNxU&list=PLZ0_3R0YqxTx3X4hVI3hsYAK_-STd0xzg
I was a backer of the successor. I made a series of videos chronicling the experience (in part):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk2KigdcNxU&list=PLZ0_3R0YqxTx3X4hVI3hsYAK_-STd0xzg
I wanted to back it... but... this was a strange case. I adored Eternal Darkness, but at this point Silicon Knights, and especially Dyack, had developed an incredibly caustic reputation.
It's a situation where if someone else fronted the money, I would buy the game at release, but I didn't have enough faith in them to entrust my own funding to the project.
And that sucks, because, again, I adored Eternal Darkness and I was hoping Shadow of the Eternals would meet its goal.
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Crowdfunding was new and sensational, and coverage was also still kind of new and sensational. I don't think it was a surprise to Precursor Games that Dyack would be a controversial figure.
I think it was a surprise to them that a fully functional demo built in CryEngine over 10 months--unusual for crowdfunding at the time--was dismissed and even reported as if it was lifted right from Silicon Knights' leaked Unreal variant work on the follow-up. And I think it was a surprise to them that having Dyack in a non-business capacity, not leading the company, was pretty much ignored. ¯\(°_o)/¯
In any case, if you want to support the company formed by the CEO Paul Caporicci and COO Shawn Jackson and other members of Precursor Games (who were ex-Silicon Knights), they formed a new studio called Creative Bytes after PG folded up and they just put out a trailer for a new game called Embers of Mirrim:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpCJlMLiKSQ
Looks cool, but not very Eternal Darkness-y. (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻