Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem

Eternal Darkness is a Lovecraft-inspired survival horror from all the way back in 2002. It was made by Silicon Knights and released for Nintendo Gamecube only. However, thanks to emulators (Dolphin in this case), it’s possible for even me to play it without too much trouble. I did try it out when it was released, though, since I borrowed a friend’s Gamecube to play this game specifically and Resident Evil (the remaster). I don’t remember the reason, but I never got very far – I can only assume my focus was on finishing Resident Evil before I had to return the console. Anyway, here we are, and I have just completed Eternal Darkness, and what can I say? It’s a great addition to the genre, even if a bit linear at times. It did feel good to once again have to use tank controls and experience fixed camera angles. It’s kinda ironic because nowadays developers are hell-bent on cinematic experiences, yet, have totally ignored fixed camera angles, which to me personally feels very movie-like. If embraced, it would make their lives much easier since the game director has full control over what you will see and how.

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Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones – Cosmic Snorer

Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones is a Lovecraft-inspired RPG by the developers Cultic Games. I have completed this game once before when it was released back in 2019, but I got into a Lovecraft mood and remembered I had this game. But after spending about 10 hours in Arkham again, stuff is coming back to me why I didn’t like the game that much. It’s not all bad, though, it’s just a major disappointment for what could have been something good.

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Call of Cthulhu – Prepare for Madness

When it comes to games inspired by Lovecraft, you kinda know what to expect nowadays. There will be references to cosmic horror, madness, and cults, and the environments will have plenty of nautical elements. Call of Cthulhu by Cyanide Studio is no different. Besides the trope checklist, is it still a good experience? I would say yes, even if this kind of story has been told before. The writing is solid, and at times it actually felt true to the source material, which helps with the immersion.

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Alpha Polaris – The Crevasse of Madness

Alpha Polaris is a point & click adventure game from the Finnish studio Turmoil Games, their first, and unfortunately only game. From what I remember reading about them, they had no idea of the work they took on when creating this game. They thought it was going to be a relatively easy thing, but as it turned out making games is a tough job. This regrettably led to Turmoil Games disbanding (from what I know!), and while Alpha Polaris is a fine piece of entertainment it does fall apart a bit at the end, as in it comes a bit fast. Even so, I find it an awesome tale, and as it is known, adventure games live or die depending on the setting and story.

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