Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

Overview

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem is a 2002 horror game developed by Silicon Knights and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It was produced and directed by Denis Dyack. The game follows the story of several characters across a period of two millennia and four different locations on Earth, as they contend with an ancient evil who seeks to enslave humanity. The gameplay distinguishes itself with unique "sanity effects", visual and audial effects that confuse the player and often break the fourth wall.

Development on Eternal Darkness began after Nintendo, impressed with Silicon Knights' Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996), contacted the company to propose a collaboration on an original mature title. Silicon Knights based their concept around Lovecraftian horror and the Eternal Champion concept, and decidedly avoided making a survival horror game. It was originally planned for the Nintendo 64, and was mostly completed before development was moved to Nintendo's forthcoming home console, the GameCube. It was the first game published by Nintendo to receive an M (Mature) rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

While Eternal Darkness was widely acclaimed by critics and won numerous awards, the game was not a commercial success, selling less than 500,000 copies worldwide. A direct sequel to the game was explored but never materialized, and Silicon Knights went bankrupt and disbanded in 2013. Attempts by Dyack to make a spiritual successor entitled Shadow of the Eternals with his new studio Precursor Games failed both of their Kickstarter campaigns, leading to the project being placed on indefinite hold. In the years since Eternal Darkness' release, it has been regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time, as well as one of the best horror games ever made.

Official trailer

Trailer. Watch on YouTube

Gameplay

Eternal Darkness Sanity's Requiem [GameCube] 4K 60FPS Walkthrough/Longplay 2020 No Commentary, Alberto Blaze. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Puzzle, Adventure

Developer

Silicon Knights

Publisher

Nintendo

Platforms

Nintendo GameCube

Age rating

ESRB M

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

No

Co op

No

Age ratings

CLASS IND

18

ESRB

M

Release dates

Editions

Check out the store

Space and patches

Update patchNo patch

DLC

No DLC. GameCube games had no downloadable content.

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single player only, with no online features. The disc runs on a GameCube or a Wii with GameCube ports.

Online

Plays offlineYes

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale
Metacritic	GameCube	92	100

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale
IGN	9.6	10
Game Informer	9.5	10
GameSpot	9.4	10
Eurogamer	9	10
AllGame	3.5	5

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Developer	Silicon Knights
Publisher	Nintendo
Director	Denis Dyack
Producers	Denis Dyack, Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoru Iwata, Kenji Miki
Designers	Brad Furminger, Ted Traver
Programmers	James O'Reilly, Doug Tooley, Gina Grossi, Carey Murray
Artist	Ken McCulloch
Writers	Denis Dyack, Ken McCulloch
Composer	Steve Henifin

Notes for collectors

• The first game Nintendo published with an M rating, made by Canadian studio Silicon Knights.
• Sanity effects play tricks on the player when the sanity meter runs low, from fake TV and GameCube faults to a made-up To Be Continued screen. Nintendo patented the idea in 2005.
• Started as a Nintendo 64 game and was mostly finished before moving to GameCube.
• The story runs across two thousand years and twelve playable characters.
• Won the D.I.C.E. award for Outstanding Achievement in Character or Story Development.
• Sold fewer than 500,000 copies worldwide, and never had a re-release or sequel.

Credits

Publisher

Nintendo

Developer

Silicon Knights

Director

Denis Dyack

Released

2002-06-23

Age rating

ESRB M

Region

US

Time to beat

about 13.6 hours