“A secret war is being raged on the periphery of Humanity’s perceptions—a war wreathed in shadows and deception.” Thus is the conflict of Eternal Darkness as quoted in the instruction booklet. An earlier re-lease for Nintendo Game-Cube, Eternal Darkness chron-icles the collective journey of a large cast of playable characters chosen to thwart world domination by ancient god-like entities that reside beyond the veil of reality. You’ll solve puzzles, battle monstrosities, and acquire arcane knowledge to combat the supernatural, passing on the fruits of your labors to the next of the many chosen. Eternal Darkness is a tale of novel proportions. Alex Roivas, the present day central character, returns to the family’s Rhode Island estate where her grandfather is found headless and mutilated. With no indication of forceful entry, and total lack of forensic evidence, the police provide no answers. Alex must now search the old mansion alone for clues to the demise of her only living relative. Eventually finding her grandfather’s secret study, Alex discovers a giant book bound in flesh: the Tome of Eternal Darkness. Upon opening the book, she becomes the heir to a legacy of chosen souls, their destinies intertwined within the pages of the Tome. Each individual quest is revealed when Alex locates a page from the Tome of Eternal Darkness. Many pages are to be found within the Roivas Family Mansion, trans-versing across two millennia to Persia, Cambodia, and France. Weapons wielded are authentic to the time period and region. More contemporary characters have guns, while most of the others are subject to melee weapons. Spell casting—with an innovative rune system—plays a major role in battle as well as puzzle solving. On the topic of innovation, The designers of Eternal Darkness have applied insanity effects that disorient and confuse the player. Rooms tilt, voices whisper around you, even paintings of landscapes turn into grotesque images. Many subtle effects appear as you slip further off the deep end, as an actual sanity meter displays how far you’ve gone. Each character is unique in terms of how much insanity can be lost. In 1760, you’re set in the role of Alex’s great great grandfather. Back in the Rhode Island Mansion (featuring out-house plumbing and possessed servants) Maximillian Roivas has his own ill-fated mystery to solve. Being middle aged and having considerable girth, Max can’t run too fast or too long; but he can cast more spells. While in the 1991 Middle East, healthy firefighter Michael Edwards has a big gun high- life, and never runs short on breath; yet he has really low magic and sanity. This equilibrium of strengths and weaknesses is found in every carrier of the cursed Tome; from Pious Augustus in the Roman Legion of 26 B.C. to the very night of Edward Roivas’s final nightcap. A compelling and fantastic story unfolds through excellent graphics, detailed environmental ambiance, talented voice-actors, and artfully directed cut scenes. At some point in time, this game does make you question the reality around you. Best played alone with the lights off and the sound up, Eternal Darkness engrosses and intrigues. In the unanswered final words of Maximillian Roivas, “May the rats eat your eyes! THE DARKNESS COMES!!!.”
Plymouth State University
Thursday, June 26, 2025