I put off playing the original for years, even though I've known and loved it for ages. I watched multiple playthroughs of it back then but never played it myself because I was always too scared to play it as an adolescent and young adult. I was just very sensitive to horror and have only now, at the age of 32, been able to catch up :D

It's incredible how well this game has aged. The atmosphere created by the great sound design and the graphic elements, as well as the level design, is incredibly dense. Of course, I already knew the story, but it is still very interesting, profound, mysterious and emotional. I already knew that the voice acting was a bit cheesy, but in some strange way it actually fits the story very well. I absolutely love how James' inner life is reflected in the world. I was also very touched by the stories of the NPCs, who are fighting their own demons and whose world looks very different to that of the player. I found Angela in particular and her fate very gripping and the theme of her trauma very tastefully handled. I was surprised by how easy the game was. I played on "Normal", was always quite frugal with the ammunition and ended up with several hundred rounds of ammo for all weapons :D I think I can be a bit more generous in future runs.

All in all, a unique experience which, with the Enhanced Edition, also runs totally smoothly on modern PCs.