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.
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.