I've always been interested in trying out Eternal Darkness, though I don't own a Gamecube so I never got the chance hahaa
Interesting perspective on the fourth wall breaking moments. I do agree that they can potentially rip you out of the games atmosphere, I suppose the best way to approach it is by having not many of them so that it doesn't affect it all that much. It's sad to hear though that the game hasn't really aged all that well! But as you said not every game needs to and I think Eternal Darkness has gotten the respect it deserves in recent years.
Though I still love the concept behind fourth wall breaking. Two of my favourite instances of it are definitely within Batman: Arkham Asylum and Spec Ops: The Line.
Arkham Asylum is a perfect instance of only doing it once and it paying off well. I won't say where or how it is in case people haven't checked it out already but it's rather jarring when it happens

. Though what I love is how it makes some semblance of sense within the actual game, given the powers and capabilities of one of the villians.
Though my favourite instance of fourth wall breaking is definitely within Spec Ops: The Line.
What I love about this is how gradual it is as it starts off like a predictable and same old, same old FPS. But slowly and surely the real concepts and ideas behind the game come to fruition. Along with this gradual change are instances of fourth wall breaking moments such as the various quotes on loading screens and certain pieces of dialogue that are spoken throughout the game. What I love about them though is how they don't rip you out off the experience, I mean the loading screen fouth wall breaking make sense as that's one of the most "gamey" parts of the experience. The certain pieces of dialogue are rather subtle however as they are meant to be spoken to the protagonist, but could be interpreted as something meant for the player as well. The pinnacle of this fourth wall breaking however comes right at the end when you find the person you've been looking for through the entire game. Even though he's talking to the protagonist, you can clearly construe that he's talking directly to you the player also.
Man I forgot how much I loved Spec Ops: The Line hahaha

Might even replay it at some point soon once I'm done with this work!
But back on topic, I'm sure I'll get around to trying Eternal Darkness eventually, just to see how I personally find it
