Between Doom 3, Thief Deadly Shadows, Rome Total War, GTA San Andreas, and Half-Life 2 – to name but a few – 2004 was quite the year for gaming. A halcyon 12 months that saw the launch of classic after classic, it’s little wonder that some great games went unnoticed. Such is the benefit of hindsight – with the likes of Steam and CDPR’s GOG, we can jump back in time and try some of the best games that we missed the first time around. Combining elements of Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, and Remedy’s Control, one of the best works of TimeSplitters developer Free Radical is now less than $3. If you haven’t played it, or maybe even have never heard of it, you’re in for a treat.
Second Sight is an awkward pitch. Even in a quieter year, this one part squad shooter, one part stealth game, and one part mind-bending psychological thriller might have been a tricky sell. It was also a severe departure from TimeSplitters, the rapid-pace FPS for which Free Radical had been famous, and seemed to struggle from a slightly muted marketing campaign. Throw in Psi-Ops The Mindgate Conspiracy, another third-person adventure with a telekinesis gimmick, that launched just two months earlier, and you can see why Second Sight struggled to make the splash it deserved.
You are John Vattic, an MIT scientist and researcher who discovers something horrible hidden in Siberia. Taken into custody by the United States’ intelligence services, you awaken in an isolation cell to find that you’ve developed a range of psychic powers, including telekinesis and telepathy. A mixture of combat, puzzles, dialogue, and exploration, Second Sight was ahead of its time – if you’re a big fan of Remedy’s more recent work, especially the aforementioned Control, but also Quantum Break and Alan Wake, Second Sight is worth your time.
And now it’s available for the low price of $2.47 / £2.05, a total bargain for one of gaming’s greatest forgotten gems. With a soundtrack by Graeme Norgate of Goldeneye fame and a twisting, turning story that will always leave you shocked (no spoilers) you can get Second Sight right now.
Alternatively, try some of the other best story games, if you really enjoy a good yarn. You might also want to play some of the best horror games, as we find ourselves in the spookiest of months.