You can't really sell a whole game alone on that one short sequence - as good as it is - although it's nice to see this pop up on GOG.
Getting caught or shot usually means you've failed to block/bolt a door or took the wrong turn.
It's more or less certain death if spotted on the streets but that's not necessarily a bad thing. They could've provided the player with a few tools to make a distraction - like in Splinter Cell / Metal Gear Solid / Thief.
I thought the game was decent up until the raid sequence.
If the game was re-done today it would likely be filled with idiot-proof QTE moments; smashing Cthulu himself in the face by hitting X.
The game doesn't particularly excel in any area and does a lot of stuff worse than many earlier games that came before it i.e. Deus Ex (2000), Thief (1998), System Shock (1994), etc.
It's all a bit clunky, muddy and blocky. Filled with game breaking bugs and left for dead by Bethesda.
The "sanity system" is nothing more than blurring your vision or applying another irritating effect.
The developers didn't appear to have any clue on where to take the gameplay once the player leaves Innsmouth but then their track record is
less than brilliant.
Turning it into a poorly executed shooter with respawning enemies was a bit of a cop out.
As a horror game I didn't particularly find it any jumpier than Aliens vs Predator (1999, 2001).
The whole thing probably would've worked a lot better as a classic Resident Evil style game aka
Alone in the Dark.
The GOG rating is just typical initial excitement over it's release - it probably deserves something closer to a 3/5.
I find it's lacking something extra to push it into greatness like
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (2006)