i think people judge too much media by its ending. i choose to base my enjoyment around the journey and what i can take from it. a good ending is a cherry on top, not the point in playing.
sure the story kinda falls apart around the end, but all the crazy locales i visited beforehand were so memorable. so many memorable characters, so many beautifully pre-rendered scenes. i wish there were more games like this.
sure the story kinda falls apart around the end, but all the crazy locales i visited beforehand were so memorable. so many memorable characters, so many beautifully pre-rendered scenes. i wish there were more games like this.
Beautiful game with a very keen eye for detail. Very interesting story , exploring both the pysche and the traumas of the protagonist , Max.
Gameplay wise, the puzzles are a little too simple and contained , but for this particular title it works for keeping focus in each separate level .
The only reason this is not a 5 out of five , is because of the time sensitive labyrinth at the end of the Olmec section. In a point and click this type of desin is only anoying.
Gameplay wise, the puzzles are a little too simple and contained , but for this particular title it works for keeping focus in each separate level .
The only reason this is not a 5 out of five , is because of the time sensitive labyrinth at the end of the Olmec section. In a point and click this type of desin is only anoying.
Point n' click from the 90's with the best puzzles I've ever seen and that doesn't need a guide to play it.
Starts out as a psychological horror, but not much later turns into a really strange, surreal journey (everything gets explained in the end, though). It's definitely a unique experience, but not very scary. Most of the puzzles are fun, however, I could never get used to the weird movement controls.
Easily one of the greatest Point & Click games of its time period. A cult classic overlooked by the horror gaming enthusiasts. The theme of psychological horror and mental illness helps to set an incredible atmosphere to the game, accompanied by a fitting OST created by Stephen Bennet James C. McMenamy. At times the game does get bit ridiculous with how convoluted the narrative is, but I think that's also the point of it. Because we see it from the perspective of the protagonist, who undoubtedly is mentally ill. But I won't deny, it does get (un)intentionally ridiculous at times.
What a plot twist turns out you played a ginger the whole time!
Adventure, strategy, and RPGs were the pinnacle of PC games back in the mid to late 90’s, and Sanitarium is one of those games. You play as Max who suffers a car accident and is stuck in his own insane delusions, or is he? You explore 12 sick and twisted chapters with excellent voice acting and very interesting characters, but don’t forget those adventure puzzles.
The game isn’t much different from the standard adventure game where you wander around and click on items to proceed to the next area. Your icon is a magnifying glass and you hold down the right mouse button to move your character around. This was my first annoyance with the game being that the characters walk so slowly and there’s no run button. Despite this clicking on things is actually interesting because most of it doesn’t even pertain to the real world. Your first area is an asylum where guys are bashing their heads against walls, and the people you talk to are completely out of their minds. This gets even worse as the game progresses, but that’s a good thing.
As you collect items you find ways to use them in interesting ways, and it actually makes sense. However, most of the times the way to use them is so obvious that you will miss it. This game isn’t exactly easy and just gets harder as the game progresses. You get thrown a couple of puzzles at the beginning, but towards the end, the game gets very puzzle heavy and they are not fun or easy. Sure they are unique to the individual worlds, but they aren’t easy. I had to use a walkthrough through most of the game because I just couldn’t get what to do most of the time.
My favorite part of the game was wandering around and talking to people and hearing their strange voices or weird stories. The world themselves are characters because each one has a big problem to solve, but thankfully each level is small and it’s not easy to get lost in. The game is paced well with some CGI cutscenes (of course they look horrible being from 1998), but it’s nice that this game feels high budget for its time. I always looked forward to the next zany world and what weird character I would run into. I never got bored, and always wanted more. The game is nicely paced at around 5-6 hours, and it had a satisfying ending. The one surprise I had, however, was a couple of boss fights. Most adventure games don’t have these, but these were strange.
Overall, Sanitarium is an excellent adventure game that shows how great the 90’s were on the PC. You can pick the game up on GoG.com for only $6, but I did run into one huge problem. The game crashes a lot on the newer operating systems, and GoG never addressed the issue. If you can, get the CD and use on an older operating system (like Windows 98), but otherwise, you will have to trudge through the constant crashes.
The game isn’t much different from the standard adventure game where you wander around and click on items to proceed to the next area. Your icon is a magnifying glass and you hold down the right mouse button to move your character around. This was my first annoyance with the game being that the characters walk so slowly and there’s no run button. Despite this clicking on things is actually interesting because most of it doesn’t even pertain to the real world. Your first area is an asylum where guys are bashing their heads against walls, and the people you talk to are completely out of their minds. This gets even worse as the game progresses, but that’s a good thing.
As you collect items you find ways to use them in interesting ways, and it actually makes sense. However, most of the times the way to use them is so obvious that you will miss it. This game isn’t exactly easy and just gets harder as the game progresses. You get thrown a couple of puzzles at the beginning, but towards the end, the game gets very puzzle heavy and they are not fun or easy. Sure they are unique to the individual worlds, but they aren’t easy. I had to use a walkthrough through most of the game because I just couldn’t get what to do most of the time.
My favorite part of the game was wandering around and talking to people and hearing their strange voices or weird stories. The world themselves are characters because each one has a big problem to solve, but thankfully each level is small and it’s not easy to get lost in. The game is paced well with some CGI cutscenes (of course they look horrible being from 1998), but it’s nice that this game feels high budget for its time. I always looked forward to the next zany world and what weird character I would run into. I never got bored, and always wanted more. The game is nicely paced at around 5-6 hours, and it had a satisfying ending. The one surprise I had, however, was a couple of boss fights. Most adventure games don’t have these, but these were strange.
Overall, Sanitarium is an excellent adventure game that shows how great the 90’s were on the PC. You can pick the game up on GoG.com for only $6, but I did run into one huge problem. The game crashes a lot on the newer operating systems, and GoG never addressed the issue. If you can, get the CD and use on an older operating system (like Windows 98), but otherwise, you will have to trudge through the constant crashes.
was fun at first, got a bit annoying later on. experienced a couple bugs which made me lose half a chapter's progress each
A very good adventure game with a neat premise for every level. The Aztec sections near the end are fairly weak, but the game is still worth playing.
Made me cry.
This game quickly became one of my favourite games of all time.
Sanitarium has one of the best storytelling i've ever seen in any videogame, most of the bizarre stuff that happens is a metaphor or a motif of the story and trauma of the protagonist, which is something i definitely didn't expect for an adventure game from 1998.
The puzzles are also really creative and well made, none of that unfair bullshit of many other adventure games at the time. Although, they can be a real challenge for many, is hard but fair.
But my favourite part has to be the atmosphere. The old 90's graphics aged "bad", but that makes the twisted world of the game much more unnerving. That, combined with the soundtrack, makes for one of the best atmospheres i've ever seen in a horror game, period.
In conclusion, Sanitarium is a game that any horror enthusiast or old adventure game fan must play, you'll definitely not leave dissapointed.
Sanitarium has one of the best storytelling i've ever seen in any videogame, most of the bizarre stuff that happens is a metaphor or a motif of the story and trauma of the protagonist, which is something i definitely didn't expect for an adventure game from 1998.
The puzzles are also really creative and well made, none of that unfair bullshit of many other adventure games at the time. Although, they can be a real challenge for many, is hard but fair.
But my favourite part has to be the atmosphere. The old 90's graphics aged "bad", but that makes the twisted world of the game much more unnerving. That, combined with the soundtrack, makes for one of the best atmospheres i've ever seen in a horror game, period.
In conclusion, Sanitarium is a game that any horror enthusiast or old adventure game fan must play, you'll definitely not leave dissapointed.
Kino
Don't go into this thinking it'll be some cerebral meditation on what it means to be struggling with mental illness or anything like that, it's not that kinda game. Also if you're playing the gog version play it through scummvm to take out the nasty cursor smearing and improve the performance some.
That being said, for what it is it's a neat story to piece together as you play along, with some really interesting locations and scenarios you're brought to. It gets pretty campy, and the plot can be pretty easy to piece together early on, but it's got a nice heart to it I can't help but admire. The game just has that weird experimental vibe I love from this era of adventure games, pushing the envelope on the subjects it depicts, whilst not being just a sludgefest of "what edgy thing can we cram in here?" cough HARVESTER cough
It's got a nice amount of thought put into the design, the characters, and keeps you pretty engaged throughout (mostly, except for the part before the finale anyhow).
It's also one of the better late 90s point and clicks about signposting and no moon-logic, and a lot of the puzzles being simple yet engaging. You will have to pixel hunt for some items though, and there are the matching game puzzles that are lackluster, as well as one puzzle that was real tedious.
Overall though I was surprised with how streamlined this game's design was compared to contemporary/earlier point and clicks. That and its intriguing story; far out scenarios and characters, as well as a likeable dork protag all make for a game worth seeing through at the very least.
That being said, for what it is it's a neat story to piece together as you play along, with some really interesting locations and scenarios you're brought to. It gets pretty campy, and the plot can be pretty easy to piece together early on, but it's got a nice heart to it I can't help but admire. The game just has that weird experimental vibe I love from this era of adventure games, pushing the envelope on the subjects it depicts, whilst not being just a sludgefest of "what edgy thing can we cram in here?" cough HARVESTER cough
It's got a nice amount of thought put into the design, the characters, and keeps you pretty engaged throughout (mostly, except for the part before the finale anyhow).
It's also one of the better late 90s point and clicks about signposting and no moon-logic, and a lot of the puzzles being simple yet engaging. You will have to pixel hunt for some items though, and there are the matching game puzzles that are lackluster, as well as one puzzle that was real tedious.
Overall though I was surprised with how streamlined this game's design was compared to contemporary/earlier point and clicks. That and its intriguing story; far out scenarios and characters, as well as a likeable dork protag all make for a game worth seeing through at the very least.
It's over...
☆
As one can tell by a quick visit to my profile, I am extremely picky about my games and their ratings. I have about 3 or 4 games that I have given a five-star rating, and this is another one that just takes the cake. Sanitarium was a ride from start to finish with various twists and turns unfolding through each chapter as you slowly piece together the story of what's going on and how you came to be in the locations you end up experiencing. It's your average point-and-click style game in which the gameplay isn't really anything riveting, the story being what makes it. The true horror of this game doesn't come from monsters or jump scares, but the idea that the enemy may be closer than you'd think. Although some of the puzzles proved to be slightly difficult and definitely required some brainpower, I feel like it was all worth it in the end since I very much enjoyed my experience. There was never a dull moment while going through this game, and never did I ever find it to be slow. This is yet another one of those games where you feel like you just can't say too much without completely spoiling the entire point of it, so all I can really say is JUST PLAY IT!!! It's so worth it!
☆
As one can tell by a quick visit to my profile, I am extremely picky about my games and their ratings. I have about 3 or 4 games that I have given a five-star rating, and this is another one that just takes the cake. Sanitarium was a ride from start to finish with various twists and turns unfolding through each chapter as you slowly piece together the story of what's going on and how you came to be in the locations you end up experiencing. It's your average point-and-click style game in which the gameplay isn't really anything riveting, the story being what makes it. The true horror of this game doesn't come from monsters or jump scares, but the idea that the enemy may be closer than you'd think. Although some of the puzzles proved to be slightly difficult and definitely required some brainpower, I feel like it was all worth it in the end since I very much enjoyed my experience. There was never a dull moment while going through this game, and never did I ever find it to be slow. This is yet another one of those games where you feel like you just can't say too much without completely spoiling the entire point of it, so all I can really say is JUST PLAY IT!!! It's so worth it!
This review contains spoilers
Well this was a huge dissapointment. There were many things i strongly disliked about the game.
First of all, the voice acting which is just terrible, and one of the first thing you’ll have to learn to live with if you’re truly willing to finish this game. Surprisingly, i feel like the children’s voice acting are actually the best of the whole cast.
Second and probably most important: Many chapters feel like i’m just suddenly playing a whole different game. The excuse of schizophrenia/fractionary subjectivity (depending on your psichological theory of choice) feels at this point as a poor excuse for tying up different unfinished projects of games, and in a completely messed up way. And if they were going for a surprise effect, it doesn’t really work in a good way either.
Third, mechanics are kinda lame. It’s not really that bad of a flaw, i would have probably ignored it, if it wasn’t for the other ones. When you’re rating negatively, every flaw counts, sadly.
Fourth, and SPOILER ALERT: the ending, guys, all of this for a lazy variation of the “it was all a dream” trope? Dissapointed is not enough by this point.
It’s kinda sad because it’s pretty obvious how ambitious this project was. And actually the first two chapters are pretty ok, the game is still promising by the end of the second chapter, but after that, with a few exceptions (some moments of chapter 4) it’s all downhill to me.
First of all, the voice acting which is just terrible, and one of the first thing you’ll have to learn to live with if you’re truly willing to finish this game. Surprisingly, i feel like the children’s voice acting are actually the best of the whole cast.
Second and probably most important: Many chapters feel like i’m just suddenly playing a whole different game. The excuse of schizophrenia/fractionary subjectivity (depending on your psichological theory of choice) feels at this point as a poor excuse for tying up different unfinished projects of games, and in a completely messed up way. And if they were going for a surprise effect, it doesn’t really work in a good way either.
Third, mechanics are kinda lame. It’s not really that bad of a flaw, i would have probably ignored it, if it wasn’t for the other ones. When you’re rating negatively, every flaw counts, sadly.
Fourth, and SPOILER ALERT: the ending, guys, all of this for a lazy variation of the “it was all a dream” trope? Dissapointed is not enough by this point.
It’s kinda sad because it’s pretty obvious how ambitious this project was. And actually the first two chapters are pretty ok, the game is still promising by the end of the second chapter, but after that, with a few exceptions (some moments of chapter 4) it’s all downhill to me.
just go and play it.
This review contains spoilers
[First impressions and overview with some spoilers]
This game is one of those ''compilation of otherwise seemingly unrelated short stories with 1 main story that serves to connect all of them together'' kinda stories. It's also one of those ''You get a glimpse of an underlying story through bits and pieces in someones mind/dreams and information in environments, giving it a text but also a clear subtext you keep guessing as to what exactly did happen and didn't'' kinda stories. You know like Paranoia Agent is for Anime.
The game is split into ''chapters'' and sometimes 2 areas/levels/maps between them you can only really move between when specific section ending events are triggered. Odd numbered chapters tend to involve the main story, and while they feel like something is off and weird, they feel more grounded in reality. The even numbered stories tend to be obviously not real dream-like ones that also serve as their own independent short stories where except for the first time the protagonist takes on a different character form entirely that is in some slight way related to the protagonist. This makes for quite some decent pacing as you go back and forth between the two wondering what else weird the game is going to throw at you next.
To connect the two together a bit more, during both you'll slowly regain bits and pieces of the protaganists memory through cutscenes. While they do interrupt the flow of the game for me, they have a mysterious show not tell vibe to them I dig. You slowly start to uncover more and more of what is a twisted but much more accurate representation of reality, and it keeps you guessing without the answers to the mystery ever feeling disappointing. It's clear about the main events, but subtle enough to keep you on your toes. As wacky and insane as a lot of the in-game moments are, these cutscenes their more grounded feel work as an explanation and suddenly the context behind it actually feels very sad and human. Instead of just being fun little short stories with incredibly interesting, creepy imagery it becomes something more than the sum of its parts.
Eventually you'll notice a pattern in the chapters that despite being so seemingly unrelated, you'll probably quickly notice that the even numbered chapters are stories that have parallels and themes in common with the main plot you uncover throughout the game. They're metaphors, but the fun part is always that they work as their own little separate stories first, though it would have probably grown old and predictable if there were even more within the exact same structure. It's fun to see how many ways they could essentially tell the same kind of story. The twist is that when it ends you'll realize that as the game foreshadows, fucking none of it was real, not even the odd numbered chapters. But it's not like it's a cheap ''haha everything was a dream'' because well you could already tell from the start something was just very off, and the gimmick in these kinds stories is in indirectly figuring out what really happened through these dream sequences and memories.
The game's strong point is definitely its imagery. The pre rendered isometric style often used in CRPG's definitely stands out on its own, but fuck if it isn't good at building atmosphere. There's a lot of strange, creepy, yet beautiful locations and moments in this game.
I can't really say the same thing for the voice acting though. It sounds EXTREMELY CHEESY to me and while that adds some 90's charm and kinda fits the ''delusional insanity' theme, it also makes it hard for me to take the game seriously. Ofcourse, the graphics have 90's cheese to them as well, but I find that that actually adds to the uncomfortable and zany atmosphere, the voice acting just takes me out of it at times.
Maybe it's because I'm playing this for the first time and in modern times but I don't seem to find the game as impressive as others do. It's probably because the gameplay is pretty typical point and click adventure but I don't really like its scenario progression in this at all it didn't make much sense to me and I didn't feel much direction. A lot of it basically felt like a really lame escape room riddle with some separate logic puzzle screens thrown in every now and then. I just skipped most of it with a guide, to be honest. The thing is that a LOT of the game is actually gameplay. It's not like you are constantly uncovering clues about the main story, you often just run around looking for clues as to how to progress for the sake of it (You're not really given much motivation) rather than to progress the plot of whatever story you find yourself in. There's some fun quirky characters to interact with but there's a lot of dialogue that at least when playing for the first time feels like goes nowhere, or on the opposite end dialogue that feels purely to be there for the gameplay progression rather than narrative.
I mostly like the game for its story and imagery, but when so much of the story is actually just gameplay scenario progression contextualized into it, it gets kind of tiring.
There's some quality of life features here and the odd control scheme works fine, but the game is pretty janky. I had to reboot a soft lock a few times and well, those action sequences are definitely awkward.
The only chapter I personally just didn't like was the olmec one. I heard a lot of people didn't like the hive one, but I fucking loved that one because I'm into body horror and similar settings. It just felt so weird and otherworldly, I like that kinda thing.
The final chapter, while short was neat as well, culminating every other world into 1 place not just in environment, but also in switching between the different characters. It's a good way to wrap it up and pace it well.
I like piecing together the mystery set up in the intro cutscene, I like how the game ties otherwise unrelated things together with its psychological themes in multiple ways, I like how there's both clarity and nuance to it, but I do think the game can feel a bit incohesive at some points and seemingly aimless at others.
All in all, even if I found it a bit frustrating at some points and dull at others, I think Sanitarium is such a unique intriging experience that even people who don't like adventure games should give it a try. It's the type of thing you typically only see in other mediums, but it still does it in its own way I haven't seen elsewhere.
This game is one of those ''compilation of otherwise seemingly unrelated short stories with 1 main story that serves to connect all of them together'' kinda stories. It's also one of those ''You get a glimpse of an underlying story through bits and pieces in someones mind/dreams and information in environments, giving it a text but also a clear subtext you keep guessing as to what exactly did happen and didn't'' kinda stories. You know like Paranoia Agent is for Anime.
The game is split into ''chapters'' and sometimes 2 areas/levels/maps between them you can only really move between when specific section ending events are triggered. Odd numbered chapters tend to involve the main story, and while they feel like something is off and weird, they feel more grounded in reality. The even numbered stories tend to be obviously not real dream-like ones that also serve as their own independent short stories where except for the first time the protagonist takes on a different character form entirely that is in some slight way related to the protagonist. This makes for quite some decent pacing as you go back and forth between the two wondering what else weird the game is going to throw at you next.
To connect the two together a bit more, during both you'll slowly regain bits and pieces of the protaganists memory through cutscenes. While they do interrupt the flow of the game for me, they have a mysterious show not tell vibe to them I dig. You slowly start to uncover more and more of what is a twisted but much more accurate representation of reality, and it keeps you guessing without the answers to the mystery ever feeling disappointing. It's clear about the main events, but subtle enough to keep you on your toes. As wacky and insane as a lot of the in-game moments are, these cutscenes their more grounded feel work as an explanation and suddenly the context behind it actually feels very sad and human. Instead of just being fun little short stories with incredibly interesting, creepy imagery it becomes something more than the sum of its parts.
Eventually you'll notice a pattern in the chapters that despite being so seemingly unrelated, you'll probably quickly notice that the even numbered chapters are stories that have parallels and themes in common with the main plot you uncover throughout the game. They're metaphors, but the fun part is always that they work as their own little separate stories first, though it would have probably grown old and predictable if there were even more within the exact same structure. It's fun to see how many ways they could essentially tell the same kind of story. The twist is that when it ends you'll realize that as the game foreshadows, fucking none of it was real, not even the odd numbered chapters. But it's not like it's a cheap ''haha everything was a dream'' because well you could already tell from the start something was just very off, and the gimmick in these kinds stories is in indirectly figuring out what really happened through these dream sequences and memories.
The game's strong point is definitely its imagery. The pre rendered isometric style often used in CRPG's definitely stands out on its own, but fuck if it isn't good at building atmosphere. There's a lot of strange, creepy, yet beautiful locations and moments in this game.
I can't really say the same thing for the voice acting though. It sounds EXTREMELY CHEESY to me and while that adds some 90's charm and kinda fits the ''delusional insanity' theme, it also makes it hard for me to take the game seriously. Ofcourse, the graphics have 90's cheese to them as well, but I find that that actually adds to the uncomfortable and zany atmosphere, the voice acting just takes me out of it at times.
Maybe it's because I'm playing this for the first time and in modern times but I don't seem to find the game as impressive as others do. It's probably because the gameplay is pretty typical point and click adventure but I don't really like its scenario progression in this at all it didn't make much sense to me and I didn't feel much direction. A lot of it basically felt like a really lame escape room riddle with some separate logic puzzle screens thrown in every now and then. I just skipped most of it with a guide, to be honest. The thing is that a LOT of the game is actually gameplay. It's not like you are constantly uncovering clues about the main story, you often just run around looking for clues as to how to progress for the sake of it (You're not really given much motivation) rather than to progress the plot of whatever story you find yourself in. There's some fun quirky characters to interact with but there's a lot of dialogue that at least when playing for the first time feels like goes nowhere, or on the opposite end dialogue that feels purely to be there for the gameplay progression rather than narrative.
I mostly like the game for its story and imagery, but when so much of the story is actually just gameplay scenario progression contextualized into it, it gets kind of tiring.
There's some quality of life features here and the odd control scheme works fine, but the game is pretty janky. I had to reboot a soft lock a few times and well, those action sequences are definitely awkward.
The only chapter I personally just didn't like was the olmec one. I heard a lot of people didn't like the hive one, but I fucking loved that one because I'm into body horror and similar settings. It just felt so weird and otherworldly, I like that kinda thing.
The final chapter, while short was neat as well, culminating every other world into 1 place not just in environment, but also in switching between the different characters. It's a good way to wrap it up and pace it well.
I like piecing together the mystery set up in the intro cutscene, I like how the game ties otherwise unrelated things together with its psychological themes in multiple ways, I like how there's both clarity and nuance to it, but I do think the game can feel a bit incohesive at some points and seemingly aimless at others.
All in all, even if I found it a bit frustrating at some points and dull at others, I think Sanitarium is such a unique intriging experience that even people who don't like adventure games should give it a try. It's the type of thing you typically only see in other mediums, but it still does it in its own way I haven't seen elsewhere.
This intriguing isometric adventure game has its share of gameplay flaws, including awkward character movement (requiring the player to hold the right mouse button down to go anywhere) and some classic 90s pixel-hunting puzzles. Fortunately, most of the brain teasers focus on conversations with NPCs, and these characters and the surreal worlds they inhabit are varied and interesting. The story has a nice mix of atmospheric horror, humor and sentimentality; it's light on jump scares and can be surprisingly touching at times. The major narrative weak link is the main antagonist, who feels too bland for a game that's so imaginative otherwise. You might scarcely remember that he exists while you're dealing with more esoteric troublemakers. Still, Sanitarium is easy to recommend to any fan of adventure games or slow-burning horror.
Starts off as a pretty solid psychological horror but leans too hard towards the absurd later on, akin to watching a lackluster version of Courage the Cowardly Dog. The transparent metaphors didn't help alleviate it either.
Nevertheless, it's a pretty simple story of a man learning to deal with his guilt, and for a crudely animated janky ass point-and-click game, it did manage to evoke some genuine emotional moments.
I just wish good things happened to video game characters named Max.
Nevertheless, it's a pretty simple story of a man learning to deal with his guilt, and for a crudely animated janky ass point-and-click game, it did manage to evoke some genuine emotional moments.
I just wish good things happened to video game characters named Max.
Is This A Nightmare? Am I Insane? Is This Reality?
Maybe This Is Death Or You Just Live In :turkey:
Maybe This Is Death Or You Just Live In :turkey:
The main issue I have with these old school adventure games (IHNMAIMS is another good example) is how uneven the tone of the story is. Sanitarium has some strong imagery, certain depiction of body horror and gore are strong and effective still today thanks to the incredible and timeless work the art department did in designing some of the most brutal sections (The Hive for example is a visual nightmare), and the writing reflects that, almost lovecraftian in describing the dread felt by the characters.
But then there are other sections filled with out of place humour or clearly toned down (i.e. most of the Lost Village or the Circus), required for some levity or just a way for the developers to have some fun with their game, but still way less impressive or memorable compared to what the game has accustomed the players to.
The story itself is pretty good but without much fanfare or twists, it wants to be a psychological thriller and horror but it plays very straight for most of the time and there isn't much room left for debate about what is going on or what the metaphors under each level mean. Not that being simple and direct is necessarily a flaw, but thematically speaking it felt like halfway through the game it had already played each of its cards and I was just left putting down the royal flush without tension or thinking required.
Also some puzzles are just a pixel nightmare dictated by noticing minute details that for the life of me are indistinguishable from the backgrounds, and the stairs' animation detection with this system of movement is trauma inducing.
Yet all in all it is certainly a timeless adventure game, son of the best the 90s had to offer despite some light missteps and almost consistently enjoyable visually, albeit clearly having some sections much weaker than others.
But then there are other sections filled with out of place humour or clearly toned down (i.e. most of the Lost Village or the Circus), required for some levity or just a way for the developers to have some fun with their game, but still way less impressive or memorable compared to what the game has accustomed the players to.
The story itself is pretty good but without much fanfare or twists, it wants to be a psychological thriller and horror but it plays very straight for most of the time and there isn't much room left for debate about what is going on or what the metaphors under each level mean. Not that being simple and direct is necessarily a flaw, but thematically speaking it felt like halfway through the game it had already played each of its cards and I was just left putting down the royal flush without tension or thinking required.
Also some puzzles are just a pixel nightmare dictated by noticing minute details that for the life of me are indistinguishable from the backgrounds, and the stairs' animation detection with this system of movement is trauma inducing.
Yet all in all it is certainly a timeless adventure game, son of the best the 90s had to offer despite some light missteps and almost consistently enjoyable visually, albeit clearly having some sections much weaker than others.
Great art style, fascinating setting and excellent writing. Definitely one of the best point and click adventure games out there. It's always a treat to discover what the next level holds.
Gameplay wise it's in a good place too, it doesn't play itself like modern adventure games, but it doesn't have convoluted puzzles and constant game overs either, despite how surreal it gets at times. I believe this may even be a good entry point for people interested in older adventure games.
Gameplay wise it's in a good place too, it doesn't play itself like modern adventure games, but it doesn't have convoluted puzzles and constant game overs either, despite how surreal it gets at times. I believe this may even be a good entry point for people interested in older adventure games.
surrealist horror (haha.... or IS it)
everything looks foul and i love it
everything looks foul and i love it
Quest items are not so visible on locations. Therefore puzzles are difficult. Story not so deep
I remember seeing Sanitarium at Best Buy when I was about 10 years old, thinking that people are into some weird things, and dismissing it out of hand. In the last few years, several horror point and click games made their way on to my all time favorites list -- Strangeland and Stasis: Bone Totem in particular. While looking for similar games, I read that both were inspired by Sanitarium, that weird game with the guy in full facial bandages I'd seen so many years before. I picked it up on Steam last year, and finally got around to playing it this week.
So how did it hold up?
It was as weird as child me thought, and a bit painful to play. It was also fascinating and worth the time.
You play as a patient in a sanitarium, who, of course, is questionably sane and suffers from amnesia. This isn't just any sanitarium, though. It's a gothic cathedral, castle of a sanitarium. As you regain memories, you alternate exploring the sanitarium and other worlds, each of which feels like it's own little B-movie horror flick, but all of which tie into the rather satisfying overarching narrative. The environments are consistently unsettling, and the subject matter always a bit gruesome, with some fairly heavy themes (e.g. child abuse). Saying much more about the story would be spoilers, so I'll just say I felt it had a strong conclusion.
The point and click puzzles weren't as bad as I was worried about, with most of the logic being fairly intuitive and even enjoyable. There were a few places where the pixel hunting really hurt the flow of the game. The biggest issue with the gameplay is the movement, though. Sanitarium's protagonist is one of the slowest beings ever to grace a video game. To make matters worse, there is a click and hold control scheme, in which he moves toward the cursor when you right click -- but only along the 8 cardinal directions and diagonals. I ended up resorting to a walkthrough for a couple of the pixel hunt situations since I simply could not work up the willpower to make another clunky lap around the current area.
Still, the game is absolutely worth a play for a modern audience. The story holds up well, the environments are still quite interesting, and the puzzles are enjoyable or easily bypassed with walkthrough. It's worth playing on its own merits, not just for the impact that its had on the horror adventure genre.
So how did it hold up?
It was as weird as child me thought, and a bit painful to play. It was also fascinating and worth the time.
You play as a patient in a sanitarium, who, of course, is questionably sane and suffers from amnesia. This isn't just any sanitarium, though. It's a gothic cathedral, castle of a sanitarium. As you regain memories, you alternate exploring the sanitarium and other worlds, each of which feels like it's own little B-movie horror flick, but all of which tie into the rather satisfying overarching narrative. The environments are consistently unsettling, and the subject matter always a bit gruesome, with some fairly heavy themes (e.g. child abuse). Saying much more about the story would be spoilers, so I'll just say I felt it had a strong conclusion.
The point and click puzzles weren't as bad as I was worried about, with most of the logic being fairly intuitive and even enjoyable. There were a few places where the pixel hunting really hurt the flow of the game. The biggest issue with the gameplay is the movement, though. Sanitarium's protagonist is one of the slowest beings ever to grace a video game. To make matters worse, there is a click and hold control scheme, in which he moves toward the cursor when you right click -- but only along the 8 cardinal directions and diagonals. I ended up resorting to a walkthrough for a couple of the pixel hunt situations since I simply could not work up the willpower to make another clunky lap around the current area.
Still, the game is absolutely worth a play for a modern audience. The story holds up well, the environments are still quite interesting, and the puzzles are enjoyable or easily bypassed with walkthrough. It's worth playing on its own merits, not just for the impact that its had on the horror adventure genre.
de baixo dessa jogabilidade ultrapassada, tem uma das melhores histórias do mundo dos jogos... só joguem isso logo pelo amor de DEUS!
For the most part, I did enjoy this point-and-click adventure horror. It was released in 1998 so the language isn't the best. One particular ableist slur and demeaning toward mental patients. The main character, Max, refers to patients as "crazies" when they appear to be suffering.
Overlooking that, I did enjoy the overall story (in the real world). There are some surreal moments that make you question "wtf is going on" but in a good way during those chapters. The puzzles are mostly fun up to the last chapter, then it's just trial and error pattern puzzles. Awful design.
There are 9 chapters and 3 of them are "nightmares" where you don't play directly as Max. Those three were easily the weakest points in the game. They had very little purpose.
One chapter was so over the top "horror" that it became laughable. Imagine a horrible thing in a room. Then you move to the next room, where there is something more horrible. You move forward to the third room and GASP it's even more horrid! The game kept trying to one-up itself on horrible and evil things. Plus you knew it wasn't real so why bother to care? I was desensitized and only wanted to move on. Those chapters didn't need to exist. They only dragged out the game.
If the game could completely cut out, or least heavily condense those chapters, it would have been a tighter, more fun experience. I didn't need to see weird things happening in the nightmare world because weird stuff was happening in the real world that was more impactful.
Overlooking that, I did enjoy the overall story (in the real world). There are some surreal moments that make you question "wtf is going on" but in a good way during those chapters. The puzzles are mostly fun up to the last chapter, then it's just trial and error pattern puzzles. Awful design.
There are 9 chapters and 3 of them are "nightmares" where you don't play directly as Max. Those three were easily the weakest points in the game. They had very little purpose.
One chapter was so over the top "horror" that it became laughable. Imagine a horrible thing in a room. Then you move to the next room, where there is something more horrible. You move forward to the third room and GASP it's even more horrid! The game kept trying to one-up itself on horrible and evil things. Plus you knew it wasn't real so why bother to care? I was desensitized and only wanted to move on. Those chapters didn't need to exist. They only dragged out the game.
If the game could completely cut out, or least heavily condense those chapters, it would have been a tighter, more fun experience. I didn't need to see weird things happening in the nightmare world because weird stuff was happening in the real world that was more impactful.
I never thought I'd like a point and click game this much, Sanitarium made me love it simply because of its story.
W tę grę chciałem zagrać co najmniej od roku 2013. Wtedy ją kupiłem, ale jakoś nigdy nie było mi po drodze na PC. Teraz dopiero udało mi się za nią zabrać na Steam Decku. Przeszedłem jakieś 60% gry z tego co widzę i zupełnie mi się przestała podobać. Nie żeby mi się w jakimkolwiek momencie wyjątkowo podobała. Strona techniczna jest naprawdę zła (np. brak pathfindingu, trzeba trzymać prawy przycisk myszy, aby poruszać się postacią, a bohater nie potrafi sam przejść nawet kilkunastu metrów, aby trafić do celu), ale jestem w stanie to przeboleć grając w dwudziestopięcioletnią grę. Niestety nie podoba mi się ani setting, ani styl graficzny, ani fabuła, ani NPC, ani zagadki. Właściwie to nic mi się nie podoba i grałem trochę siłą rozpędu, mając świadomość, że to krótka gra, a jednocześnie czując jak mi się dłuży. Ostatecznie sprawdziłem jeden z poradników, aby zobaczyć ile mi jeszcze do końca zostało i okazało się, że zdecydowanie za dużo.
Cutscenki są w 15fps (dosłownie, widać na Gamescope w SteamOS), animacje drewniane (może kiedyś robiły wrażenie), gra nie ma żadnego pathfindingu, np. często klika się na obiekt znajdujący się zaraz obok postaci, na co ona stwierdza, że nie ma tam dojścia. Wtedy należy westchnąć i trzymając prawy przycisk myszy ją przeprowadzić w to miejsce w iście żółwim tempie. Tempo poruszania się bohatera jest dobijające. Dostęp do ekwipunku jest zrobiony fatalnie. Voice acting jest co najwyżej średni. Gra nie posiada żadnego systemu podświetlania aktywnych elementów na ekranie (takie czasy...), a przedmioty się niczym nie odróżniają od prerenderowanych teł, więc w Sanitarium mamy do czynienia z najgorszym rodzaje pixel huntingu w grach przygodowych. Raz chyba pół godziny chodziłem tam i z powrotem po lokacji aż w poradniku doczytałem, że mam jakiś klucz francuski podnieść, którego nie widziałem. Innym razem w sumie przypadkiem podniosłem kamień z ziemi, a potem na YT jak szukałem info o czymś innym to widziałem filmik z gameplayu Sanitarium z "RANDOM STONE" w tytule i się uśmiechnąłem tylko :D
Mi nie leży w ogóle świat przedstawiony, sam początek był trochę Kingowski, ale z balonika szybko zeszło powietrze, a potem było coraz gorzej. W szczególności cyrk mnie wymęczył. Chyba nie lubię cyrków i klaunów. 😉
Cutscenki są w 15fps (dosłownie, widać na Gamescope w SteamOS), animacje drewniane (może kiedyś robiły wrażenie), gra nie ma żadnego pathfindingu, np. często klika się na obiekt znajdujący się zaraz obok postaci, na co ona stwierdza, że nie ma tam dojścia. Wtedy należy westchnąć i trzymając prawy przycisk myszy ją przeprowadzić w to miejsce w iście żółwim tempie. Tempo poruszania się bohatera jest dobijające. Dostęp do ekwipunku jest zrobiony fatalnie. Voice acting jest co najwyżej średni. Gra nie posiada żadnego systemu podświetlania aktywnych elementów na ekranie (takie czasy...), a przedmioty się niczym nie odróżniają od prerenderowanych teł, więc w Sanitarium mamy do czynienia z najgorszym rodzaje pixel huntingu w grach przygodowych. Raz chyba pół godziny chodziłem tam i z powrotem po lokacji aż w poradniku doczytałem, że mam jakiś klucz francuski podnieść, którego nie widziałem. Innym razem w sumie przypadkiem podniosłem kamień z ziemi, a potem na YT jak szukałem info o czymś innym to widziałem filmik z gameplayu Sanitarium z "RANDOM STONE" w tytule i się uśmiechnąłem tylko :D
Mi nie leży w ogóle świat przedstawiony, sam początek był trochę Kingowski, ale z balonika szybko zeszło powietrze, a potem było coraz gorzej. W szczególności cyrk mnie wymęczył. Chyba nie lubię cyrków i klaunów. 😉
to say a few things:
story was absolutely amazing to me. it's a game with not only eye-catching aesthetic but has an actual interesting story to it. sure, it's gameplay mechanics are an pain, walking is insanely slow, puzzles are impossible without a guide and even with a guide it was difficult to do. but i still loved the game and it's story.
story was absolutely amazing to me. it's a game with not only eye-catching aesthetic but has an actual interesting story to it. sure, it's gameplay mechanics are an pain, walking is insanely slow, puzzles are impossible without a guide and even with a guide it was difficult to do. but i still loved the game and it's story.