Sanitarium
Description official descriptions
Not much is known about Max Laughton at first, but it is clear that he is conducting a particularly important research and is close to reaching his goal. Eager to share the good news with his family, Max hurries home in his car. However, somebody has evidently tampered with the vehicle; failing to control it, Max gets in a serious accident and loses his conscience. When he wakes up, he finds himself in a strange tower resembling an asylum, surrounded by insane people, the shrill sound of alarm driving him mad. Max cannot remember anything from his past and is feverishly trying to escape this place. But just when he thinks he has succeeded, he is taken on delusional, horrifying trips through his subconsciousness, unable to distinguish between reality and hallucinations.
Sanitarium is a point-and-click adventure game, best described as a psychological thriller. The game is divided into nine chapters, each taking place in a different location and having its own distinct atmosphere. It is not always clear if something is happening on the grounds of the sanitarium or in the delusional mind of the protagonist. In most chapters the player controls Max himself, though in the more surreal areas drawn from his memories the role of the protagonist is given to other characters, real or fictional.
Both movement of Max and picking up items are done with the mouse. Puzzles are mostly inventory-related, with a few machine and lever puzzles. There are also a few action sequences, but even when the player dies, the game can be continued without any penalty. Talking to various NPCs will teach the player about their bizarre surroundings. The plot unfolds as Max's memories are gradually restored and the player finds out more about his past and the nature of the research he was dedicating his life to.
Spellings
- Шизариум - Russian spelling
- סניטריום - Hebrew spelling
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Screenshots
Promos
Credits (Windows version)
111 People (99 developers, 12 thanks) · View all
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 80% (based on 30 ratings)
Players
Average score: 4.1 out of 5 (based on 143 ratings with 12 reviews)
A true adventure game underdog with a great, unique but rather short story
The Good
I welcomed very much that Santitarium isn't one of these adventure games where you spent most of the time listening to the neverending boring stories of even more boring characters. No. It's actually quite fun. The conversations are kept pretty short and interesting. Well done !
And - of course - I liked the story, which is put together by about 35 rendered movie sequences bringing light in the - as it seems at first - quite bizarre situation. Am I dreaming ? Am I insane ? This can't be reality ! Can it ? You really don't know what to believe in the first hours of gaming. But believe me ... in the end everything will make sense. Again: Well done !
The Bad
Well, the bad German localization and voice acting killed a lot of the atmosphere.
Another point is the low moving speed of the main character. Yet, I could quite live with it. A running protagonist wouldn't have fit in this game anyway.
One last point one could mention here is, that the playing time is rather short. I finished the game in 2 evenings.
The Bottom Line
Being not a direct competitor to rather epic serious adventure games like Gabriel Knight, Sanitarium is still a very well designed game keeping you fascinated for 2 evenings.
Windows · by Electric Penguin (3) · 2003
Chilling, psychological thriller
The Good
You play an amnesiac car crash victim who wakes up in an insane asylum. Escaping from this burning building begins your Dantean descent into the underworld of your mind.
Incredible gameplay and haunting cutscenes slowly reveal your identity, but the truth may be worse than you can handle.
Great graphics and mostly great controls. Some of the images will stay with you.
The Bad
Puzzles were pretty easy in this game, mostly finding inventory and knowing when to use it. Controls were pretty good but moving up and down stairs could be annoying. This is one of those games I didn't want to see end.
The Bottom Line
Terrifying journey into a fractured psyche. I highly recommend this game, not only for gameplay but for the richness of the story.
Windows · by Terrence Bosky (5397) · 2001
The Good
I really enjoyes "Silent Hill" for playstation. This was like Silent Hill only longer, more difficult, less violent and not to mention better graphics. Me and one of my friends played this game shortly after I bought it. Now we sit in front of the screen for hours on end trying to advance to the next level. The storyline of this game will grip onto you like a rabid squirrel with a fish hook for a toungue.
The Bad
Some of the puzzles were just a bit elementary for my tastes. The few fighting scenes are also a bit difficult to control, also. Everything else is A-O-K.
The Bottom Line
This game is WIERD. This is a game full of demented and deformed characters, centering around a confused, amnesiac man who suddenly wakes up to find himself in the middle of a very bizarre and disturbing world.
Windows · by Sam Tinianow (113) · 2001
Discussion
| Subject | By | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Spine/Sides cover scans | RickTM | Sep 28, 2022 |
| problems installing sanitarium | raconteurion | Sep 14, 2010 |
Trivia
Bugs
Initial shipments of Sanitarium came with a game-wrecking bug that would cause the player to get locked out of buildings in level 2. A patch is available that corrects this, but there are still reports that it appears infrequently.
Awards
- Computer Gaming World
- April 1999 (Issue #177) – Best Adventure Game of the Year (together with Grim Fandango)
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Related Sites +
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Crapshoot
A humorous review on PC Gamer -
Postmortem: DreamForge's Sanitarium
A postmortem of the isometric adventure game, Sanitarium, on Gamasutra. The article is written by the game's writer, Chris Pasetto, and deals with the origins of the game's concept, pinning down an engine, their relationship with their publisher, and several other elements that arose or had an effect in the creation of the game (Dec. 4th, 1998). -
Sanitarium Hints
These hints provide gentle nudges before the final solution is revealed, helping you solve the game without spoiling it for you.
Identifiers +
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by faceless.
iPad, Android, iPhone added by ZeTomes.
Additional contributors: Indra was here, Jeanne, Maw, Crawly, Zeppin, Klaster_1, Patrick Bregger.
Game added December 15, 1999. Last modified March 6, 2024.