Sanitarium

I simply have to see yet a game so deep and engaging as Sanitarium. Way back I used to play it over and over to make sure I catch all the little details. And I'm sure I didn't still get them all. And ever since then, all games seemed frail and superficial in comparison. Just the other day, I tried installing it on Windows 7 and It would't work any way I tried. I even considered running it inside a virtual machine, but the game play was so choppy I felt despair descending over me. When even Google failed to provide a solution, an obscure search for "Sanitarium XS" brought me to GOG. And now the angel from the first level spread her wings around me and I can relieve the best gaming experience ever... Thanks GOG.

I loved the story. I loved the puzzles. I loved the atmosphere. I even loved the ending. And as much as I loved those, some of the actual control scheme was a little more difficult to use than I think it should be. The graphics are of the era, but the sound was fantastic, and I was more than a little pleased by my willingness to go back to play again. Still, it was a great game, and if there were more endings to earn (a la, Heavy Rain or Indigo Prophecy), I would gladly go back and play it through multiple times to get everything.

I Remember this game well. This was the first adventure game i ever completed as a teenager and was a gateway drug to the adventure genre proper. I still remember sitting there with a friend over a summer holiday and working through the puzzles. We promised each other that we would not play the game without the other being there, but we were completely absorbed by the game. The game starts with your character waking up in a mental asylum. No memory of how he got there and his head and hands heavily bandaged. Looking around him, he seems surrounded by unhinged people and no orderlies in sight. He must escape, but in doing so he has to seriously question his reality as the world stats to change in impossible ways. Is he gong mad himself? The game is very squarely a point and click adventure game, but is a lot darker than the Sierra or Lucasarts contemporaries. The art style changes throughout the game, but is strangely reminiscent of Planescape: Torment. As with all horror adventure games, the story can get a bit cheesy from time to time, but it still manages to maintain a creepy vibe throughout. Even now, i still remember some images being very unsettling. The puzzles are great and logical, if a little on the easy side and there a couple of mandatory skill sections that are a bit annoying but they don't overstay their welcome too much and there is no "game over" screen if you fail them. If you like horror, and want something with good ideas, this one is definitely for you!

A word of warning: at some (rare) points, this game shows its age in "good" old "I was supposed to click *what*?!?" moments; I am not ashamed to say that I consulted a walkthrough at some of those points, but the vast majority of the game does not require any handholding. The few "boss battles" also control rather badly by today's standards. Don't be put off by that. Apart from that, this game hardly needs to hide from better-known products of its genre like the first Gabriel Knight. It is an example of excellent, intelligent storytelling and dense atmosphere, packaged in artwork telling the story of someone on a mad journey of someone desperately trying to claw their way back into normality. Just play it.

This is a great and suspenful game, with twist hiding between every turn. I came into point-and-click games a bit late, but this game has become one of my favorites. The only thing holding it back at times is the voice acting from some of the extras, but the main voice actor is great at pulling you into the story. The story is the most important piece in this game, and I had no idea where it was going from beginning to end, but every second you got to know something new, and you want to piece together what happened. This is a must have game, and you won't be disappointed!