Sanitarium

Recently after becoming a member here I picked up Sanitarium not knowing much about it. And boy, am I glad I did! Where to start? In opposite fashion to the game, I'll start at the surface and work deeper. (You'll get it if you beat the game.) The graphics are good. The visuals are beautiful when they need to be, disturbing when they need to be--actually, they're usually both at once. Personally, I think too much graphical detail in a point-n'-click can distract from the story and dialogue, but Sanitarium walks the line with near-perfection. The real artistry of this game is that all the visuals tie in directly with the story--often literally but more often than not figuratively. Together with an appropriately unnerving soundtrack, the result is an experience which engrosses and invests you in an emotionally complex story that goes from terrifying to weird to sad to beautiful to... weird again... and then to... well, just play the game; you'll see what I mean. All this would be lost if it wasn't for unique puzzles, perfectly calibrated to the abilities of the average adventure gamer (I only used a walk-through twice). The majority of the puzzles were just hard enough to make cheer out loud and pat myself on the back when I figured them out, with a few that were difficult enough to keep me stumped for a long time (Ok, I'll admit, I used the walk-through three times). The dream-like logic of these five bizarre worlds allows the game to explain away some of the odd combinations of items which many puzzle-based games use. Most important to me in a game, Sanitarium tells a good story; but not only that, it tells it in an incredibly unique and effective way. Any game that can get such a strong emotional reaction from me gets four stars easy. The fifth star is for exciting my intellect with puzzles that made me feel good about myself.

DreamForge Intertainment tapped in to the human soul and turned what they saw in to a game. The visuals have aged pretty nicely and the pre rendered backgrounds are an eye-candy. The voice acting is superb, every dialogue line is voiced. The music is very good at setting the eerie mood the game aims to create. The gameplay was good back in the day but for new generations it can be a bit tedious. The story is well written and stands out in the genre of adventure games. If you like Adventure games, Sanitarium is a must.

This game impacted so much within my life. Such surreal bizarre love. I remember having a dream of the second part when I was a kid. Then when I played this game I almost shit a brick. In fact this game has brought out so much emotion within me (being a cancer it is relatively easy, but more so than normal) that whenever I see pictures of it I feel myself welling up. I recommend this game to everyone and anyone ready to embark on an adventure through the surreal and mind. Enjoy this "game/art" for it will stay with you forever. GOG is the best for putting this up for sale once more. May the developers come together again to make another game like it.

I'm an avid fan of adventure games and this one is definitely a winner. It's free from pixel-hunting and illogical puzzles (despite the context). The storyline is gripping, with a bizarre en-media-res style. The opening cinema has you revealing a dark secret, then plummeting off a cliff in your car, only to wake in an asylum on fire. Yeah, it's pretty awesome. This game is heavily dialog focused with many of the puzzles solved through talking. Each NPC has great voice acting, which alone makes it a treat to open up more dialog options. The gameplay is intuitive, using only the mouse, which is nice. Your inventory is limited and never gets in the way, which is also nice since there's almost no pixel-hunting; with that said, you DO, however, have to click on every surface. Sometimes I had the correct solution to a puzzle but wasn't clicking in the right spot, so just be aware of that. The only downside to this game, besides seemingly short to me, is that your character walks incredibly slowly, which is a pain when you have to go across several screens just to talk to someone. Other than that, the graphics are great- I was impressed that there are randomly moving sprite, just to add an effect. Balloons float aimlessly around, cans roll on the ground to an invisible breeze, just making the game seem more real. This game is definitely worth your time. Reserve a dark night to be alone when playing with this.

I played this game back in 2000 with a group of my friends one summer when I was a teen. I loved, loved this game. It's silly nuances and comical character interaction illeviates the tension that builds from the spooky music and atmosphere Max is submerged in. The storylines are riveting in each chapter. My favourite chapter is definitely chapter 2, when Max finds himself in a twisted, run down village full of demented children (sounds creepy but is actually quite humourous in some instances!). There's lots to explore and you'll find yourself hooked on it the way I was. The backstory of Max and his history that becomes revealed throughout each chapter will keep you playing for hours, if only to figure it all out. All in all, one of my most favourite pc games, ever. I will replaythis again and again.