Sanitarium

The other day, my best friend and I watched a slew of horror movies in a row, and I told her I had these horror games we should play. I told her about Phantasmagoria, but she said she didn't want to play something with me that I'd already beaten (and, to be honest, memorized!) so I told her I had this other game, Sanitarium. Last night, we sat down to play. This game was incredible. There really are no other coherent ways to describe it. Friend and I spent a lot of time just making noises at my laptop screen as we took turns controlling the main character through the different areas. It was chilling, complex, and made us both go 'WHAT IS GOING ON?!!' more than once. The sense that you don't know what exactly is happening just adds to the creepy factor. I think one of our save games (you never have just one! always make back-ups!) was called 'Fneeeehh!' because that was the sound we were making at the moment. The only thing stopping this stellar game from getting a perfect rating is the controls. They definitely take some getting used to, and both of us cursed the main character's name a few times when he walked someplace he wasn't supposed to. Other than that, though, it was an amazing gaming experience. Highly recommend!

To be honest I played the game for the very first time after downloading it here on GoG. All those reviews "forced" me to buy the game and what to say? The money is absolutely worth it. As I am a fan of adventure games, it was a must for me to try it. I was very surprised and it ended up for me to say that this is one of the best games I have ever played. Just for the record how good it was for me - I have started to play the game at 6 pm and ended at 10 am next morning. I wasn't able to let the game go and the story to fade away from my memory during sleep. The game completely overwhelmed me and to be honest that feeling is a rare one... Whoever loves adventures with perfect story, plus spiced with a psychological and horror parts, have to buy this game and play it. I now know, what I have been missing all those years...

It is creepy. It is engaging. It pulls you in. It is simply very well done. And if you have graphics sprites in Windows 7 64bit just add "-w" to the exe command. Opens in a window but can be enlarged with the mouse. Enjoy. I'm lucky to have the XS discs already.

When this game had came out I was completely entrenched with the 3D shooters. Quake one had been out for a while and I was convinced the do all be all was 3D games. My friend actually convinced me to try this isometric non-killing spree game. At one time I was a major adventure game fanatic. This game brought me back and got me questioning story and atmosphere not just high tech graphics. I'm thankful for that because I would have been confused and befuddled with the descension of the 3D shooters when ID decided their games should be demo's for their game engine and the mega-corp game companies latched on to that genre as their money making machine and just started spitting out 3D shooters still to this day. But this game is the perfect adventure game. Good graphic that set a a real atmosphere. Mood setting music that doesn't annoy you and make you want to pierce your ear drums. Puzzles with just the right amount of challenge. Perfect length that unravels the mystery at a perfect pace. A story that just totally submerses you and pushes you on. I really can't think of a single con to the game. The protagonist pretty much says and asks the questions I would have if I was there in his place. The dialog and story never drags you by a nose ring in a bizarre direction you wouldn't go if it was you. Absolute classic flawless gem of a adventure game.

This is a fantastic point and click adventure game! It's extremely inventive and unpredictable, and the atmosphere is always interesting. The game is controlled mostly through the mouse, right-clicking to move the protagonist and left-clicking to interact with the environment. The puzzles are usually very logical and remain simple, but challenging. The environments are always unique and compelling to explore. They range from a creepy farm town populated by horribly deformed children to a ship-wrecked carnival and even an alien planet in your quest to regain the protagonist's memory and prove his sanity. The voice acting is unfortunately a little bit goofy at some points, with the main character in particular being a bit grating at times, but it grows on you over time, and in a way helps to build the eerie atmosphere of disconnection from reality! You could easily finish it in a few sittings, which keeps the game from overstaying its welcome. Overall, Sanitarium is definitely worth at least one play through, because the story is very intriguing, and there doesn't seem to be any other game quite like it.