Sanitarium (video game)

Sanitarium

Developer(s) DreamForge Intertainment[1]
Publisher(s) ASC Games[1]
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows[1]
Release date(s)
Genre(s) Psychological horror,[1] Point-and-click adventure[1]
Mode(s) Single player

Sanitarium is a psychological horror point-and-click adventure game that was released for Microsoft Windows, developed by DreamForge Intertainment and published by ASC Games.[2]

Plot

Sanitarium tells the story of a man who suffers from amnesia after getting in a car accident and awakening in an asylum. As the story progresses, he frantically tries to unveil the details of his institutionalization and the search for his own identity.[3]

Gameplay

The game uses a bird's-eye view perspective and a non-tiled 2D navigational system. Each world and setting carries a distinct atmosphere that presents either the real world, the imaginary world, or a mix of both of the main protagonist. In many cases, it is unclear to the player if the world the character is currently in is real or a product of Max's own imagination. This indistinction underlines much of the horror portrayed in the game.[3][4]

The game is separated into different levels or "chapters" with each having a different style and atmosphere. The player must find clues, solve puzzles and interact with other characters to reach a final challenge where the player must reach the end of a path while avoiding obstacles. If the player fails to do so (by, for instance, getting killed) then the player is transported back to the beginning of the path without losing progress, thus a Game Over in this game is non-existent. When the player reaches the end of the path, a cinematic is played and the game proceeds to the next chapter.[3][4]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings83%[5]
Metacritic88/100[6]

Sanitarium received mixed to good reviews upon its release. Gaming publications like Computer Gaming World,[3] Just Adventure, GameSpot, and Computer Games Magazine gave the game overwhelmingly positive reviews for the game's atmosphere and horror aspect, even go as far as calling it as "the scariest, creepiest videogame". Other publications such as IGN, Adventure Gamers, and PC Zone acclaimed the game's story and creepiness, but criticized for gameplay flaws such as easy puzzles and demanding controls.[7]

Legacy

In 2013, a programmer from the Sanitarium development team announced a project on Kickstarter called Shades of Sanity that is touted as the spiritual successor to Sanitarium.[8]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Sanitarium information at GameFAQs
  2. ↑ Pasetto, Chris (1998-12-04). "Postmortem: DreamForge's Sanitarium". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Green, Jeff (September 1998). "Crazy Man, SANITARIUM Isn't Exactly a "Good Time", But It's an Awesome Adventure". Computer Gaming World (Ziff Davis) (170): 238–239.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Delgado, Francisco, ed. (February 1999). "Sanitarium - Genial Locura" [Sanitarium - Crazy Genius]. MicroManía (in Spanish) (Madrid, Spain: Hobby Press, S.A.). 3 (Tercera epoca) (49): 92–95.
  5. ↑ "Game Ranking reviews". Game Rankings. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  6. ↑ "Sanitarium (pc: 1998)". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2014-10-04. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  7. ↑ "The Press Says...". MobyGames. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  8. ↑ "Shades of Sanity". Archived from the original on 2013-12-07. Retrieved Oct 4, 2014.

External links