![]() Sanitarium has taken the spot as my favorite adventure game ever and if you are even remotely interested in this genre, you owe yourself to “experience” Sanitarium. It delves deep into sensitive subjects like insanity in a remarkable way. Fortunately, the game awards the patient player with how it wraps up everything in the end into a cohesive, unforgettable story. The general psychologically disturbing tone of the game takes different turns in later chapters to the extent it may get confusing. Whether it is the isometric style, occasional surrealistic dark fantasy setting, use of a similar color palette, spectacular writing, or how much it pushes the video games as a form of art, Sanitarium (despite being a point-and-click adventure game) managed to capture a similar space in my subconscious only Planescape: Torment had before. Interestingly enough, this was not the only time Sanitarium reminded me of another masterpiece, Planescape: Torment. You wake up in an asylum with no memory of your own identity. Game starts in a very creepy atmosphere with very dark tones, great sound effects and music. Although categorized as horror, it is more a surreal psychologically thrilling experience rather than a scary one. ![]() Sanitarium is an isometric adventure game. ![]() Years later, I have decided that it was time to play it through and it was a mind-blowing experience. Try it you might like it.Sanitarium was one of the games that I have played in my childhood (had gotten stuck at the fountain puzzle), which always stayed with me Sanitarium was one of the games that I have played in my childhood (had gotten stuck at the fountain puzzle), which always stayed with me somewhere in the dark corners of my mind. So this could be your last chance to get into a 'true' adventure in the conventional sense. However, it tells an intriguing tale, the graphics are very impressive, and decent point-and-click adventures are a bit thin on the ground these days. Sanitarium is not an adventure game classic moving the main character about can be a chore, and there are some throwaway arcade combat scenes that don't quite fit in with the rest of the game. The disturbing nature of the game's main theme and the "tasteless' graphics are offset by the main character's naivety, and the general feeling that the scary folks in the game aren't for real, but instead are convenient place-holders whose main purpose is to help unfold the plot and point you in the direction of your next big quest. It is perhaps for this reason that Sanitarium is never truly offensive or shocking. Ironically, the in-game dialogue is pretty tame given the horrific visual appearance of some of the characters, and indeed Max (your alter ego) manages to sound both naive and stupid whatever the subject up for discussion. The village full of mutilated children, for example, plays host to some of the most warped character graphics you will come across in a PC game: a boy with two mouths, a girl who's been horribly disfigured by one of the main characters in the game, and a town full of children with various limbs missing (or added) are some of the delights of one of the early scenarios. Max, the hero of the tale, visits many weird locations in his search for his inner self, and some of the places he comes across are genuinely disturbing. ![]() Standard fare, clearly, but underneath that predictable exterior lie a few surprises for would-be adventurers. ![]() This game features the most original plot of all time: bloke wakes up in a mental asylum, doesn't know how he got there, can't remember his name, his face is covered in bandages, and it's down to you to retrace his past and reveal his true identity. ![]()
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