Spigot
11-15-2009, 07:04 AM
The inmates are running the asylum in this week's installment of Turning The Spigot.
Sanitarium
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2743/4105064925_243aa56f2c_o.png
Year: 1998
Platform: PC
Rating: Insane In The Membrane
# of Players: 1
Point & click adventure games have seen a decline over the past decade but there used to be a time when they represented the forefront of gaming. Sanitarium came out near the end of the genre's heyday in the late 90's but still holds up to this day as an example of one of the darkest, most disturbing adventure games ever made.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2721/4105832652_46cb408b9f_o.jpg
This is one of the less disturbing environments you'll visit.
Sanitarium could best be described as a horrific predecessor to Psychonauts without the platforming and collection elements. You play as Max, an amnesiac who wakes up in the titular institution after a horrific car crash leaves him bandaged and questioning everything around him. The game is split up amongst several chapters with the sanitarium acting as a sort of hub to explore as you dip in and out of a variety of surreal dreamworlds over the course of the story.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2798/4105832646_bb62a79c8d.jpg
You're going to wish you were lying on one of those beds by the time your tale is done.
The game plays like your standard point and click adventure. You move Max around by clicking on the environment and a variety of icons lets you decide whether you want to examine, talk or use an item on whatever you're clicking on. As surreal as the settings may be, the logic that governs the puzzles tends to be understandable by normal human beings, which means you'll rarely be cursing the designers when trying to figure out how to proceed. You can die in the game, but as many of the worlds you're exploring take place in parts of Max's shattered psyche, you'll rarely see a Game Over screen and instead will wake up at the start of a given scenario.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2573/4105832676_b656dff173_o.jpg
Your friends in the asylum are even worse off than you are.
The graphics in Sanitarium are quite good for its vintage. There is a wide range of styles on display here as each of the chapters of the game takes place in a different part of Max's broken memory. Max making his way through the dank, almost medieval confines of the Sanitarium in the real world and it is definately NOT a place you want to spend a lot of time in. When he dips into the dream world, Max's adventures take him from a country town overrun by hideous plant creatures to the sepia-toned house that he grew up in and many other creepy locales.
The voicework... well... that's another story. It's almost as horrifying as the graphics but not for the right reason. Not every voice will make your ears bleed, but more often than not, you'll be listening to exchanges like this.
Nko1TDIjP-A
Thankfully the story is well told and you should be able to endure the nasty VO long enough to see Max through his ordeal. You'll never be 100% certain about exactly how much of what you're experiencing is reality and how much is a figment of Max's twisted imagination, which is what a good psychological horror tale should do.
Sanitarium just went up for sale on Good Old Games (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/sanitarium) this past week and should work with most systems. Enjoy the madness!
Sanitarium
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2743/4105064925_243aa56f2c_o.png
Year: 1998
Platform: PC
Rating: Insane In The Membrane
# of Players: 1
Point & click adventure games have seen a decline over the past decade but there used to be a time when they represented the forefront of gaming. Sanitarium came out near the end of the genre's heyday in the late 90's but still holds up to this day as an example of one of the darkest, most disturbing adventure games ever made.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2721/4105832652_46cb408b9f_o.jpg
This is one of the less disturbing environments you'll visit.
Sanitarium could best be described as a horrific predecessor to Psychonauts without the platforming and collection elements. You play as Max, an amnesiac who wakes up in the titular institution after a horrific car crash leaves him bandaged and questioning everything around him. The game is split up amongst several chapters with the sanitarium acting as a sort of hub to explore as you dip in and out of a variety of surreal dreamworlds over the course of the story.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2798/4105832646_bb62a79c8d.jpg
You're going to wish you were lying on one of those beds by the time your tale is done.
The game plays like your standard point and click adventure. You move Max around by clicking on the environment and a variety of icons lets you decide whether you want to examine, talk or use an item on whatever you're clicking on. As surreal as the settings may be, the logic that governs the puzzles tends to be understandable by normal human beings, which means you'll rarely be cursing the designers when trying to figure out how to proceed. You can die in the game, but as many of the worlds you're exploring take place in parts of Max's shattered psyche, you'll rarely see a Game Over screen and instead will wake up at the start of a given scenario.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2573/4105832676_b656dff173_o.jpg
Your friends in the asylum are even worse off than you are.
The graphics in Sanitarium are quite good for its vintage. There is a wide range of styles on display here as each of the chapters of the game takes place in a different part of Max's broken memory. Max making his way through the dank, almost medieval confines of the Sanitarium in the real world and it is definately NOT a place you want to spend a lot of time in. When he dips into the dream world, Max's adventures take him from a country town overrun by hideous plant creatures to the sepia-toned house that he grew up in and many other creepy locales.
The voicework... well... that's another story. It's almost as horrifying as the graphics but not for the right reason. Not every voice will make your ears bleed, but more often than not, you'll be listening to exchanges like this.
Nko1TDIjP-A
Thankfully the story is well told and you should be able to endure the nasty VO long enough to see Max through his ordeal. You'll never be 100% certain about exactly how much of what you're experiencing is reality and how much is a figment of Max's twisted imagination, which is what a good psychological horror tale should do.
Sanitarium just went up for sale on Good Old Games (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/sanitarium) this past week and should work with most systems. Enjoy the madness!