Sanitarium Review

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Sanitarium

Review by TogerDecember 2002

“Where Am I? What Am I Doing Here?”

Some days, it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. You know what I mean—the long day at work is finally over. So you head for the car and head down the mountain toward home. It’s not a bad drive, but it’s raining and the roads are slick. As you enter the one bad curve in the road, you pump the brakes and the pedal goes all the way to the floor! This does not bode well. You bounce off the guardrail a couple of times, then your car plunges through the guardrail and over the cliff and your world goes black.

The good: You awaken with your head completely swathed in bandages.  The bad: You have amnesia. The ugly: You’re in an insane asylum.

To quote the game box, this is “a journey through the depths of one man’s consciousness to confront the demons from his past and escape the imprisonment of his mind.” Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

Uh … By the way, are you the squeamish type? Easily upset by animated horror or the sight of bodies and blood? If so, then you might want to steer clear of this game. Being raised on a steady diet of Outer Limits and Saturday nights spent watching Creature Features, not much fazes me, so I’m pretty warped and twisted. On the other hand, gentle reader, if you’re faint of heart … This game is rated Teen for a reason.

“See You in Hell, Freak!”

From the moment the publisher’s logo splashes across the screen wrapped in bandages and you hear the screams and cries of the inmates, you know you’re going to be in for some psychological fun and games!

Sanitarium begins in earnest when you awaken inside the asylum and must find your way out of the Tower Cells before the generator explodes. Once you’ve gotten out of the tower, you’ll navigate your way through eight more chapters of mind-warping “worlds.” Each chapter takes place in either a part of the asylum or one of several other locations, including a “Children of the Damned” type town, an Aztec village and an insect hive.

Sanitarium’s story is imaginative, dark, creepy and malevolent.  It’s the kind of game you’ll want to play with the lights off and your headphones on. Chapters that take place in the asylum are accompanied by the wailing, screaming and crying of tortured, unseen inmates.

For me, the creepiest part of the game was the options screen, where a pair of evil eyes followed my every move. Also, in keeping with the atmosphere, there’s a big green eye staring wildly out of a bunch of gauze on the box and the jewel case.

“I Can’t Do That from Here”

All of the puzzles within the game are relevant to your current situation and make absolute sense. Need to get out of the morgue before you freeze to death? Better figure out how to open the hinges so you can open the door! There were no puzzles thrown in there just to pad the game. In some cases, the puzzles take place in the world-at-large, such as returning a child to its parents, whereas others will offer an up-close-and-personal view.

Can we talk about the myriad puzzles? There are the usual inventory-based puzzles. And then there are the fetch-this-for-that-person-and-receive-something-in-return puzzles, mechanical, anagrams, matching symbols, music, and one … drum roll, please … maze. Don’t hyperventilate! The maze is pretty easy—it’s an open maze, no walls—as long as you don’t do what I did and push all of the buttons (subtle hint), you’ll do just fine.

The only problem I encountered with any of the puzzles was that sometimes the item I needed looked just like some of the background objects. So there is a wee bit of pixel hunting—minor gripe.  But then, I’ve got old eyes.

“It Looks Like a Giant Eye!”

Sanitarium is contained on three CDs with virtually no disk-swapping. Once you’ve moved onto the next CD, you stay there.  The game also will start from any of the CDs—now there’s a refreshing change!

The game itself is fairly linear—you cannot move on to the next chapter until you’ve completed everything in the current chapter. Also, inventory in one chapter doesn’t follow to the next, so you’re sure to find what you’re looking for in the immediate vicinity. For me, that’s a good thing. As much as I loved the King’s Quest games, I really hated all that traipsing back and forth or the fact that I’d get all the way to the end only to find I was missing a crucial object. Is that heartless or what?

The interface is traditional point-and-click with a slight variation.  To move your character, click and hold the right mouse button, then drag the arrow cursor to where you need to go. Once there, release the mouse button. Personally, I disliked this method.  It was especially bothersome in close quarters, in which case I either ran up and down stairs, a lot, or got trapped by objects when I was trying to go elsewhere. Everything else, such as interacting with objects or people, is accomplished by using the left mouse button.

Should I mention Sanitarium’s arcade-type sequences? Don’t panic! There are only two such sequences and they’re really not that bad. Would I lie to you? Once you’ve gotten rid of the lesser critters, they stay gone even if you should die when you face the Big Bad. Oh, dear. I’ve said the “d” word. Yes, you can die in the arcade sequences, but you’re immediately revived and you have an infinite number of lives. Plus, with the save-anywhere feature, you can choose to reload from your last save instead of starting at the beginning of the sequence!

Inventory management is really simple. A left-click on your character will bring up all of the objects that you currently carry in their own individual circle, which in turn circles your avatar. When you hover over an object, Max will tell you about said object. 

Oops! Did I give away that your character’s name is Max? Not to worry, I don’t think that’s a spoiler. After all, Max will remember his name rather early in the game.

“Only Good Bug Is a Dead Bug”

Graphically speaking, some of the scenes can be pretty graphic.  A couple of times I found myself saying, “oh, ewww!”—but you’ll notice that it didn’t stop me from playing! Sanitarium’s graphics are in beautifully detailed prerendered 2D. The circus level had floating balloons, empty vodka bottles and bits of trash scattered about the grounds, while the hive level was suitably squishy and organic-looking.

As Max travels through the various levels, events or objects will trigger a memory. Memories are done via cutscenes with a wonderfully old, faded, sepia-toned, eight-millimeter-film look and feel, even down to the pops, lines, stray hairs, stutters and shaky camera angles found in home movies.

Voice work for the game was very good. At first, I wasn’t really enamored of the actor who voiced Max, but then I decided he seemed a little dead in the beginning because he was confused and didn’t understand the things that were happening to him. Conversations with NPCs are spoken as well as subtitled. You can also toggle subtitles on for the cutscenes and observations that Max makes.

Ambient sounds were excellent. As Max walked on different surfaces, the sounds of his footsteps would change accordingly. Heavy metal doors clanked with force. Don’t get me started on the hive—that whole level was disgustingly gross! We’re talking wet, slurping, slithering, squishy sounds! And I loved every nasty moment! Curiously enough, there’s not a lot of background music during most of the game. One chapter has especially haunting music to make the chapter very sad, sweet and poignant. During the final two chapters there is background music, which heightens the tension quite well.

Traveling through the game, you’ll meet all manner of characters: Aztec warrior shades, disfigured smart-alecky kids, disgruntled circus performers, insectoids, the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl and some seriously funny inmates. You’ll even play various incarnations of Max—Grimwall, a four-armed, hoofed, horned Cyclops; Olmec, Mighty Aztec God; and Sarah, Max’s sister.

“Well, They Do Say You Really Can’t Go Home Again”

Sanitarium is a wonderfully creepy, psychological thriller/mystery of a game where the sole purpose is to discover who you are, why you’re in the asylum, who’s done this to you and how to get out.  I found the story worthy of an Outer Limits episode with all of the twists and turns that one would expect in such a story.  The reverse mouse movement notwithstanding, Sanitarium rates the FFC gold star from me!

If you haven’t already played this game, you should. You know you want to do it. Have you checked your car’s brake line of late?  How’s that for psychological manipulation? The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: DreamForge Entertainment Publisher: ASC Games Release Date: 1998

Available for: Windows

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Screenshots

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System Requirements

Pentium 90 16 MB RAM 4X CD-ROM drive 16-bit sound card DirectX 5 30 MB free hard drive space

Where to Find It

The Software Society 18.99

Prices/links current as of 12/02/02Links provided for informational purposes only.  FFC makes no warranty with regard to any transaction entered into by any party(ies).

      Copyright © Electric Eye Productions.  All rights reserved.  No reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission.

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14 Responses to Fear Factor

  • Fear Factor | Tap-Repeatedly.com | Reality Topics Blog

    […] nobody@flickr.com (graftedno1) wrote a very interesting post today.   Here’s a quick excerpt:My greatest fear is to be trapped alone in a confined space with a blind human, in total darkness. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and. […]

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    Lewis, you made me think of the scariest moments I’ve experienced in gaming, and we’re very similar people.

    Bioshock had two moments – the dentist and the flooded room filled with mannequins.

    Thief had Return to the Cathedral, which was terrifying to me. Thief 3 had Shalebridge Cradle, which is so scary it ought to be fined.

    System Shock 2 kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was more lonely panic than true fear.

    Korsakovia was so scary that I uninstalled it.

    And STALKER. Oh, god, the haunted labs in STALKER. The latter two games don’t have scares like that. Few games do.

    It’s especially rare for a game to have more than mere “moments” – for a game to be scary from beginning to end, that’s a triumph.

    Wonderful article. As if Gregg’s review wasn’t enough to convince me that Penumbra is not something I have the courage to play!

  • DPenn

    I’m with you Lewis … I’m a bit of a puss. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of dread as entertainment.

    Still, I’m drawn to dark stories when they have something interesting to say, whether it’s a game like Thief or a film like, say, Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible. So I’ll push through, sometimes peering through my fingers.

    The trouble with games, though, is that if you look through your fingers, you’re probably just going to have to play through the scenario again. :~)

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    I wanted to play this game. I downloaded the demo but the controls were just too wonky for me to get my head around. I liked the atmospheric vibe a lot. I think I’m a bit desensitized from an overdose of horror movies in my youth so I don’t so much get the dread thing from these games as a nice creepy vibration. If only the controls were better…

  • Lewis B

    @ Mike, what’s wrong with the controls bud? As someone who despises poor control schemes, Penumbra’s is just like any other FPS, except to examine things you right click on them.  To use things you left click.  I’m not sure that can be considered difficult 🙂

  • Gregg B

    @Steerpike: Yeah my greatest shit-scared moments were with those games too. A few spoilers below people, so beware.

    Bioshock – Haha, I remember the dentist. I didn’t really find the game that scary overall but the bit where you go into the wine cellar and notice a mannequin facing the wall and after upgrading your weapon it’s stood directly behind you motionless and quiet just for a moment before attacking you. I shat a brick. I also missed that bit originally until Lew told me about it.

    System Shock 2 – same as you really, more unremitting tension all the way through rather than specific terrifying moments. Oh actually, theres a bit where you call a lift and it breaks then you realise a service droid is coming to fix it… I do remember having sleep issues after my first encounter with the cyborg ninjas though.

    Thief: The Dark Project – The Sword and Return to the Cathedral and Down in the Bonehoard and well, loads of them. The Sword made me break out into goosebumps though because there was a bit where you could hear this creepy giggling which seemed like it was following me about then it suddenly changed to this horrible throaty noise. What made matters worse was that the EAX (bless you Creative) made my foot steps sound like somebody else was there with me. That level was incredible, a bit too incredible as it seems I missed great chunks of it because I was so eager to leave.

    Thief II: The Metal Age – Trail of Blood where you end up in that opening with those damn tree beasts. God the first time I saw one of those hurtling towards me I actually died shortly afterward. Do you remember that Mechanist child walking around on one of the levels? That was a little creepy.

    Then there’s Penumbra: Overture – quite a few bits but I’m not mentioning them here.

    Oh and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – The brain scorcher lab just because it was so damn quiet. My imagination seriously got the better of me there. Those stuffed animals and heads I’d seen in various buildings led me to believe that those creatures were lurking somewhere in the Zone, specifically that lab.

    @Mike: My control setup was perfect after some tweaking (as well as the simple weapon swing fix). If you ever fancy giving it another go, give me a shout and I’ll let you know my setup.

  • Lewis B

    I’m not sure why guys, but one of my starting paragraphs had gone missing, even though I copied it straight from the original source, and It was fine earlier. 

    Incase you missed it due to some technical issue you might want to re-read just after “Well no she wouldn’t in truth, but in Penumbra: Overture you don’t want to move anyway.” at the very start for those who’ve already read the article. Apologies 🙂

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    Lewis, it was the weapon swing. It had this terrible, unresponsive feel to it, like trying to hit through molasses. I couldn’t stand using it. I tried the .ini fix as mentioned in the review but it didn’t seem to help. Of course this was the demo…but that shouldn’t have made any difference. I might try the second game instead as I guess they did away with the weapons thing.

    I’m see your first paragraph just fine. It’s the dialogue, right?

  • jdeuel

    I like the argument that weapons can remove fear, but even loaded to the teeth with ammo in AVP’99 the Marine missions were frightful because the enemy was anywhere at any time.

    As for Penumbra Overture, if the controls are anything like the original Penumbra they need to hack in some Wii-Remote 3d controls. I did not like using my mouse for 3d movements.

  • Gregg B

    @Mike: I’ve read that many people avoided conflict altogether in Overture which incidentally is something forced upon you in Black Plague. As somebody who has been renovating a house over the last 6 months with no DIY experience I can safely say that swinging a hammer is significantly easier in real life than it is in Overture without the fix. The fix balanced that for me.

    I’d highly recommend completing the first Penumbra because it’s one big build up to Black Plague which spoils the ending to Overture in the intro. And it’s a great ending too. Just so you know!

  • Lewis B

    @ Steerpike, those moments you mention are all my worst too!!  Do you remember the Robot labs in SS2? Absolutely terrifying, waiting for robots to burst out on you! 🙁 oh and have you ever player Condemned?

    @ Mike, The use of weapons in Penumbra is different to say HL2, where the player is physically holding the weapon, as in Penumbra it floats slightly infront of you.  However, if you change the control method to normal weapon swing, it’s no different!  Speak to Greggi and he’ll tell you what to do 🙂

    @ jdeuel, AVP the original and its sequal were scary however what type of fear do you think it is? I don’t think it’s anything more than sheer tension.  Having a Smart Gun makes you feel incredibly powerful.  I can honestly say in Penumbra the fear is sheer unrivalled terror, where you actually have to force yourself to play on.  It genuinly is that scary! 🙂

  • Jason Dobry

    It’s so true, an arsenal of weapons and ammo rapidly deflates any sense of horror or uneasiness in any game for reasons you already mentioned. Sakey, I thought Bioshock was more “lonely panic,” while I was pretty much always terrified in System Shock 2. I really, really, REALLY did not want to enter The Many’s nursery, and my weapons were so unreliable and ammo so scarce that I never felt safe.

    Silent Hill was terrifying for the same reasons. Ammo was rare and I frequently had to rely on my pipe for self-defense.  Even when I had ammo, the game mechanics prevented my character from being anything other than marginal with any firearm.

    Fear had one moment for me: I was climbing up a ladder, and as I reached the upper platform, my guy briefly looked down as he climbed off. As my perspective looked up again, that Ring-esque little girl was RIGHT THERE, reaching for me. I screamed and she was gone.

    What else…the original Aliens vs. Predator sent me into a locker room and I could only hear the facehuggers scurrying about somewhere within. I had to go in there. I advanced about three steps before the damn thing screamed and filled up my screen with its repulsive underside as it implanted me with its spawn. My roommate made fun of me for weeks for screaming like a girl child.

    Korsakovia–meh.  I was too annoyed and frustrated by the box rearrangement/jumping puzzles to be scared. I uninstalled it after an hour of play, I think. Maybe the scary parts were later, but I doubt it.

    As for Penumbra, I did play through about half of it before other games distracted me. I remember unease and creepiness, but no sweaty fear. I think I’m to blame here, or, more precisely, my daughter, who was still an infant at the time and generally allowed me only to play during the day for 45 minutes at a time. I was denied total immersion and the fear effect suffered. Maybe I should give it another go after I finish Call of Pripyat since she sleeps through the night now. With any luck, Penumbra will keep me from doing the same.

  • Gregg B

    I played the demo of F.E.A.R. but that ladder scare is the only bit I remember. Christ, that made me jump. I’m not too good with cat scares.

    Also I felt exactly the same about Korsakovia. It was creepy at first but then it began to irritate me far too much and it just soured the experience. I stopped playing as a result. Not to mention, when I realised I could bash those smoke-things with my crowbar they didn’t bother me nearly as much.

  • Online Up

    Great article. I look forward to reading more in the future.

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