Sanitarium (video game)

Sanitarium is a point-and-click adventure game released in 1998 by ASC Games. A psychological thriller often praised for its atmosphere and originality, Sanitarium tells the story of a man stricken with amnesia, trying frantically to unveil the details of his institutionalization in a terrifying asylum. The search for his own identity takes place within the grounds of the sanitarium and in the main character's delusions and flashbacks, as he confronts the ghosts of his past. The dark mood and graphics of the game are matched by an equally ominous musical background.

The game uses a 3rd person perspective and a non-tiled 2D navigation system. Each world from each of the 9 chapters (over which the game spans) carries a distinct atmosphere that presents either the real or imaginary world of the main protagonist. In many cases, it is unclear to the player which of these worlds the game is currently in play. This indistinction underlines much of the psychological horror portrayed in the game.

View
The protagonist somehow ends up back in the asylum. Here he meets some other patients and the head of the institution, Dr. Morgan.
The Circus of Fools - View
The protagonist, now in the body of a little girl, is sent to a bizarre island containing nothing but a carnival and its despaired employees.
The Cave
The protagonist, still in the body of a little girl, delves into a cave beneath the island to confront a strange creature.
The Mansion
Yet again in the body of a little girl, the protagonist arrives at a spectral shifting house inhabited by ghosts.
The Laboratory
Back in his regular body, the protagonist explores the laboratory of the enigmatic Dr. Morgan.
The Hive
Now in the body of an enormous, four-armed, and goat-legged cyclops, the protagonist finds himself in a grotesque colony of gigantic sentient insect-like creatures.
The Morgue and Cemetery
Back again in his normal form, the protagonist wakes up inside an abandoned morgue in a forgotten cemetery.
The Lost Village
Transforming into an ancient Aztec god-warrior, the protagonist must save an Aztec village from an erupting volcano and the wrath of the god Quetzalcoatl.
The Maze
Still in his god-warrior form, the protagonist ventures into an ancient cave system deep below the Aztec village.
The Gauntlet
Now fully aware of what's been happening, the protagonist struggles through a nightmarish amalgamation of his past adventures.
Morgan's Last Game
The protagonist must battle against the evil trapping him in this world.