Sanatorium - A Mental Asylum Simulator

Set in a fictionalized version of the 1920s where the lines between modern psychiatric treatment and pseudoscience are still muddy at best. Sanatorium is a 2D card-based workplace adventure where the player has to test, diagnose and treat patients. At its core, Sanatorium is a comment on the turbulent history of the practices and pseudoscience used to stigmatize mental illnesses. It’s the roaring twenties. Cities are growing rapidly, their citizens mesmerized by the technological advancements. While everyone seems to get ahead, you feel left behind. Your career as a journalist feels fruitless and your bills are piling up. Out of the blue, a puzzling message from your childhood friend appears in your inbox. The threads of the mystery emerge before you - and you begin to feel the urge to connect them. For now, it's just a hunch – and you know could untangle this secret if you just reached its core: the “Castle Woods” Sanatorium. You pack your bags and hit the road.

Development of “Sanatorium” initially started in early 2020 as a bachelor project at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). After successfully graduating with the prototype of Sanatorium, we decided to continue the project. Since 2022 Fabian Hunziker and Sebastian Riedi continue the development of the game in their new founded Studio Zeitglas at the Swiss Gamehub in Zurich.

-Card-based workplace adventure gameplay

-Diagnose, treat and heal patients with archaic methods or choose to be gentle

-Each patient file is a card puzzle of symptoms hidden and visible

-Story Campaign with 4 Chapters

-Branching Story with multiple Endings

-Endless Mode with rising difficulty

-Over 100 Symptoms, Illnesses, and Treatment Cards

-Upgrade and develop new cards, change treatments to be more humane