Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator

About

Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator is a single player simulation game with thriller, historical and business themes. It was developed by Zeitglas and was released on November 6, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator places you in the roaring twenties as a debt-ridden journalist drawn to uncover mysteries at Castle Woods Sanatorium. Each week presents new patient cases requiring careful diagnosis and treatment, balancing conventional methods with risky experimental options. Unravel secrets while managing the challenges of mental health care.

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Single-Player

Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator screenshot

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72%

Audience ScoreBased on 130 reviews

gameplay9 positive mentions

stability14 negative mentions

The game features a unique art style and atmosphere that effectively captures the historical setting of a 1920s mental asylum.
The gameplay loop is engaging, requiring players to think critically about symptoms and treatments, which adds depth to the experience.
The narrative and moral choices presented in the game provide a compelling and thought-provoking experience.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and technical issues that can hinder gameplay and lead to frustrating experiences.
Players often find the symptom categorization and treatment selection process confusing and poorly designed, leading to a reliance on memory rather than strategy.
The pacing can feel slow and tedious, with long transitions and repetitive actions that detract from the overall enjoyment.

gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
63%
9%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its unique mechanics and engaging core loop, while others criticize it for being repetitive, buggy, and poorly designed. Many players appreciate the interesting premise and financial incentives built into the gameplay, but express frustration with arbitrary restrictions and a lack of clarity in tutorials. Overall, while the game offers a fun experience for some, its execution leaves much to be desired, making it feel unpolished and tedious at times.
- “I love how the developers managed to build the financial incentive to keep patients in treatment directly into the game mechanics.”
- “A true indie gem that shows what a game can be with style and solid gameplay right out of the gate.”
- “The heart of the sanatorium is its gameplay loop – and it's brilliant.”
- “The game design and code is a trainwreck – horrible and repetitive gameplay; more bugs than actual working features (including a series of game-breaking ones); full of nonsensical and nonintuitive fluff; QoL hell.”
- “The gameplay loop felt forced immediately - why do you have to buy tests and treatments before you know anything about your patients?”
- “The core gameplay loop is almost entirely built around something that I typically consider to be a flaw in any other game - making decisions based on information you should have access to, but don't at that moment because of arbitrary restrictions.”
story
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
68%
11%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its exploration of sensitive topics related to mental health facilities and the engaging detective elements, while others criticize it for being buggy, lacking depth, and having pacing issues. Many found the narrative choices to be organic and impactful, though some noted that the text-heavy storytelling could feel overwhelming. Overall, while the story has potential and interesting themes, its execution leaves room for improvement.
- “The story does quite directly highlight the abuse aspect of ye olde mental health facilities; it's a big part of the point of the game. It's not something you have to perpetuate, but it's not something you can avoid either.”
- “The game blends historical practices with story-driven choices, gradually upping the challenge each chapter while letting you steer how the institution evolves.”
- “The art style works, the story has teeth, and it handles sensitive topics surprisingly respectfully for the time period it’s portraying.”
- “Most of the game feels buggy and unpolished, some portions lack explanation, and the overarching plot just isn't interesting enough to distract from the unenjoyable gameplay.”
- “I spent 10 hours playing this story just to find the story is a buggy incomplete mess.”
- “Story mode: the ending triggered with no warning without me having done any of the things that would have caused it to happen.”
graphics
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
47%
18%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a unique 2D cubism art style that effectively captures the atmosphere and historical context, reminiscent of art deco influences. Players appreciate the charming and dark noise effect graphics, which enhance the overall aesthetic and complement the gameplay. The attention to detail in the visuals has been widely praised, contributing to a captivating and immersive experience.
- “The art style is unique and fits the vibe of the game while being nice to look at.”
- “Love the attention to detail with the unusual art style.”
- “This game captures the uniqueness of art deco style in every part of the visuals.”
- “I remember this game standing out to me when I was looking for asylum video games because, one, it is not a realistic 3D horror game; it's a 2D cubism art style made using Adobe Illustrator.”
- “The noise effect graphics are charming and dark.”
- “The visuals brought me in as it has this art deco, almost like Batman: The Animated Series vibes to it.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game currently suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous bugs, freezes, and crashes reported by players, making it largely unplayable. Many users have experienced game-breaking glitches that hinder progress, particularly in specific wards, leading to frustration and a lack of enjoyment. While the concept shows promise, the overall execution is marred by these technical problems, prompting players to hope for future fixes.
- “Good concept, but too buggy to play as of now. Maybe I will come back later when the dev fixes all the issues, especially in Ward 4.”
- “Day 4, 5, and 6, I have to revert to the main menu and lose what I bought because it freezes up to the point of being unplayable.”
- “But the game, in its current state, is unacceptably buggy.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beautiful light jazz soundtrack, which enhances the overall experience and complements the game's charming visuals and narrative. Players appreciate how the music ties the theme together, creating a dynamic atmosphere even in a non-combat card game. However, some users noted the absence of certain music-related elements in subsequent playthroughs, hoping for future updates to address these issues.
- “The soundtrack is a light jazz, and I had it running while writing this review!”
- “Love the charm of the music, it really ties the theme together.”
- “From music, story and visuals to the game loop, all very flawless.”
- “Then, music therapy never appeared in the second playthrough along with the address book quest. Hope those can be resolved soon and the campaign can be completed!”
- “The soundtrack is light jazz, and I had it running while writing this review!”
- “From music, story, and visuals to the game loop, all very flawless.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
50%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique premise and beautiful art style, creating an engaging and captivating experience. However, some users express reservations about recommending the game despite enjoying its atmospheric qualities.
- “Love the atmosphere!”
- “Very unique topic, great atmosphere and beautiful art style.”
- “The game's atmosphere and premise is rather grabbing right out of the gate.”
- “While I love the atmosphere and premise, I can't recommend this one at all.”
- “The game's atmosphere and premise is rather grabbing out the gate.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often requiring excessive effort to progress. While the premise is intriguing, the repetitive gameplay loop detracts from the overall experience, leading some to wish for an endless mode to bypass the lengthy campaign.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Let the player play endless mode without finishing the hard and tedious campaign.”
- “The premise is interesting, but the gameplay loop is dull and tedious.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the humor in the game to be both engaging and entertaining, particularly through the absurdity of playing a mad doctor, which adds a rewarding layer of ethical stress to the experience.
- “The chance to be a mad doctor is a hilarious experience.”
- “A healthy form of ethical stress that can be both rewarding and hilarious.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers highlight the emotional aspect of the game as being particularly strong, noting that the writing is solid, bitter, and evocative, effectively resonating with players on a deeper level.
- “From what I've seen, the content of the writing is really solid: bitter, emotional, and evocative.”

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Sanatorium - A Mental Asylum Simulator
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9h Median play time

8h Average play time

5-10h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator is a simulation game with thriller, historical and business themes.

Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

On average players spend around 8 hours playing Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator.

Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator was released on November 6, 2025.

Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator was developed by Zeitglas.

Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator is a single player game.

Similar games include Do No Harm, Hundred Days - Winemaking Simulator, Beholder 2, Anvil Saga, War Hospital and others.

Sanatorium: A Mental Asylum Simulator

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