10 Video Games We All Played WAY Too Young

9. Sanitarium

sanitarium game
Dreamforge

Keeping to point-and-click adventure games but way on the other end of the spectrum we have 1998’s Sanitarium which is a game my parents should not have let me play at seven years of age but here we are.

Sanitarium follows the story of a man who awakens in a rundown sanitarium with amnesia and a bandaged face. The game takes you to a variety of twisted locations like a town that is only inhabited by malformed children who keep ominously referring to someone known as “Mother” though there appear to be no adults around, or a demented circus that would make the clown ‘It’ feel right at home. The psychological horror game is actually pretty fantastic, especially for the time, and it’s a really unique entry in the genre, not to mention its art style makes it just as uncomfortable to experience today.

Just, not the video game you should give to a small child and not expect them to get nightmares.

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Contributor
Contributor

Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.