After her car breaks down one night outside an abandoned sanatorium, Catherine can't stop thinking (or dreaming) about it... or about the little girl who keeps pleading for her help. That's right, folks, it's time to make some bad decisions and do everything you're always screaming at horror movie heroines not to do with Satanorium, a point-and-click horror adventure from Belugerin to meet your flickering-lights-and-creepy-little-girls quota for the day.
Once Catherine gets into the asylum, you'll need to explore to find out what's going on in that special way as only a horror game heroine can; by fumbling around in the dark, solving puzzles, and squealing when things pop up and go YAH! Move your cursor around the screen and text will pop up to show places you can interact, while arrows mean you can click to move to a new place. You can click the icons at the top to open your inventory, or just press [I]; when you select an item you're carrying, you can choose to use it, examine it, or combine it with another item. "Cheaters" also might find unpleasant surprises waiting for them.
Analysis: Heroine with a bared midriff? Check. Name that sounds like the place all the scowling Goths go to replenish their supplies of eyeliner and buckles? Check. Awwwwww yisssss, we are entering cheesy horror territory here, my friend. Visually, the game is actually very well done, with beautifully rendered environments overlaid with a subtle film grain effect that make everything feel gritty and real, as well as helping to get rid of the too-smooth look most rendered graphics tend to have. There's a wonderful atmosphere at work with the dark, dusty building you have to explore, full of flickering shadows and soft, indistinct sounds.
The problem isn't that the game is illogical, exactly, it's that the solution is rarely going to be your first choice. Even if it ultimately makes sense, in a roundabout way, it's still frustrating to be stuck because you're trying something that should obviously work and not have the game give you much of any indication of what you should be doing instead. Click detection also seems a little iffy at times, especially when the items are small, and navigating can be a pain when you first enter a new area and not all the hotspots highlight when you move over them.
Unlike, say, Silent Hill or 2008's Let the Right One In, it's not trying to tug at your heartstrings or make you meditate on what it means to be a flawed human being. No, Satanorium just hopes you'll be sitting close enough to your monitor that you'll squeal a little whenever something startling happens, and to show you a cheesy good time. It's not subtle or coy, it's just there to show you a good time. You know, as good a time as one can have while being bled all over while the music goes REEEEEEEEE. While not perfect, it's still enjoyable, and is just the right thing to curl up with at night, as long as you're the sort of person who enjoys both a challenge and a good BOOGAH-BOOGAH-BOOGAH now and again. And really, who doesn't?
Thanks to Bwilderbeast, Kita, and the enigmatically named "blank" for sending this one in! (Be sure to fill out the entire submission form, folks!)
I'm having trouble with the rope on the door with the generator. You'd think the scissors would work, but they're not working for me. Any advice?
Where did you get scissors? I've only got a dead flashlight, almost dead lighter, and a can full of gas. I can't barely see anything either. This game seems like it would be fun if it was just a little better designed.
Niek
HINT 1
How about trying something other than cutting it?
HINT 2
What would Jim Morrison do?
HINT 3:
use gasoline, use lighter
To get rid of the rope, you need to
use the full can of gas on the rope, then use the lighter on the rope to burn it away.
Makes sense in a "Resident Evil: Nemesis" sort of way, but when you have scissors... why?
The scissors can be found
in the room with the generator, to the right as you enter on a counter.
@ Neik, the rope on the door can be removed by....
Dosing it with gasolie and lighting with the lighter
Can't figure out how to escape the upstairs. It just keeps looping and the bench appears and disappears. Says there should be a clue, but have not found any.
Anyone figure out how to escape the upstairs yet? Says there should be a clue how to escape, but can't seem to find any.
8-fold, there is a clue to escape the upstairs
but it's kind of difficult to see... check the wall in back
Finished.
Kudos on the grainy, creepy graphics and overall nice atmosphere, but this one's not for me. I PREFER scary games (Ben Leffler, I love you), but the interface is awkward, navigation is confusing (or is it just me?), and the puzzle solutions are too often non-intuitive.
It's not a bad game. It could be a GREAT game with a few tweaks.
Niek: when I saw your Hint #2 re: JM, the first thing I thought was
"Break on through to the other side?"
-.-- How do you figure out the right amount for the generator???? I cant find anything telling me....
To leave the upstairs, the hint is
Questionable interface, weak story.
How I miss REALLY scary games... anyone remembers the emails subtly flashing "demonic" text in that Gabriel Knight game? THAT scared me...
I'm having trouble getting into the safe. I see the code on the wall, don't know what I'm doing wrong! Any hints?
Can someone give me a hint so I can find
the password for the office computer?
Could not finish. here's why:
According to a text walkthrough I found,towards the end it said to go in the lobby,then click forward. When I did it said to go once more then click the flashlight. When I did that, it told me to look for a switch,and I found no switch. Almost made it through the end. Oh well. :(
Hint for loop, red hint on walls. door on left is 2.
After that you can click on door. clean room.
I'm stuck after that.
Can anyone tell me just what the significance of the dial is on the safe? I figured out the code just fine, but I can't get it to open because I don't have a clue what to do with the dial.
I'm also getting stuck in the loop. I think I know what the clue means, but I can never get it to work. What am I doing wrong?
I don't know what the proper amount for the generator would be... what is the trick to accessing the cabinet on the right-hand side when you enter the generator room?
i've finished the game, creepy scene with quite hard puzzle but still, fun to play!
I finished the game but
I don't know what the hammer or scissors are for. I won and beat up the demon, but were those things supposed to be used somewhere or are they extra?
Pssh, I get all MY supplies of eyeliner and buckles from a place called Blue Banana. Much scarier name than Satanorium, yup.
Anyway, I really shouldn't play this, as I'm alone in the house and will be for the rest of the day, and I'm a total coward when it comes to these things. But... it's broad daylight and I have good music to cofort me, and I can always turn the sound on my laptop down a little... *clicks play button*
Wish me luck.
It seems if you don't get the
scissors
before you turn on the generator they disappear.
And interestingly, you can find a video walkthrough for this game on youtube with a completely different, less midriffy protagonist.
Seems spooky, can't wait to play this!
On a slightly related note I thought the "Let the Right One In" reference was really cool. That was a good movie and I am not looking forward to the American remake.
I am SUCH a baby! I started this game, but I couldn't finish it after I got too spooked by the
ghost that jumped out after I opened the cabinet
and the
girl that fell down hanging from the ceiling.
These weren't TOO jump-y as far as scares go, but I just don't like jump scares. Or scary looking people. They're too scary :P. Maybe I'll finish the game someday.
I am stuck with the computer.
I need the password!! o-o
Ahaaa.. To figure out the Generator:
Theres a piece of paper in the middle of the floor amongst the tons of papers that gives you a hint.
...The very first thing you do in this game is beat up a security guard. Really? Couldn't we have just climbed over the wall or up a tree or something? He'd better not come back as a vengeful zombie later on...
Oh, also, they've thought of attempts to find ambiguous hotspots with the Tab key, so I can't find a necessary item early in the game.
It's the lighter that was mentioned earlier.
Power of Posting, it looked like one of the nearby leaves.
For the record, it's near the flashlight and the keys.
Can anyone help me on the password to the computer? :/ thanks.
I didn't like the ending. "Suddenly let's have a hidden object game!" I was down to three hearts before I realized what it wanted me to do.
I gave this one a fair chance ... okay, more than a fair chance ... but it just has too many problems. Navigation is very slow, I really dislike the on-again, off-again pop-up "thought window" at the bottom, and nothing makes any sense ...
Why on earth do I need to bash a policeman over the head with a pipe? Can't I sneak in somehow? The generator is fixed, but the main room is still dark. Aha! I'll use my trusty battery-equipped flashlight ... no, wait, it says "I don't need this right now."
Sorry, folks. I think this one needed a lot more testing before it was launched.
i found the code upstairs but cant find the clue or what to do with it
Even with the hints above, I don't seem to be able to
burn the rope
I have the lighter and the full gas can, but when I go to use it I get the same sealed with rope message
what am I missing?
Ah figured it out
Just because items are in you inventory doesn't mean they are really in you inventory...
I haven't had a chance to play yet, as I am being distracted (and slightly annoyed) by the misspelling of 'stethoscope' in the screenshot provided with the review. :p
Oh man... I can't finish this game. I only had the little girl pop out at me once and I'm through. lol it seems like a good game, I just scare entirely too easy.. even though it is broad daylight and I'm not alone... yep, I'm a wimp.
This is just too annoying. A dark corner you won't let me look into with my torch but if I have the night-vision camera and turn the lights off then I can see something?
Boarded up doors and locked cabinets that could easily be opened with that iron bar I had at the beginning (if only I hadn't left it stuck in the skull of the security guard I "knocked out"...except he really isn't moving very much.
More "pah" than "mwah-ha-ha-ha"
Is it obvious
that gamko/etc (during the summoning ritual) = fish/circle/triangle? I didn't feel like brute forcing all 3! = 6 possibilities, so I used the walkthrough. I got past it, but it didn't make any more sense.
Just try to use Tab, a secret menu with luminosity and design sketches pops out.
To all you cheaters out there; Whatever you do, DON'T right click and then "forward" or press tab. Trust me.
Oh, ffs! I...
Got killed by the demon at the end, but when I clicked to retry, I ended up unable to click on anything other than links and the inventory, walkthrough and whatever the other one was. Oh, and in the upstairs, I had to zoom waaay in to be able to see the numbers on the wall.
RAWR!
Destructination...
I like this game, good atmosphere and fairly good graphics, but couldn't they give us an actual freaking walkthrough that makes sense and doesn't lie. I clicked on the walkthrough for the game in the beginning and it brought me to a review. Stupid.
Please help me! When I'm on the part with the safe,
I hear lots of different clicks coming from lots of different places on each of the wheels!
I can't get past this part no matter how much I try!
Also, if it makes any difference, I'm on a MacBook running Safari.
Help Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this game doesn't work very well... it's too dark and why would you use a can of gas and lighter to burn a rope when you have scissors? Why can you only knock out the cop when he's standing by the car? And so on.. may try later, though...
Alright im upstairs where its all green. and i looked at the hints and it said look at the back wall for something. I cant find what that something is. Can you help me please.
For the computer three hints,
"Satan"orium
If you are clueless
look at the word inbetween the " "
Too lazy? Here you are!
satan
Did summoning talked to ghost girl but cant pick up the camcorder this game needs some serious debugging.
now i am upstairs where every thing is green and on the wall its written 12112 whats the meaning dude!
Did anyone else feel like a player in a D&D game after the bit with the cop.
I loot the body!
Does the 12112 refer to the doors you click on? Which one is 1 and which is 2? The LEFT door is one and the MIDDLE door is two.
Okay after the seventh try, the code DID work. WHY didn't it work the first six times I tried it though!?
Also, who is leaving these papers around?
And I'm disappointed that I can't turn on the radio in the office.
The summon spell makes no sense. THe part that bothers me the most is the Gamko, Lingko, Segiko nonsense. If there was ANYWHERE that explained that, then it would be alright! But no!
I summoned the right spirit, but the game's quickly gotten boring. the whole thing about
me being a demon slayer
is a load of contrivance. There are only a few places I can go to, and nothing I can do in ANY of them. The inventory system is buggy about where I can click with an item to actually USE it. And the scariest thing in the game is what happens when you press TAB. >:(
I am really stuck. You know when you've knocked the guard out, then you go into that room and it says 'It's too dark i can't go any further' how do you find a light? i have found the flashlight but it has no batteries. i don't know what to do with the lighter, the tube thing or the empty gas can. Can someone tell me what to do? i really want to complete this game!
(Sorry do not know English very well so I used Google translator ...)
I'll talk you something that can be helped.
rust in the old jeep. then go to where is some old oil drums to get 2 items then enter the generator room and grab the scissors. but now combines the hose with gas can, for rust voute old jeep and go into the gas tank and use the item combined. You need 20 to go in the generator pegar.agora front desk and get the cable to the PC. then go to the hall door and an open cockpit. will leave a ghost then do not die of heart. Get the item if I mistake and a key. if the key (do not remember well) vout to the generator room and open the closet to grab a piece of a hammer. when you leave you will see the same girl hanged (the ghost) then go to where you picked up the hose and you will find a piece of wood combine with the "hammer" to leave them completely. ultilizar you the hammer. to be in the room with wood use the hammer to open "nails" do not know who knows the combination will be grateful.
voute right now for the corridor and go up. you will need to know the password in the password and 12,112 each and a port number that you ging to "open" ends it. you're in the room the PC use the cable to connect the PC and the password "satan" because of the ritual invocation of the safe room "Ow" until now I know so far.
(Sorry again for the English language do not know much more I have helped, and the rest with you!)
hahahah.. the spell that dr. gregory said to call the demon is actually in javanese (a dialect from indonesia).. the meaning is "come the faithless from hell..kill my enemies.." =D just wanna share this..
How do you do the ritual?! I've tried combos for an hours!
How are we supposed to know what "gamko" "lingko" and "segiko" mean?
how do you kill the demon at the end? I dont know what to do. :/
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