Few things linger in your subconscious longer than memories of being frightened as a child. Some of my strongest are moments from video games I was probably way too young to be playing, like the gas station scene from the original Resident Evil 2, Scissorman from Clock Tower, and maybe a little more niche, mutated kids from the 1998 point-and-click psychological horror game, Sanitarium. That's why, when a co-worker asked if I'd seen the newly announced Sanitarium Enhanced, a "modernized" version and the first official launch on consoles, I had a visceral reaction.
It's been almost 30 years since I've played Sanitarium, and to be frank I'd mostly forgotten about it until today, but watching the trailer for Enhanced brought back some powerful memories. I specifically remember the inmates of the asylum banging their heads against the stone walls and the splatter of blood left behind.
