The Sanitarium wasn't that bad for me, I was able to go through the place in like 30 minutes without my light or map. (Was getting the accolades or w/e they are called) The only part that pissed me off was that stupid pill puzzle, had to do random combinations to figure it out. My 1st playthrough took me about an hour, mainly becauseof that pill puzzle.

I remember the first time I opened the Sanitarium map I said, " HOLY S&@$!!!" The Sanitarium has got to be the largest Silent Hill level/area. That thing is huge!

I really like the Sanitarium level. Loved the music and the scenes with his mother.

I was intrigued by the flashbacks, but his mother's voice actor was really bad. It also annoys me that they're practically impossible to skip unless you have a mirror right next to you.

I agree. I LOVED Waverly Hills!! I also love this level.

I kind of like this level. Sure, it's long and boring, but many events unfold and it has th e best puzzle (Doll-Pill Puzzle) in the entire SH series, IMO.

I retract all previous statements of not liking this area, having not played it in a while and getting into things again I am warming up to it again. Knowing me the more plays I do I will probably get peeved

There is a room that pretty much tells you the solution. I didn't have any trouble with the pill puzzle and actually found it to be one of the better puzzles in the game.

I was in my room and it was pitch black. No sounds other than the tv. Then the flashback caught me completely off guard and i was freaked a bit. That and that door near it that was making all those demonic sounds ><

Other than that, the tunnel sections were a tad tedious.

Sanitarium wasnt that bad, as soon as you get there it kinda makes you feel like damn.. Ima not get out of here cause its a HUGE place.. Just the corridors and ven the center area where you pick what corridor to go its so damn big like a plaza.

but if you follow your map and get all your door checked and know where to go its pretty straight forward

I have to say the Theater was my fav area and the street areas. I cant have enough of this game.

I didn't like the Sanitarium. It was a level with lots of creepy potential, but it wasn't as unnerving as I thought it would be. Plus, it was too big. Although when I played, it was kind of funny that the dramatic scary music started playing the exact second the map zoomed out. I thought, "This shouldn't be too bad, should be nice and-" (map zooms out) "SHIT!!!This is going to take forever!" It didn't take forever, but it did take me around 2 hours.

I fucking hated this level. It felt really incomplete.

Other than it was confusing, it was quite great.

Incomplete?? The map is huge (Not really), the first time you spend like 3 hours running here and there, it has several puzzles (The iron lung, the pills and the dolls and the fucking key that falls through the toilets), it has enconters with story characters, it has info about the main character, it has the damn flashbacks that stop your heart in your first playthrough, it has a lot of tedious exploration and it has a boss battle... What else did you want??

The sanitarium is the most complete level of the game along the motel, they are long because try to compensate the short levels of the hospital and the theatre...

They are only short levels if you know what youre doing lol

The theatre can be even longer if you suck at math and have issues with the spotlight puzzle.

^I suck at math and I managed to decipher this puzzle without any help.

Point is: None of the puzzles from this game are that hard. Maybe the dolls one but apart from that nothing.

The sanitarium is actually my fav stage but I agree with you on it being too big. Just getting that one key ( if I remember correctly ) was so annoying!

Agreed.

Despite its size, it's a mental hospital: the most appropriate building to explore the abandoned traces of, in a horror game.

Like most, I loved the creativity of the pill puzzle (although was one of them a crossdresser or a tailor?)
Looking at the traces left behind by a mental hospital really brings out elements that give clues to people's suffering there, and how it seemed to suck for both patient and doctor. The indications imply those malfunctioning humans were like monsters. It personally made me feel sorry for the people there.

I did find the level fun to explore, other than the backtracking.