The Institute

In this bizarre text-based mystery, you assume the role of John, a mental patient who is being held against his will in a hellish asylum known only as "The Institute". Raving lunatics and taunting doctors surround you, and you are continuously harassed by a sinister psychologist who tries to convince you that you have lost your mind. You are unsure of how or why you ended up here, but one thing is clear: you must get out.

Most of the game is spent lying passed out on a closet floor, drifting in and out of drug-induced hallucinations that reveal key aspects of the protagonist's personality and recall traumatic events from his past. Between bouts of nightmarish, self-inflicted "drug therapy", the player uses the knowledge (and sometimes even inventory items) gained from his dreams to learn more about the Institute and to better facilitate his escape.

In typical text adventure fashion, John must navigate the hospital and interact with his surroundings using a very limited two-word parser. There are some basic puzzles to solve, mostly by using objects found throughout your quest, but the game's focus is more on the darkly surreal storyline and disturbing dialogue than its actual gameplay.

Added February 14, 2021
Published By Med Systems Software
Screenplay
IGDB Cover from igdb.com
Old Cover Image
Title (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
Intro/credits (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
Intro/credits (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
Intro/credits (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
Game start (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
Visual is graphic but typing is via standard text adventure style (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
Hideous creature that you start a narrative about how you come to the Institute (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
Roaming and exploring the Institute (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
End of hallway (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
Ahhh...my Dr. hmmm (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
Exploring rooms (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
The place has lots of odd patients (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
End of hallway mirror (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
Hmmm a padded room....this can't be good (Commodore 64) from mobygames.com
Title (Apple II) from mobygames.com
Title/credits (Apple II) from mobygames.com
credits (Apple II) from mobygames.com
credits (Apple II) from mobygames.com
Game loading (Apple II) from mobygames.com
Visual is graphic but typing is via standard text adventure style (Apple II) from mobygames.com
Here we are drugged in our room/bed... (Apple II) from mobygames.com
Hideous creature...is it the drugs or real? (Apple II) from mobygames.com
End of hallway mirror (Apple II) from mobygames.com
Long hallway - exploring the Institute (Apple II) from mobygames.com
Medicine shelves.... (Apple II) from mobygames.com
A really empty room (Apple II) from mobygames.com
Door at end of hallway (Apple II) from mobygames.com
Crazy people in here (Apple II) from mobygames.com
Nice... steal a little thing...and bam back to my room (Apple II) from mobygames.com
Another little mistake and bam in the padded cell (Apple II) from mobygames.com
Finally let me out of lockup.... back to my room (Apple II) from mobygames.com

Year of Release:
1981

Genre(s):
Interactive Fiction Traditional

Graphic Style:
2D

Camera View:
First-Person

Control Type:
Text Parser

Setting/Theme:
Horror Mystery

Available From: