Roots of Insanity on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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As Dr. Riley McClein, you have to figure out what is real and what is not as you try to uncover the mysterious happenings at the hospital, while also trying to deal with your epileptic attacks that have haunted you all your life.
Roots of Insanity is a action, horror and adventure game
developed by Crania Games and Goktug Ulvan
and published by Crania Games.
Released on April 04th 2017 is available only on Windows
in 11 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Portuguese - Brazil, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Turkish and Simplified Chinese.
It has received 432 reviews of which 296 were positive and 136 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.6 out of 10. 😐
The game is currently priced at 5.69€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Roots of Insanity into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Roots of Insanity through various videos and screenshots.
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows 7
- Processor: Intel Core i3-5020U 1.80 GHz, AMD Opteron 3260 HE 2.7 GHz
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia Geforce GTX 285, AMD Radeon HD 5850
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 5000 MB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
- Additional Notes:
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Short, but overall, a nice game. Pos: Good graphics Good Atmosphere Good horror elements Fair Story Cons: Minor Bugs - Sound of enemies that are not even there or near remains Fight is a little weird Lame Hitbox (fixing, probably will help the fight weirdness)
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You might be wondering, from some of the screenshots on the Store page, if this is a third-person horror game, or at least a game with third-person sections. The answer is the latter: it's mostly first-person, with some brief third-person moments when you get your grubby hands on a firearm. Emphasis on "brief". For the most part, though, it's more like "Outlast with zombies"; complete with the video-camera-as-your-only-lighting trope, and deja vu-inducing graphics that leave you suspecting that a Red Barrels team member - outraged at being fired in the early stages of Outlast's development - decided to exact his "revenge" against the company by recycling an early build into an entirely different game. It really does look and "feel" that familiar at times. Which isn't to say, of course, that this game is in the same class as Outlast. But it's a fairly impressive effort, just the same; especially for something so clearly low-budget and, well, kinda short. That's the first thing many of you probably need to know: this ain't a long'un. A couple of hours, tops, if you really take your time. Which the game doesn't exactly encourage you to do, given how quickly those pesky camera batteries run out...and you really are gonna need that warmth-giving green-screen glow if you're gonna make it out alive. The next question many horror fans are wont to ask these days: is there combat, or is it entirely "stealth" and/or chase scenes? The answer to that question is: lots of combat, and a tiny bit of running. No hiding. In fact, the first time you encounter a zombie, the game warns you that you're "a doctor, not a fighter" (!)...then promptly ensures that you can't easily avoid any of the combats anyway, by denying you a crouch button and sticking many of the enemies in your direct and frequently narrow path (e.g. corridors). That's another question I can happily answer for you: yup, it's pretty linear. Not to the point of tedium - there's still a mild air of exploration - but lovers of "open worlds" won't exactly be enthralled. The mapping, on the whole, is solid but uninspired. And the missions, suffice it to say, are exclusively of a find-a-key/fetch-an-item/find-gas-for-a-generator variety. In short, if you're looking for originality, you've come to the wrong place. You've also come to the wrong place if you're a stubborn Achievement hunter, 'cause they're apparently all broken after the first two (and never liable to be fixed by the devs, judging by the forums). If, on the other hand, you can admire a well-executed game working with limited resources, and can ignore a few minor bugs and other shortcomings here and there, then this may well be worth your seven-bucks-or-less. There's certainly plenty to recommend here: some decent scares, a tense atmosphere, some genuinely head-f*cking hallucinogenic antics, and combat that is suitably short, sharp and brutal for a game of this tone. My only semi-major complaint, really, is the story...which starts well, meanders in the middle, then very nearly ends well, but decides to convolute things unnecessarily in the last moments of the final cutscene. Oh well. A bona fide good'un, just the same. Verdict: 8/10. (PS If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my two Curator pages: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/9284586-ReviewsJustfortheHELLofit/ http://store.steampowered.com/curator/10868048-Truly-Horrible-Horror-Games/?appid=398210 Cheers!)
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I remember playing this game a long time ago. Now that there is a remaster, I tried it again. And from what I remember the game looks, feels and plays way better now. Granted the game is short(3 hours at most), and combat is probably a weak point. But I did enjoy the story (again) and would recommend this to any horror fan. The game is cheap so why not try it:)
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Honestly, this was a great game of horror and a great mix of fighting (PVE), I would definitely recommend this games to friends, if I had any. Overall, good game and can't wait for the new game to come out!
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Roots of Insanity is publisher/developer Crania Games' debut title, released on April 5, 2017. Since then, a few updates to the game have been issued, and the developer is active in the forums, supporting the community and actively listening to the feedback of those who have supported them. With that said, some of the pictures on the store page are mildly misleading, as this game does not take place in third-person (except during a section of combat, better explained below) but rather first-person. You take on the role of one Dr. Riley McClein, a doctor who suffers from epilepsy. As you attempt to control an oncoming epileptic attack, you decide to make your way back to your office to grab your medicine, only to hear a blood curdling scream coming from the B block of the hospital. Fighting through your hallucinations, you soon discover that many of the staff have been violently murdered, and it's up to you to find out just what's going on in this hospital of chaos. There are notes scattered about, and they're all doctor perspective patient logs that do not fully add to the overall story. The brief cutscenes contribute to some degree, but overall the developer does need to work on their storytelling abilities as much of the plot comes off as confusing; this is mostly due to the fact that the plot bounces from subject to subject. At one point, you're trying to figure out where a scream came from, and then you're looking for the main character's father; at times, it really makes no sense. Although the plot isn't the strong point of Roots of Insanity, where it does shine is within its creepy, tense atmosphere. The soundtrack and effects that Crania Games chose for this title are superb, and they help to keep a constant feeling of tension within the player even when no danger is readily present. From distant screams, to groaning zombies, and random pounding on the wall, you're sure to be kept on the edge of your seat for the entire hour and a half duration of the game. Not to mention, the dimly, and sometimes not even at all, lit corridors, blood-soaked walls and floors, strewn-about bodies, feasting zombies, and foggy hospital exterior all contribute as well. There are some jumpscares, which have a 50/50 chance to be effective, but the true horror lies within the game's incredible ambiance. Of course, those who have said that Roots of Insanity reminds them of Outlast are completely right. This title does have a camcorder mechanic, complete with the survival element of needing to find batteries to use it. It's not completely essential, but much of the game is dark, and the camera does help to light your way. You must also find medicine to use when you get injured from fighting zombies, who can take good chunks of your bar away with just a few hits. Traversing from area to area, you will be required to perform certain tasks before a new part of the game will open up, although you will find yourself completing circles and coming back to the same base areas a few times over. It should be noted that right now, only two of the 13 achievements work. There was an update to the game as recently as May 16, 2017, but it did not address this particular issue. The update also improved the combat system, although it still is a bit janky and hard to get used to. During a fight sequence, your best option is to repeatedly move backwards while swinging your knife or axe at a zombie, and if you're outside you're able to use your gun. However, when using the gun, you enter a third-person mode, which is very weird since the rest of the game is in first-person. The gun provides very little feedback, so the zombie kills feel very unsatisfying to say the least. Despite all of the downsides to Roots of Insanity, it's clear that Crania Games have poured a lot of love, time, and effort into their debut release. Their inspiration has been wholeheartedly taken from the Outlast series, but they've been able to put a unique spin on a pre-existing concept by meshing it with a deep psychological horror mindset. All this title needs is a bit more TLC via patches and updates to truly polish the product, and then it can stand on its own as an excellent low-budget indie horror title. It should also be noted that the game features excellent optimization, and doesn't suffer from any game breaking bugs or crashes. Rating: 3.5/5.0 - Average, can take it or leave it. The Horror Network [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28221963/]Curator | [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetwork]Group Click for Gore
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Frequently Asked Questions
Roots of Insanity is currently priced at 5.69€ on Steam.
Roots of Insanity is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 5.69€ on Steam.
Roots of Insanity received 296 positive votes out of a total of 432 achieving a rating of 6.55.
😐
Roots of Insanity was developed by Crania Games and Goktug Ulvan and published by Crania Games.
Roots of Insanity is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Roots of Insanity is not playable on MacOS.
Roots of Insanity is not playable on Linux.
Roots of Insanity is a single-player game.
There is a DLC available for Roots of Insanity. Explore additional content available for Roots of Insanity on Steam.
Roots of Insanity does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Roots of Insanity does not support Steam Remote Play.
Roots of Insanity is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Roots of Insanity.
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Last Updates| Steam data | 26 October 2025 15:21 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 28 October 2025 10:44 |
| Steam price | 31 October 2025 20:42 |
| Steam reviews | 29 October 2025 22:07 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Roots of Insanity, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Roots of Insanity
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Roots of Insanity concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Roots of Insanity compatibility
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Developer
Crania Games,
Goktug Ulvan
Publisher
Crania Games
Release
04 Apr 2017
Platforms
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