The Byoin
Patients begin to die one by one under mysterious circumstances in a mental
hospital. A young nurse named Ikuko Matsuda doubts that these deaths were
natural. On day, Ikuko disappears, leaving behind a blood-stained cash card.
Her fiance Katsuyoshi Yamazaki ventures into the hospital, attempting to
investigate the mystery.
The By ōin (“The Hospital”) is an adventure game mostly consisting of text,
with a few black-white anime-style drawings or digitized photos for certain
locations and events. It is, however, not a text adventure, since there is no
text input. The player selects commands appearing on the menu to the left of
the main text body. These commands mostly include detailed examination
options.
Much of the challenge in the gameplay comes from amassing a large inventory
mainly consisting of documents of various types which serve as investigation
clues. There are also commands that may lead to Game Over in certain
situations. The game contains adult themes and a few images with nudity.
The Byoin