by Chris Jackson
PLATFORM: PC, SWITCH (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Ever fancied stepping into the shoes of a newly-qualified mortuary assistant? Here’s a game that allows you to do that very thing, pretty much playing like a mortuary simulator while throwing in a helping of survival horror for good measure. A peculiar premise, but one that works much better than you might imagine.
The first thing you’ll need to do when taking your new position at River Fields mortuary is to collect a corpse from cold storage, perform your initial observations and then carry out the embalming process. After inspecting the body, recording any unique markings or distinguishing features and typing up the embalming records, you’ll set the cadaver’s face by wiring the jaw closed and fixing the eyelids into position. Then, you’ll need to mix the embalming fluids, drain the body and pump your newly-mixed concoction into the cavity before taking it back to storage. Except it isn’t quite as straightforward as it seems, as it quickly transpires that one of the corpses in the storage room is possessed by a demonic entity which is using its powers to attack you, causing all manner of unnerving events to happen as you go about your business…
Your only real option is to keep working, using clues from your investigations to identify where the demon is hiding so that you can destroy it in the furnace. By checking the mortuary for sigils, observing the cadavers for signs of activity, and using the handy NightShift app on the office computer to put all the pieces together, the idea is to identify the correct corpse, place a special mark on the body, then destroy the demon by placing the body in the furnace. Get it right and you’ll live to work another shift, but five different endings (as well as a couple of secret ones) mean that there are several ways that the story can go, depending on how well you perform your tasks.
Even though it’s not the best looking game in the world, preparing a body and shuffling around a mortuary are nevertheless rather grim tasks, made even more unnerving by the strange occurrences that keep happening while you’re trying to work. Some rather unnerving sound design adds to the atmosphere, with the cracking and crunching of nails being hammered into skulls and the cold mechanical grind of the machine that pumps blood out of the cadavers both being particularly unpleasant. With the added confusion caused by the paranormal events that can strike at any moment, the whole thing is deeply unsettling, conjuring a very similar feeling to seeing Ghostwatch as a 12 year old all the way back in 1992 (which possibly won’t mean much to some readers, but if you get it you’ll remember that feeling very well indeed!). A few of the game’s endings, which flesh out the story behind the demonic possessions, are a little tricky to uncover, most likely requiring a quick trip to the internet to find out how to unlock them, but that’s really the only gripe. The Mortuary Assistant is certainly a rather unique game, but those who are part of its niche audience will undoubtedly have a very memorable experience.
