The Mortuary Assistant | PS5 Review

Publisher: Epic Games

Developer: DarkStone Digital

PS5 Review

*Disclaimer: I was sent the code for this game for PS4 in return for a review, all opinions are mine and mine alone.

Trigger Warning, this game features the embalming process. 

When you know what you're getting yourself into and still end up scared to death, thats exactly what has happened in this case. I've watched people play this, I know what I have to do and still I have ended up with nightmares, but alas it was my own fault, I wanted to review this game and knew what I was getting myself into. Let's just put it this way, this game scared me far more than P.T. did and that is saying something as I'm a chicken when it comes to horror games. The Mortuary Assistant was first released back in 2022 for Steam and Microsoft Windows, it's sinse been released on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S this year. I have been waiting to play it on PS5 and jumped at the chance to review it.

If you are sat there thinking why an earth would anyone want to embalm bodies in a game, are they weird? Yes, yes we are weird but also interested in the process, although I'm pretty sure it doesn't usually involve a demon that is coming for you like in this case. Your job, as the title suggests is to be a mortuary assistant, you're new and on a trial whilst working there to see if you're a good fit. You're called into work one evening to take over on your own, this alone is red flags because you're there to assist not work on your own.I knew what this meant and yes I was terrified and scared to progress but I carried on and faced my fears.

Your job involves checking the bodies who come in for any skin imperfections and logging it on a clipboard, this information is then added into the computer and printed out for an embalming report. After this is where the uneasy part begins, as with real life there are steps to embalming, on the clipboard you used to take note of the body there are tick off boxes on the list, you can't rush ahead or do it in the wrong order but you can explore your surroundings. When I first played I was so cautious about doing this, the thunder, strange noises and flashing lights would force me to go hide in a corner or face a wall incase I saw something horrid, do you know what happened as soon as I turned around? I saw a grinning scary face looking right back at me!

Embalming involves closing the jaw, putting caps over the eyes, removing bodily fluids in two different ways and moisturising the persons face, you have to clean the machinery once you have removed the fluids which is just as loud as removing the bodily fluids. The whole process can be very daunting, I do want to make people aware and just say the title alone lets you know that this is about dead bodies so it's not very unexpected and the steps you take are explained throughout the game so please if this game sounds like it would trigger you or make you feel uneasy just give it a miss. 

Puzzle solving or should I say mystery solving is what will save you from the demon, Your boss has thrown you in the deep end, there is only one way to get out of it and that is to survive. One of the bodies out of the 3 you will be embalming is possessed, you will need to look around workout how you will solve this mystery and save yourself. On my first try I failed and burned the right body but didn't solve the puzzle correctly which gave me one of the multiple endings, I wasn't very impressed with this, I was all chill one minute and the next I realised I messed up and the demon made me jump out of my skin... again. 

Jump scares are what make this game scarier than I thought they would, there is no way I can pin point times and locations to warn people of when they will take place because they happen randomly, i'm pretty sure this is the case for everyones game play, the actions that take place will happen at different times and locations for players. At one point there was banging on the window and this alone sent me into a panic and made me run away, scary games and me do not gel well, I'm surprised I have played it through so many times. If you're not a fan of the horror element there is an option to just embalm without the the horror side of things, there is even an option added to this where you can choose the time of day and whether or not you want thunder.

It can take anything from 30minutes to an hour to compete your shifts, my biggest bit of advice is look around and click on everything, yes you're limited on what you can hold just make sure that you keep note of where everything is mentally, it will help you. get through solving the spooky demon case. The more shifts you play through the better you get at learning how to defeat the demon. Learn the demons name, use the database on the computer and memorise and explore as much as you can. As someone who rarely plays horror games this has to be one of the best ones I have had the pleasure of trying out. It's not a typical jump scare, the anticipation is what will get to you more than anything.

Have a cosy or creepy day

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