The Mortuary Assistant places you in the role of an apprentice at River Fields Mortuary. The initial tasks are fairly routine, and with a degree in embalming, not particularly challenging – at least at first. One night, you are called in to embalm several newly arrived corpses, and it quickly becomes apparent that this shift will be anything but typical. Your task now is to fend off demonic forces, identify entities, and decipher clues to banish these demons and save your soul.
In 1994, I was filming my second feature film. The internet was in its infancy, and YouTube was nonexistent. At the time, feature films were the ultimate goal for aspiring filmmakers – or at least, that’s how it seemed. My first film was a 76-minute production called Mühletod, followed by the sequel Mühletod II – The Return the next year. The plot was straightforward: a killer stalks a house, eliminating any illegal entrants. While the killer meets his demise in the first film, the sequel sees him resurrected in the morgue’s cold storage. Interestingly, that sequence was filmed in an actual morgue, complete with bodies under sheets. The experience was surreal, and I recall feeling unnerved when I was supposed to film inside the cold storage as the cart with our prop body was rolled in. It was genuinely unsettling.
The release of The Mortuary Assistant brought back memories of that experience from three decades ago, and I was eager to explore what the game offered.
Initially, the gameplay focuses on the routine tasks of preparing a body. You retrieve the body from cold storage and meticulously follow the embalming procedure. The game initially feels somewhat mundane, but just as you finish the first body, a truly unsettling moment occurs, sending a chill down your spine.
As the game progresses and strange occurrences begin to manifest, The Mortuary Assistant truly captivates. It masterfully blends puzzle and horror elements. Success depends on careful observation and understanding of the clues provided. To aid you, recorded tapes offer insights into how to proceed.
Each playthrough offers a unique experience. While an overarching narrative unfolds across multiple sessions, each demon banished contributes only a fragment to the complete picture. The total playtime extends beyond 10 hours, and with the constantly shifting elements, further exploration and extended playtime are readily achievable.
A notable drawback of The Mortuary Assistant is the apparent budgetary constraints faced by the developers. The graphics and animations appear dated, particularly in the cutscenes. An example is a sequence where the main character holds a coffee cup, which lacks visual polish. The stiffness of hands and other elements, along with limited facial and hair animation, contribute to a somewhat rigid presentation. Acknowledging that this is not an AAA-titel title and shouldn’t be expected to match the flawless execution of larger productions, the limitations are still apparent. Considering that Deliver Us the Moon, another low-budget title, successfully leveraged its limitations to its advantage, the shortcomings in The Mortuary Assistant feel like a missed opportunity. Furthermore, the game mechanics can be unwieldy, requiring precise positioning to interact with objects. Instances occurred where solutions were hindered simply by the player’s position, leading to unnecessary backtracking.
In conclusion, I recommend The Mortuary Assistant for its genuinely chilling atmosphere and effective horror elements. However, the dated animations, graphics, and somewhat clunky game mechanics detract from the overall experience, impacting the final rating.
Dread XP provided a review code for this assessment. The provision of materials does not influence our editorial independence.
