Wheeling a body out of cold storage, wiring its jaw shut, and draining it of all the blood. These are just some of the embalming tasks you have to complete in new indie release The Mortuary Assistant.
Although, you’ll have to make sure you avoid being possessed by the demonic presences lurking inside River Fields Mortuary.
A minor detail that your boss Raymond decides to keep to himself until after he’s called you in for the night shift and it’s too late to hand in your notice and go home. Whilst surviving the shift of nightmares, you must embalm bodies and solve puzzles in order to banish the demons that are attempting to latch themselves onto you.
You play as Rebecca, who is introduced to us at the start of the game, with a cutscene revealing her grandmother’s reluctance about her job at River Fields, a place which seems to have secrets of its own.
The point and click horror developed by Darkstone Digital certainly delivers some very good scares. Whilst some are the typical light flickering, loud thud type, many are placed right when you’d least expect them and definitely caused me to jump more than I’d like to admit.
Following the checklist of embalming tasks you have to complete isn’t easy when ominous voices from the underworld suddenly start speaking to you, or a shadowy apparition begins chasing you down the hallways.
Throughout the game there are some occult style rituals you have to perform, this works as a type of puzzle mechanic throughout the game – you must spot the signs of demonic possession which can present themselves through the corpse, such as the body suddenly moving or grabbing you during an inspection. At times I did find the controls weren’t very smooth, in particular the gurney you have to use to wheel the bodies was difficult to move.
Another of the puzzle mechanics relies on Rebecca lighting a letting strip and walking around River Fields; when in the right place, these will spontaneously set alight, revealing a sigil. By using the 90’s style computer database you can work out the name of the demon attempting to possess you.
This aspect of the game is very engaging, while trying to work out which body to burn, it feels like you are working against the clock. By using a notepad and pen, Rebecca can scribble on a piece of paper and work out how close she is to possession.
Don’t expect to get used to it though as there are different endings to unlock and you will face unique scares with each playthrough. So far I’ve only unlocked one of five endings, but it has left me wanting to play more and work out all the secrets of River Fields.
Whilst the puzzles, mysteries, and clues are well crafted, I did run into an issue when one of my letting strips set alight in a dimly lit area of the map and it was basically impossible to find the sigil.
Each playthrough does follow the same set of mechanics and tasks, so despite facing different scares, you do embalm the same bodies and complete the same tasks each time – which can become repetitive.
Overall, The Mortuary Assistant is a must-play for horror fans. The amount of secrets hiding within lends itself a great deal of replayability. Paired with some truly gory and haunting imagery used throughout it creates an unsettling atmosphere right from the start.
4/5 stars
Images: The Mortuary Assistant, Darkstone Digital