A solid fusion of the chore simulation genre and jump scare horror. While the actual mortuary work itself is unchanging, the constant threat of other concerns keeps that part of the game loop feeling fresh. Eventually though, as with most chore sims, the work becomes stale. I guess there is nothing quite like your first cadaver.

While I was, quite honestly, shocked at how much story was tucked away into the corners of this game, the main thrust of a shift at River Fields is identical from night to night. I would have loved to see some alteration to the formula on subsequent shifts, but other than digging into story bits or experiencing new hauntings, Rebecca's new nightlife is static.

In updates, the developer has talked openly about their wish to update, expand, and grow the game. I enjoyed my brief time in The Mortuary Assistant, and will return when there is more to uncover.

The Mortuary Assistant was both a job simulator and a horror game. The embalming portion was well done with no other game of its kind going into such detail; do you know what a trocar is? You will after this. The gameplay loop consisted of trying to find the demon hiding in one of the bodies, certain procedures able to help discern which one to banish. During this there were haunt events, where spirits would pop up and mess around. As someone who’s not jump scared easily, some of these got me so consider me impressed.

It encouraged replayability with five endings in total, as well as randomised events that occurred on different shifts—the intention was to keep playing after the initial first shift. I played it to death (pun not intended), and had a great time.

you never forget the first corpse you embalm. for me, it was a 29 year old woman named jade. she had three deep scratches on her back, and i thought she was marked for demonic possession. while i was entering her information into the computer system, jade sat up to stare at me. i didn't really like that.

talking about the mortuary assistant in detail is hard. this is primarily because i think it is best experienced with as little information as possible; every step of this game was remarkably unique in how it was used as a game mechanic. procedurally generated hauntings and bodies don't always keep it feeling fresh, and with five endings to find, this is one of those games i think people will struggle to finish. it doesn't take away from the experience, though.

it's a crying shame this came out in august. there's no bad time to launch a horror game, i think, and it's not like the game's being overshadowed by something else, but with mechanics and a storyline like this? the mortuary assistant is the perfect halloween night stream game. here's hoping that it totters all the way there. i think there's something special here, and a potential for something like a minor P.T. moment. there's scares in this one that'll stick with me for ages.

The jumpscares in this might be the best of any horror game I've played, although they were a mixed bag. A sliding scale of "boring" to "I had to pause and hold my chest for a moment". Some were even annoying, namely the grandma cutscene that is way too long and doesn't let you do anything while it happens.

Outside of the scares, the gameplay can get extremely repetitive. The placement of the tools shifting is more irritating than innovative, and aside from a rare few times, the demons are easy to spot. Definitely a game to be played in moderation.

The lore is interesting – especially the stuff that gets revealed in the 6th ending – but I'm personally not a fan of the non-linear story. It's a little confusing, and in terms of the during-shift cutscenes, also adds to the repetitiveness.

All in all, fun, but I probably won't return to it unless they add more endings or I get the urge to embalm some bodies.

Shifts Completed: 12
Times Possessed: 4 (3 were for endings okay trust)
Demons Banished: 10
Bodies Embalmed: 36
Bodies Burned: 15
Endings Got: 6 Out of 6

The game wants to have a scary experience, but unfortunately it tries to do it with cheap jumpscares. As a story, we play a person who is tormented by his past, and while trying to get rid of this torment in the story, we are also trying to exorcise a demon who has taken over dead bodies. The story isn't bad, but it's a game that offers unsuccessful storytelling. In terms of gameplay, it is a game that gets repetitive (after all, it's normal since our job is a morgue) and gets boring from time to time. It is a well thought out concept but insufficient in terms of gameplay.

This is probably the closest someone's gotten to making something truly great with the "perform menial simulator task while avoiding spookies" genre. The main issue I have is that by the second run I was such a pro at the game that I wasn't really scared at all, and by the third I had gotten an achievement telling me I had seen every scare in the game. Needs more mechanical complexity. As it stands though, that first run was stellar with some amazing atmosphere building. I'm not a fan of the more over the top scares the game pulls but that's just me. Still eternally searching for a good middleground between Welcome to the Game's bullshit design and Signal Simulator's meme game with tension up the ass vibes.