The Mortuary Assistant PS5 Review

The Mortuary Assistant PS5 Review – Memorable morbid horror

Upon starting The Mortuary Assistant, my initial impressions were not particularly favourable. The opening cutscene’s animation appeared stiff and unnatural, and the characters’ mouth movements were unusually fast when speaking, giving it a low-budget feel. However, the atmosphere improves significantly once you arrive at the mortuary, offering an engaging and unsettling experience with a few surprises along the way.

You play as Rebecca Owens, and her first night as a mortuary assistant is eventful—most people would likely quit immediately afterwards. Rebecca’s job involves preparing deceased bodies for viewings. You’ll be taking bodies out of cold storage on a gurney, then preparing the bodies by completing tasks such as wiring the mouth shut and filling the body with embalming fluids. The items for these tasks are randomly generated around the mortuary, and it takes a little getting used to knowing where things are. Initially, the embalming process can be jarring, as it is based on real-life mortuary techniques. However, once the initial shock subsides, the game begins to feel like a mortuary simulator—although there is more to it than just preparing bodies.

While working, Rebecca is interrupted by paranormal occurrences and soon learns from her boss that the mortuary is a playground for demons. Worse still, she discovers she is on the brink of possession and must banish the demon before time runs out. To do this, she must discover the demon’s name by using “letting strips”, which reveal sigils around the mortuary. Once the name is uncovered, Rebecca must bind the demon to the correct body and burn it in the furnace. Identifying the possessed body requires careful observation, as signs can range from subtle movements of the deceased to full-blown possession and hallucinations. The game provides clues via a computer, helping you determine the correct demon. Events occur over a number of shifts, and as these events unfold, more about Rebecca’s past—as well as her boss’s—is revealed, with six possible endings to discover.

“Once you become accustomed to the Mortuary Assistant’s controls, you’ll find yourself efficiently navigating the embalming process, though it does take a bit of time to get used to.”

Initially, the controls feel awkward and not particularly intuitive, especially on consoles. Item management is cumbersome, requiring multiple steps to drop items, and some menus are clearly not properly configured for consoles. Menu navigation lacks expected features, such as a “back” button to close menus (usually pressing the B button closes menus on consoles), and there are additional unnecessary complications, such as trying to exit one menu only to find yourself stuck in another (due to the lack of a cursor). The controls also feel clumsy when preparing bodies, suggesting the game was designed with a mouse and keyboard in mind rather than a controller. However, once you become accustomed to the controls, you’ll find yourself efficiently navigating the embalming process, though it does take a bit of time to get used to.

There are also issues with the sound design and animations. There is no sound effect for walking, and a sink lacks the animation of running water, even when you can hear it is clearly in use. Some animations are glitchy, with characters walking through desks or suddenly popping off the screen. I also nearly got the gurney stuck in a doorway, which added to the overall sense of clunkiness in the game’s mechanics. As a port of the PC game, the graphics also look noticeably less polished, with blurry words on items, bodies looking less smooth than their PC counterparts (though this kind of works in its favour as they look more decayed, adding to the creepy factor), and lighting looking less luminescent.

Despite these setbacks, the game remains suspenseful and delivers a surprising number of scares. You might see something eerie in the background while navigating menus, hear whispered voices, or find Rebecca transported into different dimensions as her possession progresses and the demon toys with her mind. There are also a few jump scares to be cautious of. These elements offer variation in gameplay and keep the tension high throughout.

The Mortuary Assistant PS5 Review Summary:

The Mortuary Assistant offers a unique and atmospheric experience that combines realistic mortuary procedures with unsettling paranormal elements. While the game has its shortcomings, particularly with clunky controls, sound design issues, and occasional animation glitches, it successfully creates a tense and suspenseful environment that keeps players on edge. The compelling narrative and the mystery surrounding Rebecca’s past add some depth to the gameplay, making it worth enduring the technical flaws. For those willing to overlook its rough edges, The Mortuary Assistant delivers an eerie and memorable horror experience.