When you think of horror games, your mind tends to turn to abandoned or decrepit areas, or perhaps just places that make you uneasy or leave you all alone in an unwanted environment. Because of how easy it would be to make a cheap horror game that takes place fully within one of these naturally uneasy areas is the exact reason most horror games are designed to just have you pass through them or experience them for a single level.

Without concern about the cliche or claims of taking an easy horror route, DarkStone Digital created their latest game The Mortuary Assistant, and partnered with DreadXP to get it published. With the game taking place inside of a morgue, you would imagine a bunch of typical scares, but they definitely ramped up the possibilities of what can scare you as this game brings some of the most natural jump scares I’ve experienced in a while.

Story

As a new apprentice in the River Fields Mortuary, you have put in months of hands-on practice with the mortician. Late one night, you get a call asking for you to take care of a few embalmings that had come in as the mortician was feeling under the weather. Realizing this is your moment to prove you’re worthy of becoming a mortician of your own, you head in to handle the task.

However, while you are here, it seems that something is different. Perhaps it’s the bodies… perhaps it’s something about yourself. It isn’t long into the night shift that you get a call from the mortician and learn the truth. Now, knowing that you aren’t able to leave, you must finish the job you came to do and try to survive!

Gameplay

When you start the game, they have you do a basic ‘search for your keys’ kind of mission step. This gives you a chance, in the safety of your apartment, to get used to the movement and interaction controls. All of these are pretty straight forward and they don’t really expand much further, so take a moment to figure it all out before getting started. Once you leave the apartment, there’s no going back.

At the mortuary, you begin your late-night work in a pretty benign way, but it is only the beginning. Here you figure out some of the actual steps to embalming the bodies and get to look around the lab for the different items you need. The fun does begin during this process, but only in little moments. After you get the lab down a little better and start to understand the checklist on your clipboard a bit more, you will find the embalming part of the job is rather simple.

Looking around the office and you will come across some varying puzzle-like tasks to solve. It starts simple with gaining access to the computer and opening a secret box, but it will expand from here so be ready to keep that thinking cap nearby. Of course, the fears that lurk around you aren’t at bay just because you aren’t working on the bodies at that time, so be sure to stay observant and keep your nerves steeled.

When I use the phrase ‘natural jump scare,’ what I mean is that it doesn’t feel forced. There are plenty of games that provide jump scares out there, but they are always things that are in your face or come straight at you. These jump scares are more… well, natural. You look out the window at the wrong time and see something, or someone, staring at you; you get caught up in the embalming tasks and when you turn around or look up, there’s something looking at you and it scurries away; you turn to grab an item you need and catch a shadow standing in one of the hallways and it won’t go away until you approach it. These are much more natural than the usual styles used to create jump scares and using this style is much more effective, in my opinion.

Other than the moments actually in the mortuary, there will be some unique moments. These parts of the game definitely helped maintain a growing interest in learning the truth myself, as the player, and finding my way through the night! DarkStone has provided similar out-of-the-environment-like moments before in Our Secret Below, so this type of moment might be a signature for the indie developer and one I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of. This is as detailed as I’d like to go on this part of the game for the sake of maintaining a spoiler-free explanation.

Audio and Visuals

When it comes to the music choice in this game, they did a great job keeping it mostly empty or really light during parts where they want the player to have their guard down and then bringing in proper tones for moments they wanted to make sure players didn’t miss. Leaving some of the natural jump scare moments without any sounds or music was a creepy aspect on its own - possibly because when there is a chance to scare the players, most games will put a sound there to make sure it is noticed. Couple this with the proper use of sound effects to build up the environment and make it a bit immersive and the sound design was well done.

Aesthetically, the environment was pretty decent, if not a bit minimalistic. It had everything it needed to look like a mortuary, but the building was honestly smaller than I would expect an actual mortuary. Not to mention that the characters and bodies all had a low-polished look to them. If there is one thing I would like to see from future DarkStone games, it would be improved character’s.

Replayability

Other than hoping to see a jump scare you missed or detail you wanted to examine a bit closer, the game itself is rather linear. While there was a randomized feel to the way the jump scares are laid out, they are mostly scripted and well placed to give off that constant surprise affect.

What It Could Have Done Better

My only complaint is what I said before - if there is anything this team needs to work on, it is their character designs. Especially with a game like this where we are constantly up close to their character models, I would have liked a bit better quality in the aesthetic of the models. Perhaps the lower polish was a good fit for a game where we are embalming the bodies, but if you are going to have players up close to something for a large chunk of the game, it should be the supreme aesthetic aspect of the game.

Verdict

The Mortuary Assistant is one of the best horror games I have played this year! When it comes to actually providing scares on a regular basis throughout the game, this title will always come to mind for me. While I enjoy most horror experiences, it is nice to get an experience that felt genuinely designed to surprise the player in a way that doesn’t feel forced. Easily a title I would recommend to anybody looking for a good horror game to provide a memorable scare experience.

The Mortuary Assistant is now available on PC via Steam.