Alien Morgue Review (PC)

I could be the best pathologist on planet earth—the undisputed Sherlock Holmes of medical science, even—and I still wouldn’t have the slightest clue what the cause of death is for this particular alien corpse. I could read endless scrolls of data, even double up on a PhD to broaden my knowledge to extraterrestrial life and outer orbit viruses, and yet, again, I still would not have the faintest idea how this individual wound up on a cold slab in the dead of night. There are bits and pieces that I recognize, for sure, but aliens are a little different from humans, in that their clockwork operates at an arbitrary rate and without any real distinguishable pattern. But, I’m a pathologist, so the option of simply ignoring the facts tat and jumping straight to conclusions is, well, frowned upon. Thanks, Alien Morgue, thanks a bunch.

Suffice it to say, you don’t really to put two and two together here in order to understand the point of Alien Morgue. It’s a bit like a game of Operation, only, you don’t pluck at the electronic circuits and plastic organs of a corpse with a pair of second-hand tweezers, but rather, you analyze and ultimately determine the cause of death of an extraterrestrial being. And if you think that sounds like a walk in the park — it isn’t. Oh, you may know your ankles from your elbows, but do you know your Zathorn from your Obranii? I didn’t think so. But hey, join the club.

If Alien Morgue is anything at all, it’s an interactive game of trial and error—a pathological comedy that invites you to critically evaluate the alien culture and, through the power of rigorous scientific analysis and a whole lot of blind faith, fulfill the final wishes of the newly departed. As the curator of alien corpses, you have the responsibility of combing through important documents, analyzing bodies, and carefully carrying out detailed studies before chalking up a factual report to outline the cause of death and, eventually, whether or not the final demands were fulfilled, or if you were too incompetent to figure out the most basic of details — like their race. Guilty as charged.

For an autopsy simulator with a huge comical weight atop it, Alien Morgue does actually bring a lot of depth to the forefront of the medical field. Granted, it’s still a comedy at heart, and not to mention a game that favors silliness and tongue-in-cheek animations over complex and somewhat gruesome imagery. That said, to call Alien Morgue a joke without substance just wouldn’t be fair nor true. Oh, Alien Morgue has a pulse; it’s just incredibly difficult to recognize it when it’s shrouded in weird organs and ultraviolet bone fragments. But that’s an alien world for you, I guess.

Beneath its comical surface and pastel aesthetics lies a surprisingly in-depth experience with a great deal of patients, wishes, and opportunities to bend the world of pathology and post-mortem research in your favor. Alongside a trove of alien corpses to critically evaluate and dismantle, Alien Morgue also features an extensive collection of species, all of which have their own distinct origins, characteristics and features. Moreover, the game adopts a wide variety of questionable organs and peculiar body parts, true to the spirit of exaggerated sci-fi storytelling, naturally. It isn’t all that grotesque — but that’s sort of the point. It doesn’t vie to make you feel sick to your stomach; it wishes only to give you something to make you question your moral compass.

While there isn’t much of a storyline to unearth here, Alien Morgue does launder its own tale in the form of a loved one, a financial burden, and a pathway that orbits multiple endings, all of which you can unlock by following standard protocol or tailoring your practice to those with final wishes and a heart to see them through to the fullest. It’s up to you, in short, to figure out who to carefully analyze with a fine-tooth comb, and who to pass over to the pathology experts. Either way, there’s a good amount of content to plug into here, as well as dozens of unique species to foster and research. It’s still a short game that leaves a fair bit to be desired I’ll admit, but thanks to its ultraviolet undertones, thought-provoking pathological procedures, as well as its trove of grim yet intriguing limbs and alien body parts, it does make for a fun and surprisingly engaging experience.

Verdict

Alien Morgue isn’t the lifeless medical simulator that I thought it would be. Thankfully, it’s a lot more than a generic Operation-like doppelgänger; it’s a weird and wonderful interactive experience that brings a huge variety of peculiar species, cases, and avenues for you to openly explore and lean on to flex your pathological wizardry. Granted, it does involve a slight learning curve, and the journey as a whole isn’t the most transparent of its kind. That said, for where Alien Morgue often struggles to illuminate the best path forward, it does find numerous ways to keep you invested for the duration of each autopsy, whether it’s with a new species, dying wish, or otherworldly circumstance that needs to be pondered. The point is, Alien Morgue surpasses my expectations, and I’m sort of glad that it does.

While there’s no denying the fact that Alien Morgue falls into a rather niche category of job simulators, the fact remains as clear as day, truly. Yes, it’s an unusual experience that doesn’t always get everything right, as is it a game that appeals to just as many people as it does disgruntle them. Yet, it is an experience all the same, and one that supplies just as much comical relief as it does thought-provoking case files with distinctive details and victory criteria. What I mean to say here is that, The Mortuary Assistant forgiving, it isn’t all that common for a video game. The question is, is it a blessing in disguise or just a blatant curse that wears its radioactive heart on its sleeve?