The morgue assistant quickly became a viral sensation among YouTubers and streamers thanks to its atypical approach to scaring players. Following the story of Rebecca Owens as she battles her figurative and literal demons during a shift as the titular morgue assistant, the player will experience a series of disturbing and scary encounters that range from the subtle to the dramatic. In reality, The morgue assistant takes a significant step away from the overuse of jumpscares endemic to the horror genre, especially among indie games, which could explain why it surged in popularity.
This departure could therefore be indicative of a return to earlier horror game mechanics that focused on subversion and discomfort rather than shock and gore. The most notorious example of this lies with Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem which became popular for its “healthy effects”, instead attempting to scare players through similar subversive means that ranged from in-game hallucinations to fourth-wall-breaking events. if The morgue assistant could encourage future horror games to embrace a like-minded ethos towards its fears, then this could finally pave the way for a much-anticipated revival of Eternal darkness.
The horror of the morgue assistant
To claim that The morgue assistant does not use jumpscares which would be imprecise, but instead the game deviates from this and incorporates a wide spectrum of methods to upset or frighten its players. Some are clearly obvious, often the result of hallucinations where Rebecca is attacked by her grandmother for being back in her apartment when she was an addict. Others, however, are less overt, subtly employing visual and auditory fears designed to be on the periphery of the players. These could be corpses moving or talking to creatures peeking from corners only to disappear as soon as they are spotted, all enhanced by The morgue assistant macabre attitude.
What contributes to? The morgue assistant fear factor is the need for the player to not only go through these fears, but actually pay attention to them. While The morgue assistant has multiple endings, in order to successfully beat the game and get the “good” ending, players must correctly identify and exorcise the demon targeting Rebecca. To do this, the player must locate runes around the morgue to identify the demon and select the correct corpse to burn, both of which are recognized by the increased chases that indicate to the player whether they are making the right decisions.
In short, The morgue assistant forces the hand of the players and causes them to engage in his horror, including both the overt and the subtle fears. The only downside is the game’s insistence on multiple playthroughs, if players want to see all five endings, and while fears are random, it’s clear that they can lose effectiveness after seeing them multiple times. However, The morgue assistantIts limited scope and aspiration to be a horror game with a replay value like others of its kind can be forgiven, because despite its size, the indie game still offers a decent horror experience with a good amount of story.
Hope in Eternal Darkness
Despite being celebrated by fans and critics as one of the greatest horror games of all time, Eternal darkness currently remains just a cult classic. While studios have tried to remaster Eternal darkness, continue the franchise, or simply create a spiritual successor, so far there has been no such luck. But as Nintendo continues to revamp the Eternal darkness trademark, fans remain hopeful that there could be a return to the franchise someday. With the success of The morgue assistantthis could finally be made possible due to the core similarities between the two games.
It’s likely other indie games may follow The morgue assistant footsteps, inspired by the horror and popularity it generated, and the increased interest in this style of horror game could find its way back to Nintendo and other major developers. The morgue assistant and Eternal darkness are very similar in how they try to scare and upset the player, with similar mechanics ranging from breaking the fourth wall to causing hallucinations. Ever since Eternal darkness‘ trademark is still active with the hope of a Eternal Darkness 2 on the Switch, there’s every chance the franchise could return The morgue assistantthe succes.
The morgue assistant is now available on PC.
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