- Tattoo Artist
- Indiana Jones
- Mortician
I've been a tattoo artist, Indiana Jones is kind of a lofty goal, but working in the funeral industry has always been something I've always wanted to do, for whatever reason. Maybe it was because my uncle would talk about his time in the business before going into nursing, who knows? What I am sure of, is that it stayed with me. All throughout school, I did reports, slide shows, and countless other presentations on the subject.
So, imagine my interest when I hear about a sim coming out on Steam called A Mortician's Tale. I had it wishlisted for a long time, and then, last month, I find out that it's coming out before Halloween. Today, I got a message on my Steam app telling me it was out, so, of course, I picked it up immediately.
I've only screenshotted and am reviewing the first few cases, but here's what I've found in the small time that I've played.
First thing that I noticed was the art design. It almost reminds me of the design for Costume Quest, but the proportions on the bodies were a lot more anatomically correct. The color scheme is primarily shades of purple (reminds me of The Birthday Massacre album covers, oddly enough), with your objectives in gold. It's easy to look at, and I really like the overall art style.
As far as story goes, you play as a girl named Charlie, and you're new to this "Mom and Pop" funeral home. You get your introductions through your computer, to which you get messages from your old friend who moved to London, check a monthly newsletter, communicate with co-workers and get missions.
When you accept a mission, you go directly out of the computer screen, and directly to work. The work area is pretty straight-forward. Since the introduction mission is on the table, you just head over and click.
Once you enter the body screen, you'll see your tools sitting to the side. What I like about the setup of this screen I that it all generally goes in steps. Where other games dealing with surgery, for example, have the items all over the place, even when those items are supposed to go in steps, this actually has them in order, which makes it less frustrating to deal with. The mission itself tells you what you need to do. With this first lady, she just needed cleaned up, so you just click the sponge, and get her cleaned. Once prep is done, you head to pay respects. This is where I started to get impressed.
What impressed me, specifically, was that, with any other game, they would have just had nonsense, generic phrases, or maybe no text at all with the family members. Instead, what you find is well thought-out speech that's individual to each case.
One of the rewarding factors is getting emails like this, thanking the funeral home for it's work from the family after the service. Again, with other games, the emails might end up being generic, whereas these have depth. For example, in the same set of messages, you also get a thoughtful story from your coworker about his first time going to a funeral.
It should be noted that also, with the explanation of what to do next during your procedures, it not only gives you instructions, but also gives you a short explanation as to why you're doing what you're doing, which is not only helpful from a gamer stance, but from a learning perspective.
Besides the embalming route, there's also cremation, which, also gives you information on how and why things are done as they are.
Once you have taken her necklace off of her, it's time to put her in, and then the process of putting the remains into an urn begins.
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So far, I've really enjoyed the in-depth text and small details that are put into the game. The information is helpful and it gets easy to get attached to what you're doing and wanting to be respectful to the families and deceased that pass through. More than that, there seems to be a developing story that's happening with your boss that I'm curious to see where it's headed.
If you pick it up now, there's a 20% discount on steam, and if you get the bundled edition with the soundtrack, it's a 24% discount. If you're into sims and more visual novel type stuff, then this may be right for you.
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Verdict - Spoiler Free
-------------------------------------------------------------
I wasn't planning on doing an actual update to this blog entry particularly, but honestly, after beating the game, I felt that it was important to go over some things before a person might buy it.
While the first bit of the game feels like you're just starting to get into it, you quickly realize that it's just the same thing over and over. What I mean by that is that it keeps giving you instruction, even after you've performed the procedures multiple times.
The story does, in fact, go forward, but after about 6 months, completely stops and fasts forwards you to the end, which is my biggest gripe. the ending can be reached in less than an hour, and for what normally goes for $15, I just didn't find it worth it.
At the moment, the Steam review section is mixed, but many people have the same complaints about how they liked the game, and they would want to recommend it, but don't feel right because the price doesn't match what you get for it.
So ultimately, it looks like a lot of people like the direction it was going, and was excited to get into it, but due to the length, price, and the lack of story towards what would have been the end of the first half of the game, they couldn't recommend.
As for me, I think if it goes down in price, I would recommend it. It's got some good information in it, and does well with making you feel for the families. $5 range might be something I would consider.
One of the rewarding factors is getting emails like this, thanking the funeral home for it's work from the family after the service. Again, with other games, the emails might end up being generic, whereas these have depth. For example, in the same set of messages, you also get a thoughtful story from your coworker about his first time going to a funeral.
It should be noted that also, with the explanation of what to do next during your procedures, it not only gives you instructions, but also gives you a short explanation as to why you're doing what you're doing, which is not only helpful from a gamer stance, but from a learning perspective.
Besides the embalming route, there's also cremation, which, also gives you information on how and why things are done as they are.
Once you have taken her necklace off of her, it's time to put her in, and then the process of putting the remains into an urn begins.
---------
So far, I've really enjoyed the in-depth text and small details that are put into the game. The information is helpful and it gets easy to get attached to what you're doing and wanting to be respectful to the families and deceased that pass through. More than that, there seems to be a developing story that's happening with your boss that I'm curious to see where it's headed.
If you pick it up now, there's a 20% discount on steam, and if you get the bundled edition with the soundtrack, it's a 24% discount. If you're into sims and more visual novel type stuff, then this may be right for you.
*****************************************
Verdict - Spoiler Free
-------------------------------------------------------------
I wasn't planning on doing an actual update to this blog entry particularly, but honestly, after beating the game, I felt that it was important to go over some things before a person might buy it.
While the first bit of the game feels like you're just starting to get into it, you quickly realize that it's just the same thing over and over. What I mean by that is that it keeps giving you instruction, even after you've performed the procedures multiple times.
The story does, in fact, go forward, but after about 6 months, completely stops and fasts forwards you to the end, which is my biggest gripe. the ending can be reached in less than an hour, and for what normally goes for $15, I just didn't find it worth it.
At the moment, the Steam review section is mixed, but many people have the same complaints about how they liked the game, and they would want to recommend it, but don't feel right because the price doesn't match what you get for it.
So ultimately, it looks like a lot of people like the direction it was going, and was excited to get into it, but due to the length, price, and the lack of story towards what would have been the end of the first half of the game, they couldn't recommend.
As for me, I think if it goes down in price, I would recommend it. It's got some good information in it, and does well with making you feel for the families. $5 range might be something I would consider.
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