Typically, when it comes to horror games on the Switch, there have been some solid swings but a lot of misses. Whether the issue has been related to performance, an over-reliance on cheap jump scares, or simply that they haven’t been terribly interesting or scary it has been a bit of a rough road. The Mortuary Assistant, after making quite a splash on PC and social media, absolutely was looking to change that, and still may if you’re willing to be patient with it.

Without delving too deep into the premise, the basic things you’ll need to know is that you’ll be performing the tasks of a Mortuary Assistant, thus the name. In this aspect it’s actually a bit of a sim in some ways, as you’ll mechanically need to perform the grim, but essential, tasks of processing the paperwork and preparation of corpses for their ultimate destination. What makes the game start to get pretty messed up, and will have you on edge, is that there are demonic forces about, and they tend to be very good at making themselves known in ways that are sure to put you on edge. Rather than purely resorting to pretty predictable jumpscares, more often than not these will start out more subtly on the edge of your periphery and then get more intense over time.

Where things go awry is in the area of controls. The interfaces and activities that are essential to you getting your job done were obviously designed for PC, and making them work with a controller was handled well enough that the game is playable, but it can be cumbersome and quirky at best in places. This, unfortunately, can make for a bit of push-and-pull where you may want to hold on for the suspense and creeps of it all, but some of the tedium to keep things advancing can be its own horror show depending on how quickly your patience wears thin.

For once the issue here isn’t so much the fault of the Switch itself, I would wager that the console controls are roughly the same across all systems. But this really feels like an experience best enjoyed on a PC where everything works as it was meant to, staying efficient on the control side and letting you spend more time with the vibes and freaking yourself out a bit. This is still enjoyable on Switch, it just isn’t the ideal vehicle for this experience.