Game Review: Mortisomem

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox One, XBox Series XS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

A while back we looked at a game called Terminal 81. It was an odd mix between a walking simulator and a survival horror game, with heavier emphasis on the former. It was developed by a single person named David Paleti, and published on consoles by Sometimes You. Today we're looking at a follow-up to that game, that mixes the same genres together, but with the emphasis switched. Mortisomem released on Steam early last year, and is set to arrive on all major consoles very soon. We're going to be taking a look at it on the Nintendo Switch, and see if it's a title worth picking up. There's a lot to go over in this one, so let's dive right in!

Mortisomem places you into the role of one Donald Barnes, an American merchant currently living in Brazil. The year is 1917, and Brazil isn't exactly as inviting a country as it is today. There are references to a long history of local conflicts, as well as the back drop of the First World War It's into this world that we come upon Donald drinking in a bar, conversing with a local. This man tells Donald of a local legend of a man who brutally murdered his family, only to become a demon known as "Mortisomem" following his execution. This Slenderman-like figure supposedly haunts the region to this day, and is said to be the cause of many of the mysterious deaths that have rendered some of the remote villages as mere ghost towns. Naturally, Donald doesn't believe a word this man has to say, and goes about his way. He hopes to make it to the dock that night, but fate has other plans for him. Following a bridge collapse, he then finds the path to the docks blocked. Seeing as he can't easily go back, he chooses to take an alternate route that will bring him into further into Brazil's interior. Unfortunately for Donald, he's not alone in this path, as the Mortisomem soon makes themselves known. It turns out that it is no mere legend, but that's little comfort to Donald, who know has to fight for his very survival. He eventually makes his way to another settlement, but he is told that he is marked by the Mortisomem, and must either put an end to its reign of terror, or become yet another victim. Though Donald Barnes would like nothing more than to go home, he instead finds that a quest to end the Mortisomem's reign of terror once and for all now lies before him.

One of the most interesting parts of Mortisomem's story has to be its setting. Brazil during this time period isn't a topic that a lot of people outside of the country are probably familiar with, and I for one found it to be more interesting than the game itself. It's not often that a game makes me want to learn more about the country that it's set in, but that's exactly what happened here. I found myself wanting to learn more about the Brazilian Empire, as well as the Paraguayan War that is mentioned several times throughout. Though I can't say for sure that all of the historical details are accurate, the game does make use of easily verifiable events, as well as authentic articles and pictures from the time. Sadly, the sense of realism doesn't extend towards the titular antagonist. Seeing how everything else seemed to be mostly accurate as far as history and culture go, I assumed that Mortisomem was a real legend of the area. That doesn't appear to be the case, though I can't rule out that it might be based on something I have no knowledge of. This totally minor gripe doesn't change the fact that the story is what really shines through here, even if it's told in a way that makes some details easily missable. Rather than a standard narrative, the game leans towards atmospheric storytelling, with notes, diary entries, and letters filling in much of the plot and world building. This does make sense considering the game's genre, but part of me still wished that Mortisomem told its tale in a more traditional manner.

Even though the action is a bit on the lighter side, I think it's safe to refer to Mortisomem as a survival horror game. You have a limited inventory to manage, a huge and deadly entity to outrun and survive, and specific safe areas where you'll encounter NPCs who drive the plot forward, or give you clues as to where the current McGuffin you're searching for is located. There isn't much else in the game for you to face off against besides the Mortisomem, so you can probably think of this as a take on the Resident Evil 3 formula. The Mortisomem is arguably more resilient than even Nemesis, though you do have some offensive capabilities at your disposal. Sadly, healing items are at a premium, so it's best to just avoid the creature whenever he shows up. His arrival is usually marked by screen distortion, so you are at least given some time to get to running. Running is something you'll be doing a lot of too, since the game gives you a lot of ground to cover. Fast travel is unlocked towards the end, but it can be quite tiring having to walk from Point A to Point B at the beginning. This does give the game more of a walking simulator/adventure game feel, albeit one that culminates in an epic boss fight at the end. That last part may be considered something of a spoiler, but I think we all knew where the game was leading us right from the beginning.

While I have mostly positive things to say regarding Mortisomem's story, I think that the overall gameplay is a bit lacking. My biggest issue with the game revolves around the fact that Mortisomem doesn't seem to know what kind of game it is. Its surprising huge open world, complete with several locations to visit, feels at odds with the pacing of the game itself. I much rather would have explored this world as a simple observer, and it also doesn't help that the game is structured in a way that artificially inflates its gameplay time. There is absolutely no way to save the game manually, with saving only occurring once specific checkpoints are reached. These often are spaced apart rather far, with the first one actually coming after the player's first encounter with the legendary demon. Since I didn't know what to do when the creature first attacked, I was quickly given my first Game Over screen, and soon learned that I had to start the game completely from the beginning. That's annoying enough on its own, but I had to do that another half dozen times or so before the end of the game. I was ultimately able to beat the game in about two hours or so, but I truly think I could've halved that time with a traditional save system.

I'm not done with the negatives though, as there is another point that made me wish the action in the game was just cut out completely. Considering that much of the game is spent fighting off the Mortisomem, you'd think they'd have made those mechanics feel tight and smooth. Not only does attacking feel like a mess in and of itself, running away can sometimes be worse. Even though the creature will often make their presence known, it'll usually grab you from behind before you have much time to react. Getting grabbed even once usually means a loss of life, meaning that the next grab will probably be fatal. This wouldn't be so bad if your health wasn't at a premium, but it made it so that I sometimes felt like I had screwed myself over with a bad encounter or two. Running away is also a chore, as performing said run requires the player to press down on the analog stick. Why games choose to do this is beyond me, especially considering that many buttons go unused in the game otherwise. I very often was unable to start running when I wanted to, and more often than not stopped running partway through because I wasn't pressing down hard enough. This ultimately made the sections where you encounter the Mortisomem the worst in the entire game, and that's not a good thing considering it's such a big focus. Thankfully the rest of the game makes up for it, and you will eventually get the hang of what needs to be done in order to survive.

One aspect of Mortisomem that I truly enjoyed was its graphical style. Instead of going for a modern 3D look and feel, this game instead embraces a classic PS1 aesthetic. I'm all for the vibe that it gives off, and also appreciated that it didn't feature all of the ancient gameplay mechanics that plagued games of that era. It admittedly does have a few of them, but it gets by mostly fine in the end. I was also impressed by how much the game was able to pull off, as the world is quite big, and the locations are surprisingly diverse. You'll visit settlements of various sizes and types, graveyards, forests, and plenty of other locales too numerous to mention in-between. The fact that the game still looks good despite its night-only setting is a testament to the work put into its design. Also, while there are plenty of markers that keep the player from getting lost, I found that the uniqueness of the environments was often enough to keep me on the trail I needed to be on. My only real complaint has to do with the fact that the game seems to make use of a lot of pre-built assets. I can't really be sure as to how many are here, but there were several in-game objects that I've seen used in other games. This practice may not be a bad thing in and of itself, but it meant that some parts of the game felt at odds with each other. This is supposed to be a specific period in Brazil's history that is over a hundred years in the past, but it's hard to think that when I see a Brazilian flag hanging that is of a totally different color palette and texture to everything around it. That said, I can at least say that the game runs flawlessly on the Nintendo Switch, and that alone almost forgives the game for putting in a Skibidi Toilet reference early on.

Sound is another area where Mortisomem also does well in, though there are some caveats I want to mention there as well. For starters, I'm not a hundred percent sure as to whether this game uses stock music or not, so I'll refrain from going too in-depth regarding the soundtrack. The music is fine for what it is, and it fits the game. I especially liked the intense music used when facing off against the Mortisomem, and the sound mix is also well done. Whether or not any of the music was created specifically for Mortisomem is a matter I'm not entirely sure of, but I've heard worse. My bigger issue though lies in the game's voice acting, or lack thereof. I know indie games are rarely fully voiced, but this game would've benefited greatly with spoken dialogue. Too many scenes take place in total silence, and the cinematic feel the game goes for often fails due to this fact alone. I wouldn't even have cared if English wasn't an option, as I just think that the overall presentation was lacking a bit at the end of the day. The weak presentation can be explained though, but we'll have to move to our last point first if we're going to discuss that.

I may have somewhat mixed feelings regarding Mortisomem as a whole, but I can say that I had a great time playing it in spite of its flaws. It's fast-moving, tells a good story, and has plenty of cultural details that are sure to keep players involved and invested. It also features multiple endings, and these all require additional playthroughs to see due to the save system the game uses. While I can't see myself replaying the game any time soon, I can admit that this feature is sure to entice many to give the game multiple runs. Having said all of that, I now arrive at the biggest issue I have with the game: its price. As stated earlier, Mortisomem launched on Steam last year. What I didn't mention was its price. All my critiques so far have been based on the game being priced at $9.99 on consoles, but it actually is available for only $3.99 on Steam previously. Not only is that less than half the price, but suddenly all the issues I had with the game's presentation make sense. We're talking a matter of dollars, but it's hard to pick on a game that is priced so affordably. I would still argue that Mortisomem is worth the $9.99, but suddenly it doesn't feel as great as it does on PC. Some players might not care about things like pricing, but this really rubbed me the wrong way.

I'm really torn on whether I want to give Mortisomem a recommendation or not. Normally I don't let pricing sway my final thoughts on a game, but it feels off here. If you're thinking about picking this game up on Steam, then it's a must-buy. Console players? Well, that's a bit more complicated. I still feel like it's a great experience, and I loved its mix of walking simulator and survival horror gameplay, but that price point is hard to get around. If money is no object to you, or if you just think that the $9.99 is standard indie console pricing, then pick this one up now on whatever platform you can. It's a great retro-inspired game that is sure to please, but its release couldn't have come at a worse time since console game prices are something of a hot topic. I won't go into that any further though, as I think I've said all I care to on the topic for now. Either way, I think my job here is done. See you in the next one!

Check Out Mortisomem on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/mortisomem-switch/

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Story: A
Gameplay: B
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: C
Value: C

Overall: B-

Pros:
+ A mix of survival horror and walking simulator gameplay that leans more towards the former.
+ The story is well-written, and features plenty of historical and cultural references that are sure to keep the player invested.
+ Though not exactly an open world game, there's a wide world to explore, with plenty to see.
+ Has a PS1 graphical aesthetic that I'm totally here for.
+ Not only is the game fast-paced, but there are even multiple endings to see depending on your actions.

+/- Though I came to appreciate the gameplay mix, I think this would've worked better as a standard adventure game/walking simulator.

Cons:
- The game's combat can be quite cumbersome, and dying means you'll have to go back to a usually far off checkpoint.
- This is a relatively short game that feels padded out thanks to its lack of a traditional save system.
- While it might not be an issue for all gamers, the price jump from $3.99 to $9.99 on consoles seems a bit much.
- There's a Skibidi Toilet reference early on!

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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Some interesting dialogue for sure...

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