Writers note: This review will cover the topic of death and the loss of a loved one—reader discretion.

Death is perhaps one of the most complicated topics to tackle. While it is a way of life, it doesn’t become easy, no matter how much you face it and thankfully, dear reader, I’ve been fortunate not to face it as much as others, though I know it will be difficult due to the few times I have. But when someone does pass, I must admit, I’ve been sheltered, and I’m ignorant of how the process works, so when I sat down to the experience of A Mortician’s Tale, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was walking into aside from watching the trailer.

The game greets you, already in your brand-new office, and you play as Charlie a recent graduate. While you rarely say anything, Charlie is more of a vessel for you to experience the world around you. The game's story is mainly told via emails sent to Charlie at the beginning of each day, and while you could easily skip over the emails sent to Charlie, you would be missing out on inside jokes with your colleague Matthew. How you boss Amy likes to mother you. Charlie’s best friend Jen about her life in London working at a museum, and she's just as Death Positive as she hopes to make you the player. The newsletter Funerals Monthly educates you on the world of one passing, types of burials and how to help those losing a loved one.

The other plotline slowly trickled in is the death of a small generational family business. I don’t intend to do a deep dive, but it was heartbreaking to see the once-family business get taken over by a shadowy mega-corporation. You slowly see changes to be made before Jen’s emails seemed to imply that Charlie has plans to do something, especially after you experienced your new manager pressure a grieving family to do the funeral the business way than how the family wanted it to “don't want to dishonour her memory”.

The gameplay is relatively simple, look at the emails, follow the instructions depending on what you’ve been asked to do and help the grieving family that lost someone in almost every case, if you’ve made it this far, I do hope you’ve got a strong heart as there is a point in this game which tug on your heartstrings when what if someone had no one and yet there is profit to be made?

The main “gameplay” is preparing the bodies, depending on what you’ve been instructed to do. This is one of the primary education tools that the game uses. How does the process work once one is passed that cremation isn’t the ashes of the body, but the ground-up bones that remain after. This part of the game, especially, really made me wish that this game could be used as homework for students to sit, play, write some notes and share their experiences in class and then move on with the knowledge of the profession and what it means when someone passes what happens.

Linking into this, the framing of a profession of Funeral Director, Mortician or Undertaker which might bring curtain images depending on when you grew up. Learning about a profession that isn’t shown much in pop culture was beautiful. I can’t say that I knew a lot about what they did or how the process worked, or as I said at the top, I was sheltered.

But while this wasn’t explicitly a game, it was more of a simulation and management, which is why I linked in the education idea. It does have mild gameplay parts as described. But that doesn’t matter, the art was lighthearted and approachable, and the music, while slightly repetitive, was beautiful and added to the themes and mood of the game.

I would give this a HIGHLY RECOMMEND, less as a game, but more as an experience and education, an even better once shared with others in the right environment. To talk about Death healthily and not forget it till it’s sadly at our doorstep!

As always, you can find my rambling thoughts on A Mortician's Tale via my podcast Too Long Just Listen, which you can find anywhere you get your podcast needs!