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Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator didn’t live up to the hype. I have been following this for a while and couldn’t wait to get started. However, strange dialogue and repetitive encounters prevent this from excelling. On top of this, there are unusual bugs and the gameplay feels uncomfortably slow. Accordingly, though it was playable and occasionally fun, it felt a little tedious.
This life-saving simulation title was developed by Aesir Interactive and published by Nacon. It is a single-player title that uses a third-person perspective. This will annoy gamers who love to drive from a first-person viewpoint. Luckily, I don’t mind the external driving camera and I enjoyed racing around each of the 3 districts.
Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator chucks you into the action.
In typical genre style, you are a rookie who must prove themselves to the world. You are teamed up with an experienced crewmate and left to your own devices. This is the best thing that can happen as accidents and emergencies come in thick and fast.
The lack of a story was disappointing, but I overlooked it as you never stop helping people. As the game evolves and you gain more experience, you get to handle different equipment and drugs and you get to deal with new disasters. This drip-fed approach was nice as the game never felt overwhelming. Additionally, the use of mini-games to complete most tasks was great.
An array of problems and solutions.
The action revolves around a simple gameplay loop. You jump into your ambulance and await the emergency call. As you approach the scene, you must work out where to stop and who to help. Each situation has plenty of patients to tend to, but you can only take one in the ambulance. Consequently, you must triage each person and decide who needs urgent care.
In theory, this should make a difference, but it rarely did. This was a strange choice as the developer wants you to make the right choices. However, like many of the mechanics, it lacks that final layer of polish. As you examine each person you must ask them an array of questions. Annoyingly, there were limited responses and you must be prepared for the same conversation repeatedly. Moreover, some of the answers make no sense at all. Subsequently, I skipped through that section as it rarely made a difference.
The first aid section is where Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator comes to life. Dealing with burns, cuts, breathing problems, anxiety, shot wounds, attempted suicides and more helps to keep things interesting. Yet, even this element becomes regrettably dull. This makes working through the levels and progressing the game a tedious task. As such, I’m not sure many people will make it to the third district or the end of the game.
Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator looks great and appalling at the same time.
The developer cares about their project. Some elements look great and I love the eye for detail. However, there are so many glitches and bugs, that it undermines the little wow moments. Many of my patients clipped walls or their clothes didn’t fit them properly. Additionally, pedestrians would do whatever they wished and cars had a mind of their own. As such, the world lacks a layer of realism and that is a shame.
The audio, on the other hand, is great. The ambient sounds are wonderful and I love the shrill sound of the siren. Moreover, the acting is pretty good even if the dialogue is awful. Had the visual component been as good as the audio, then Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator would have excelled as a game.
Decent controls.
This can be enjoyed with a mouse and keyboard or a gamepad. I chose the latter as it felt more intuitive and easier to play. Thankfully, the layout is easy to understand and mastering the basics takes little effort. Additionally, the UI is excellent and selecting the correct tool for the job was straightforward. Though the ambulance handles like a dog, it is realistic and you are forced to slow down and be mindful of your surroundings.
If I wasn’t reviewing Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator, I’d have probably stopped playing it. I liked the core ideas and each emergency in small amounts. Yet, you have to play this a lot to work through the basic moments. There are some catastrophic scenarios to play through, and this is where it shines. Consequently, there is some longevity if you can work through the grind.
Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator didn’t live up to the hype.
Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator left me wanting. The gameplay is slow, and too much of it doesn’t make sense. On top of this, there are loads of bugs, and it is too much of a grind to get to the interesting elements. I know the developers are working on the issues, so maybe this is a game that requires a little more surgery before it is ready. Accordingly, it isn’t great, but I recommend buying it here if you can look past the shortcomings. Can you help each patient? Race to the emergency, assess the situation and prove that you are worthy of wearing the uniform.
