Angel Engine
Developer: HMS Studios, Black Lantern Collective
Publisher: Aurakenn Games
Released on: PC
Horror surgery may not be a genre that immediately springs to mind when originality is questioned, but there’s definitely some more room for entries in this crowded hospital corridor. Angel Engine, a spin-off from a narrative series on YouTube and TikTok (which has faced some accusations of AI overuse), sets the gameplay in a post-apocalyptic setting, adding steampunk stylings to the mix.
You play a surgeon (or scientist, or something vaguely medical) and your task is to not only save each patient, but the human race in general, although not necessarily from death, but from eternal damnation. Yes, in this grim future, God rules just as much, if not more.
After a brief introduction, you’re thrust straight into the slice and stitch world, assisted by several tools that essentially do the gritty and skilled work for you. There’s a diagnostic tool in the upper part of the screen, plus a needle full of anaesthetic in case the patient starts to wake up. Once you’ve ascertained what the problem (or problems) is, you select the right tool, and Angel Engine switches view to one of its several mini-games. These all fall under simple memory and reaction tests, some set to a strict time limit. You’ll also need to monitor your machine’s status; overheating invites an unfriendly visit, and it isn’t long before things begin to malfunction, requiring a replacement fuse.
Angel Engine builds up its demands on the player quickly, so you can easily get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tasks at hand. Part of the skill is judging requirements by urgency, working systematically until the job’s done. Unfortunately, the mini-games can be maddeningly inconsistent. A sawing maze game is easy enough, but the ‘grabber’ and stitching games are sometimes frustrating, especially the former. If you’re given an awkward layout, it’s better to fail deliberately and try again rather than persist, which feels like something a real-life surgeon wouldn’t resort to. Hopefully.
The backstory eases out as you progress, and a friendly security pops his head in now and then to check you’re still alive. Other than that, it’s just you versus the console and a slightly clumsy control scheme that mixes WASD with mouse control, with initially confusing results.
Angel Engine engages well, building up to its frantic conclusion as patient after patient streams down the tube, each with increasingly serious wounds. The overarching themes of sin, punishment and redemption appear intermittently, but ultimately it’s about you and that control board, juggling tools and medicine to help repair the broken bodies. Fortunately, the dopamine hit of completing the mini-games and seeing the repaired person shoot back down the conveyor just about carries Angel Engine along its short running time.
Note: While the Angel Engine web series fully embraces generative AI in its imagery, the developers of this game have stated they did not use it.
Conclusion
A frantic collection of mini-games that builds up quickly, but is well-constructed and worth a look if you’re after something a little different.
