PS4 Review: Surgeon Simulator: Anniversary Edition

The world’s most frustrating game comes to PS4…

Before playing Surgeon Simulator on PS4, I had only seen videos of the PC game on YouTube and it looked so difficult to play with its awkward controls, accuracy that’d drive you insane and a difficulty like no other game out there, and yet it was a cult hit. One year on, the Anniversary Edition lands on PS4…but has the game been toned down for the mass market?
surgeon1
Not a bit. Don’t expect an easy ride here; it still remains one of the most frustrating, hair-pulling, insanity inducing games out there. The controls moved to the controller still require a lot of patience and luck, although I know some who can get A++ ratings without breaking a sweat, I struggled throughout…barely getting through some operations with Bob still alive.

There are a number of different operations that you can perform on poor Bob, including a heart transplant; double kidney transplant; brain transplant; teeth and eye transplants which are done in a variety of different ways including the main operating theatre, down the hospital corridor, the back of an ambulance and even in space. Yes, you read right…in space. You even get to operate on an alien, which is obviously confusing as you aren’t sure what they mean by replacing certain organs since they don’t have the same terminology as humans.

The physics in Surgeon Simulator have always been infuriating and the PS4 version is no different. Objects will fall off the table, or out of the ambulance while they float around in the space levels…making it harder to grab. The trophies will test you to your limits; getting A++ on all operations is no small task, as well as ones for doing operations under a certain time limit and others for only losing a certain amount of blood. There are some fun ones like creating a Time Lord by removing the left lung and putting another heart in, or wrapping the spleen around Bob’s neck like a scarf.
surgeon2
Surgeon Simulator remains the marmite of gaming. Some love it for its brutal difficulty and gory moments, while others will hate it for the same reasons. It can be nauseating at times, especially with the eye surgery. Visually, it doesn’t look that much different from its PC counterpart but it does run smoothly and the load times aren’t too long. The sound effects are as disgusting as you would imagine with guts and blood splattering everywhere, while there are some funny Easter Eggs to be found including some amusing phone calls at your reception desk.

The Verdict

Overall, Surgeon Simulator on PS4 is the most frustrating game I have ever played…I doubt I’ll ever get an A++ on an operation, it drives me insane…and yet, there’s something about it that makes it hard to put down. It’s far from perfect, it will push you to the very edge of madness…but it’s good, silly, nauseating fun from start to finish.

surgeonscore