When Bossa Studios’ somewhat bizarre “Surgeon Simulator” originally burst onto the gaming scene it seemed to be a rather oddball offering and in many ways, it still is.  After all, how many games are out there which allow you to perform medical procedures with elements of dark humor thrown in?  Certainly this is a one-of-a-kind game, of that there can be no question.  Needless to say, for whatever reason, be it great design or just the “novelty factor”, this game has garnered a very strong cult following and has achieved success in one or more ways, commercially speaking.  So, to celebrate this, the title’s creators have produced the “Anniversary Edition”, which promises to add a number of great new features to the mix.  Without wasting too much time, let’s jump right in and see what it has to offer us…

New operations / procedures

Naturally, many of the game’s hardcore fans breezed through the various surgeries available in the original version and immediately began to start asking for additional procedures.  Well, fans will be happy to note that new surgeries for the teeth as well as eyes have indeed been added here, which means even more zany, dark fun is on the table.  Likewise, for those who’ve yet to experience any of the original content, be prepared for all sorts of craziness, including space-based operations as well as alien contact!

Stat tracking and patient vitals

One of the things fans of the game immediately wanted added after dredging through the original was a system for tracking stats across multiple surgeries.  Needless to say, they’ve thrown this in for the Anniversary edition and you can now compare and contrast your previous 9 surgeries.   At the same time, there is the ever-present patient vitals system, which id pretty much designed to keep you on your toes and add an additional sense of drama to the game’s proceedings.

Enhanced graphics

That’s right, SS: AE brings with it even better visuals than what’s found in the original game.  They’ve basically just tuned up and refined various aspects of the title’s graphical output and to great effect; the immersion factor has definitely been increased.  Regardless, whether this is your first encounter with Surgeon Simulator or you happen to be a veteran practitioner, the anniversary edition is definitely the version of the game to pick up.

Different environments

Performing procedures in the same old static hospital environments can be a bit of a drag, that’s why they’ve added even more diversity to the mix.  Basically, this means that you will now be able to slice and dice a patient while speeding down a hospital corridor – oh the drama; it’s just like being on Grey’s Anatomy! (Not really though, obviously).

It utilizes the DualShock 4 controller in an ideal way

If you’re going to produce a version of a game for the PS4 you should probably find one or more ways to integrate the abilities of its controller, the DualShock 4, right?  Well, that’s exactly what the devs have done with the Anniversary Edition, adding support for the six-axis sensor, which in turn makes everything feel just a bit more detailed.

Rating – 8.3