5 video games set in the medical profession
Have you ever wanted to be a doctor? Do doctors even play video games?
You can now answer yes to both of these questions when it comes to medical video games.
Well, for the few that actually exist.
Though these titles are nothing like the hardships of Doctors Without Borders, they do still offer interesting insights into the medical field. Even if you’re sitting on your couch and eating pizza while playing them.
Theme Hospital
Created by the legendary Bullfrog Studios (which was later closed down by publisher EA), Theme Hospital is an absolute classic in the video game world. Though, if this inspired your medical career, you may want to rethink your life choices.
The premise for Theme Hospital is simple enough. You play as the administrator of a hospital, building rooms, managing finances, and hiring staff. That’s pretty much how most businesses are run. In Theme Hospital, you’ll also contend with obscure diseases, such as Bloaty Head, in which a patient’s head has to be popped and re-inflated, patients urinating on the floor, and shooting rats.
In fact, there are a lot of ethical problems with Theme Hospital, and if you fail a mission you’ll be embroiled in a scandal. What other hospitals do you know of where you can iron someone’s tongue to cure them?
SimHealth
Another game in EA’s stable, but this time developed by Maxis, which is mostly famous for the SimCity and Sims franchises. Unlike Theme Hospital, SimHealth has none of the comedic trimmings or funky graphics. Instead, it’s based off of the SimCity 2000 engine and carries a very serious tone.
SimHealth isn’t so much a game is it is an ‘economic model simulator’, or at least that’s what Lazy Game Reviews calls it. The game doesn’t contain any real interactions per se, and is based on policies and politics. You will be able to select budgets that affect big pharma, or small medical suits, with various outcomes, along with receiving reports on health conferences and other events you can’t participate in.
If you’re into stats, numbers, and politics, then SimHealth is for you. Anything looking for something more hands-on, well, you’re better off playing something else.
Surgeon Simulator
Have you ever wanted to be a surgeon, but lack the dexterity and medical training to do so? In Surgeon Simulator, you won’t need any of that to perform a variety of surgeries, such as a heart transplant.
The game allows you to play virtual life or death as you try to help poor souls in need of medical attention. Each hand is controlled in a different way as you pick up hammers, scalpels, and replacement organs during the operation. Due to the difficulty of the controls, you’re going to need actual dexterity as well as manage the patient’s blood level.
You’re bound to create a few cadavers as you slaughter your way to higher and better scores in Surgeon Simulator.
Trauma Center
If you’re in the mood for something a little less rage-inducing than Surgeon Simulator, there’s the Trauma Center series on the Nintendo DS and Wii consoles. Think of these games as hybrid simulator and visual novel titles.
You’ll still performing different surgeries on patients, such as fixing broken bones and removing tumours, but they are handled with mini-games instead of complex procedures. Then there’s the rest of your medical team spurring you on and giving advice as you go.
Life & Death
And, finally, we have Life & Death. It’s another surgeon simulator game. This time players take the role of an abdominal surgeon, treating kidney stones, appendicitis, and a range of other problems.
Though players will only use the mouse as the interface, the game is incredibly in-depth with its diagnosis, treatment, and surgery on patients. The downside is that it hasn’t ever been re-released on modern systems, initially launching in 1988, but the game still receives critical praise.
That’s it. There are still several other medical-based video games that weren’t included on this list. What do you think of these titles? Let us know in the comments below.