Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator – a case for intensive care

Kevin Hofer

11/2/2025

Translation: Julia Graham

I was really excited about Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator. Unfortunately, bugs and tedious gameplay tarnish what’s otherwise an incredibly realistic title.

The siren wails as I race through the crowded streets of San Pelícano in my ambulance. The policeman who was shot in the cargo is in mortal danger. I don’t have much time to get him to the hospital. My palms are sweaty and heart’s pounding.

Hang on a minute.

I’d love to continue penning this scenic introduction, which reflects the gripping feeling you get from Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator. But sadly, the game was mostly boring and frustrating, despite its realistic depiction of the emergency services.

Basically, every call-out follows the same pattern: I get an emergency call, sound the siren and drive to the scene. Once there, I analyse the situation and give first aid. I then drive the person to the nearest hospital for further treatment.

On my first day, I’m called out to a woman in a car park with heatstroke. I start by taking her medical history to get an idea of what’s wrong. Then my teammate and I load her onto the stretcher and manoeuvre her into the ambulance for further examination using diagnostic devices. It’s cool because I get to see what happens in real life emergencies – at least, I suspect this is what would happen.

The game slowly introduces me to these cases, and new ways to treat patients only gradually become available. That way I don’t feel overwhelmed at the beginning. If you already know how it works, there’s another mode alongside this story-like version – a pure simulation, where you’re thrown in at the deep end.

Before I start a day in the life of my virtual paramedic, I choose the location and type of incident. This stops me getting involved in a complex incident on my second day – or I can consciously opt for it, as this can also happen in real life. On the second day, I meet a cyclist who’s had a slight fall, and only on the third day do I attend a policeman who’s been shot and drive him to the intensive care unit. This makes the game even more accessible.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, constantly navigating through menus interrupts my immersive experience. I have to click through confusing screens to select a simple tool. It’s frustrating when I have to pick a number of options in a tricky situation just to reach my destination. The problem is exacerbated when I click through the tablet I use for diagnosis.

If you think it couldn’t get worse, you’d be wrong. Unfortunately, it’s no fun speeding through San Pelícano in an ambulance, as the vehicle feels anything but easy to control. Given how sluggishly the ambulance reacts, it’s more like driving a huge lorry.

What’s more, the traffic AI is dreadful. Vehicles barely react to the siren and passers-by prefer to throw themselves in front of the vehicle at the last second rather than get out of the way. Add to that the fact there’s always so much traffic outside my base that it’s a struggle to head off to jobs. This makes getting to work more annoying than fun. And incidentally, it also loses the sense of urgency the game is so keen to convey.

Similarly, moving the stretcher is no fun, it also feels clunky and unintuitive. I always end up having to steer it in a direction that feels wrong. Manoeuvring a patient who’s screaming in pain into the ambulance is made stressful because of the controls rather than the situation itself. That then interferes with the immersive experience.

In other respects too, the controls and the game sometimes react better than others. When I interview an eyewitness, for example, the game only registers that I’ve actually spoken to him after I’ve clicked through the same questions for the third time. All the while, the patient is writhing in pain on the floor in the next room.

I find the wooden animations more tedious. My paramedic is more reminiscent of a robot than a human being. As for the dialogue, it’s at least just as wooden. The standard scenarios seem to have been written by AI and most patients annoy me from their very first interaction. Want an example? I ask the patient who’s had a panic attack: «Has something like this ever happened to you before?» Their answer: «No. Does that mean I’m broken now?»

As if that wasn’t enough, Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator has a case of poor camera perspective. Often a tree, building or roof blocks the view. Other things on the bug list include pop-ins, skipping frames independent of performance and objects that appear and then disappear just as quickly.

Nacon kindly provided me with a copy of Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator to review. I tested the PC version. The game was released on 6 February for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

In a nutshell

Promising, but execution let it down

If I hadn’t been playing Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator for a review, I’d have given it the cold shoulder pretty quickly – despite it having a few redeeming features. I like the idea of speeding through San Pelícano in an ambulance and rescuing people. The depth of its game design is also good, with different instruments for treating patients. This goes hand in hand with authenticity. At least, this game is how I imagine what an average day looks like for a paramedic.

However, boring gameplay, rubbish controls and all the bugs make it too annoying. The title seems unfinished and could’ve done with more fine-tuning. That’s why I can’t recommend it in its current state.

Pro

• Looks authentic, with attention to detail
• San Pelícano seems bustling
• Also fun when you get to the medical nitty-gritty

Contra

• Too many bugs
• Tedious gameplay
• AI dire in parts
• Aesthetically speaking not the best

Video games

Nacon Gaming Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator

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Kevin Hofer

Senior Editor

kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.ch

From big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.

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