There’s a certain element of the gaming population that is obsessed with jobs. Simulators of pretty much all varieties exist to realistically recreate some of the most mundane jobs on the planet, while getting a new job or returning to an old one is a common introduction trope in horror games. Shift 87 is an indie horror title that is so proud of its job-based theme that it’s literally named after itself.
If you enjoy this review, then check out our recent review of Tokyo Xanadu eX+, a Switch port of a decent NIS-developed JRPG from the Vita. We’ve also recently reviewed the excellent racer RPM: Road Punk Mayhem.
What Is Shift 87?
Shift 87 is a first-person surreal horror adventure game developed by PixelSplit and published by Daedalic Entertainment. You’re a shift worker at a very vague job where you’re tasked with walking through several repeating corridors, a la P.T., while trying to notice if anything has changed so you can complete your shift.
Effectively, the game is an overblown game of spot-the-difference with some spooky monsters to occasionally keep the tension on edge. That is pretty much everything that’s going on here, though there is a very tangentially-conveyed storyline, if you can call it that. Honestly, it’s mostly just a voice on a recorder and a bunch of ghosts, but hey, the atmosphere’s pretty good.
What Are We Doing Here?
As you can probably guess with the vague and mysterious storytelling method, you aren’t handed much information on a plate. There’s a dark-haired ghost/monster occasionally popping their head around a door, a mysterious besuited figure who stares at you in all three locations, and a voice on your anomaly-reporting machine, but these clues will only get you so far.
Beyond that point is an ending cutscene that offers little to help when you first see it and somehow even less help once you’ve unlocked the secret extra ending. So far, I’ve gathered that it’s got something to do with a circus, brain scans, and some sort of killer clown, but that is, at best, a guess. I’m sure that you’re supposed to be able to glean more from this experience, but for the life of me, I’m not sure how.
Down the Spiral
Shift 87 is structured pretty simply. There are three locations: a news office, a factory, and a petrol station, and each location has one normal version and 22 aberrant versions for you to find. You’ll get a ‘control’ run of each location first, then you’ll need to repeatedly walk through the same area identifying if anything has changed. If something has changed, report it as an anomaly, if not, just start a fresh loop. Once you get enough correct, you move on to the next location.
The length of the game can vary quite dramatically, as can the differences you’re expected to find. In some instances, the walls will be bleeding dramatically, and in another, a cup will have moved. If you’re unlucky, you might have to spend a few hours carefully combing through the levels. Or you could breeze through it in about 30 minutes. Either way, you’ll become intimately familiar with these locations by the end.
A Test of Sanity?
Honestly, how much enjoyment you’ll get out of Shift 87 probably comes down to how much you can tolerate artsy-fartsy storytelling and how much you enjoy horror-themed spot-the-difference gameplay. Personally, I enjoyed most of my experience with the game. Going from a room with a great, hulking monster into the same room where a tie had turned green kept me on my toes, and most of the environment has plenty of interesting tidbits to take note of.
Then we come to the final area. I don’t even know exactly what it is with this petrol station, but I could not get the basic version of it to stick in my mind with any detail. It’s also possible that I just had a really bad run of luck with this thing. I got stuck in a loop on the last stage for so long that I easily got all 22 variations by my second run-through of the game.
All About Atmosphere
If the impression I’ve given thus far about Shift 87 seems entirely unfavorable, it’s not my intention. In truth, this game mostly thrives as a very brief observational horror game/walking sim with a couple of interesting set pieces. The atmosphere it generates is pretty compellingly crafted, with a combo of great visuals, timing, and audio to make you jump out of your skin if you let it.
Obviously, you’ll still need to actually enjoy the gameplay to make it worth your time, and personally, I don’t think it’s a game that I’d return to anytime soon. While the atmosphere is good, it’s also available in many other places, and despite the repetitive nature of the gameplay, there’s not much in the way of replay value.
Summary
While it’s strong on atmosphere, Shift 87 falls somewhat flat in the story department. If you’re into the idea of a repeated game of spot-the-difference with a somewhat vague storyline connected to it, then you’ll probably have a good time, and the excellent visuals, audio, and design will take you there. Similarly, no one could blame you for getting fed up with the repetition and knocking the entire thing on its head.
Developer: Pixelsplit
Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment
Platforms: PC, MacOS
Release Date: 23rd July 2024
