Shift 87 | Steam Deck Review
I pride myself on my observational skills. I’m quick to notice if something’s changed or is amiss. I also have a penchant for all things creepy. Having these traits and interests made Pixelsplit‘s Shift 87 an intriguing prospect for me. It ended up being a bit of a mixed bag for me, but it’s obvious this game was created with care and ambition.
Work Is Hell
Shift 87 has you playing as an employee for the NORN Corporation. A mysterious event occurred recently, and weird stuff happening in the building afterward doesn’t really make a business attractive (at least to most people). You’re tasked with examining three different areas for these anomalies. Each area has a different theme, and there are plenty of details to absorb. After thoroughly scrutinizing your current workplace, you’re sent on a minimum of six laps to report any differences you see, no matter how big or small they are. There are a total of sixty-six unusual elements, but you can only find about eighteen per shift. This requires you to play through the game at least four times, if not more.
We’re Going in Circles, Aren’t We?
There’s not much going on in Shift 87, gameplay-wise. You walk through each environment in loops, and press the B button to report a sighting. That’s as complicated as it gets, mechanically. Finding the anomaly in each loop can be tricky though. Some are as subtle as a certain object being a different color, while others are in your face. If you happen to miss what’s changed or report an incorrect object, you’ll be sent back to the beginning of the loop and will have to go through all six laps again. This can be frustrating, but the fact that the anomalies are randomly-generated keeps you on your toes despite the repetition.
If you’re not interested in playing a glorified spot-the-difference game, or are hoping for a super scary experience, Shift 87 won’t be for you. I wasn’t creeped out at all during my two short playthroughs. Sure, there’s some unsettling imagery and attempts at jump scares, but they didn’t really hit. The fact that I’m susceptible to scares of the jump variety and these didn’t cause a reaction is a pretty big indication of how successful the horror elements were implemented.
The short and repetitive gameplay will be a major sticking point for a lot of players, though. Each playthrough, or “shift”, only took me thirty minutes or less to complete. Even this short run time had me tired of running through the same environments over and over again, and I only discovered half of the anomalies the game contains.
Fleeting Moments
Shift 87 is a graphically gorgeous game, with the crisp visuals really popping on Steam Deck especially. The sound effects are also solid, with ominous laughter and crashing objects alerting you to something happening around you. The random generation of the anomalies keeps things from becoming too stale, but this also means that you’ll sometimes see the same abnormality multiple times per playthrough. Your tolerance of repeating your actions over and over again, and the possibility of seeing the same sights more than once, will ultimately be the deciding factor in the purchase of this title.
The Final Verdict
Shift 87 has an intriguing concept, but it doesn’t fully utilize its potential. Scares are basically non-existent, and the gameplay becomes repetitive quickly. The fact that you’ll have to play through the game a minimum of four times to report all the anomalies is also a sticking point if you’re a completionist. It looks and sounds great, mechanically, and I didn’t encounter a single performance issue. There was some enjoyment in finding the stranger anomalies, but the repetition of looping through the same environments set in pretty fast for me. It didn’t quite live up to its vision, but I’d be remiss to not appreciate the love that went into the creation of this game. It’s evident the team poured a lot of care into Shift 87, and I’d love to see more of their work to see if it’s more up my alley.
To hear me talk more about Shift 87, be sure to listen to the July 31, 2024 episode of The Gaming Outsider podcast.
This review is based on a Steam copy of Shift 87 provided by Press Engine for coverage purposes. It is also available on PC via GOG.
Shift 87
$4.99
Pros
- Looks and Sounds Great
- Interesting Concept
- No Performance Issues
- Random Generation Keeps Runs Fresh
Cons
- Becomes Repetitive Quickly
- Requires Multiple Playthroughs to Find All Anomalies
- Not Very Scary
- Doesn’t Fully Live Up to Its Potential
