Video Game Review - Shift 87

And I’m going round in circles, going round in circles…

For a lot of people, our working lives are stuck in a mundane job doing mundane tasks day in, and day out. Whether it’s the repetition of scanning items through a checkout counter or staring into the abyss while numerous spreadsheets drop into our inbox, working 9/5 isn’t always fun. Quite a few times I’ve been in my job and fantasised over what I would do if various outrageous - and outlandish- incidents just happened to occur. While none of these are yet to happen to me, the folks who work at Shift 87’s NORN Corporation are about to be thrown into a supernatural event. 

And it’s one you’re tasked with cleaning up. 

Shift 87 throws you into the boots of an employee of the NORN Corporation. You’re a faceless nobody in the sea of employees doing their jobs for the greater good of the corporation. Anyway, after a mysterious event occurred on the corporation's property various anomalies have been reported by various staff. In needing to solve what these anomalies are, you’re sent to investigate the three areas of the building to report back on what you find. This then sees you head off to wander the halls in search of anything that looks different - no matter how big or small. 

As mundane goes, Shift 87 is up there with the best of them. The best way I can describe it is a mash-up of a walking simulator and “Where’s Waldo”. Across your 30 minute shift, you’ll perform three laps of the building in search of the sixty-six oddities that are placed in the environment. While there’s plenty to find, you’ll only be able to find between 15-18 per shift, and their placements are all random. While this does give a lot of replay value, after one shift you’ll be handing in your resignation. 

From a gameplay perspective, there’s not a lot going on that’ll tax your mental abilities. As you venture through each corporate biome you’ll press a button to report any anomalies you find then rinse and repeat. The only real chaos comes from actually finding the anomalies in the first place. Much like hidden object books some are mahoosive and are slap-bang in your face, and then others can be extremely well hidden, or even more simply, just a variation of colour when compared to their normal-looking selves.

 

So what’s the actual challenge? 

Well, if you happen to miss an anomaly during the shift, you’re sent back to the beginning to try again. For those who’ve worked in retail, it’s a day from hell, followed by an impromptu stock take! 

It’s not all bad though, with the random placement of the “hidden objects” there’s plenty of variation between each shift. With shifts only taking roughly 20-30 minutes to complete, Shift 87 is perfect for those who want something bite-sized. To keep things from becoming too mundane there are various horror aspects thrown in for good measure. For anyone who’s played any first-person horror title, these jump scares aren’t anything new, but they do aim to heighten the tension and work well with the overall narrative. The presentation is also well done with crisp visuals and a very unsettling soundtrack that haunts you across your playtime. 

Overall Shift 87 is a bit of a mixed bag. If you enter the game with the mentality of having a full playthrough then you’ll be sorely disappointed. Not only does the repetition get extremely tedious, there’s nothing to keep you invested. However, enter Shift 87 with picking up for 30 minutes here and there and it’s a different ball game. Even though it didn’t necessarily click with me I couldn’t help but wonder how the title would fare on the hybrid Nintendo Switch. Either way, developer Pixelshift does have an interesting premise with Shift 87, but it lacks substance for anyone other than a casual gamer. 

Rating 5/10

Shift 87 is available now and can be purchased via Steam. 

A code was kindly provided by the publisher for this review. 

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on X/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews, and BlueSky @geekculturereviews.bsky.social