Uncover the Haunting Secrets of Shift 87
Shift 87 is an observation horror game with subtle anomalies. Nothing is ever the same even when it seems it is. The game was developed by Pixelsplit Games, which created games like Deadly Days. It was published by Daedalic Entertainment, a German publishing company who have previously published games like Inkulanti and Into the Emberlands.
Your job is simple in the game, go through the environment and find all the anomalies. The game plays out like a walking simulator. While there is nothing that can attack you there are plenty of jumpscares to watch out for. You report anomalies to the higher-ups with a handheld device although you can only report one anomaly at a time. Shift 87 works similarly to a levelled game but get one wrong and you will have to start all over again.
If you’re unfamiliar with anomaly detection genres similar games would be Anomaly Detector and I’m On Observation Duty. Its mechanics are pretty straightforward. In Shift 87, players go through three different environments (an office, a factory, and a gas station) and essentially play a game of “Spot the Difference”.
Your first run-through of any of the three levels is your base observation where you have to memorise the environment you are walking through then you go through it again, and this time there might be something to find that wasn’t there last time. Although the gameplay works as both a walking simulator and a spot-the-difference it isn’t always easy to pick up when something is different as those differences can be as subtle as a coffee cup changing color to a whole room covered in vines and plants.
While they have taken a more minimalistic approach to the narrative, it feels like there could have been more especially to do with the company that you work for in the game NORN Corp. You however don’t really learn anything about your mysterious employer throughout your many shifts. It was really fascinating to learn more about the NORN Corp.
And their sinister work, but it remains a mystery that is never really solved, not even after you unlock the game’s true ending, which you can reach in less than five hours, giving Shift 87 a sense of finality but not answering any real questions. That’s not a bad thing, either, because the minimal approach works very well for this type of game. There are 22 anomalies to find in every area for a total of 66 anomalies in total.
The tool you use to report the anomalies also acts as a communication device where your superiors can give you instructions as you go through the game. Although outside of reporting one anomaly per shift there isn’t much else to it
Some of these anomalies are very easy to recognize. The more obvious ones include rats running across the office floor, the factory lights swinging like crazy, or the gas station store overgrown with plants, but others can be much more subtle and require a really keen eye to spot.
This means that players have to take the time to observe every detail around them, which isn’t as easy as it seems, as there is nothing more annoying than having to start a loop all over again because you have overlooked an anomaly. Still, there’s something incredibly satisfying about the process, especially when you spot something that isn’t so obvious, and it’s easy to find yourself completing shift after shift to find all the anomalies in the game.
Almost all of the anomalies you will encounter during your shift can be fantastic. Some anomalies are simple changes in the environment, some are quite creepy and will catch the player off guard, while others are silly and will elicit a brief smile from the player, but they all do a good job of keeping the player on their toes while trying to find them all. They can be very creative, and there are plenty of surprising moments that keep the experience fresh and intriguing without becoming tedious.
In terms of Graphics, Shift 87 has an amazing environment even with most of the environments seeming to be ordinary in the beginning. With lots of detail in the environments that helped make each environment feel different, while the performance was smooth throughout. Each environment feels believable and almost ordinary, but in an unsettling way where you just know something isn’t right.
The sound design of Shift 87 was also absolutely on point, with haunting ambient sounds that become more unsettling with each run-through. It’s very effective, and you were almost constantly afraid that something terrible was about to happen. Some of the anomalies were audible so paying attention to the environment in every was a must.
Overall, Shift 87 is a gripping observational horror game developed by Pixelsplit Games and published by Daedalic Entertainment. With its spot-the-difference gameplay, it offers an immersive and unsettling experience in three different environments. The minimalist narrative and exceptional sound design contribute to the eerie atmosphere of Shift 87 and captivate the player on the hunt for anomalies. Shift 87 is a short horror game that offers a uniquely satisfying and rewarding experience for fans of the genre.
