Developer: Binary Lunar
Publisher: Binary Lunar, Ultimate Games S.A.
Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S,
Tested on: PS5
Nightmare Shift – Review
Nightmare Shift is a short horror game where you’ll take on the job as a night shift receptionist at a creepy motel. The game tries to evoke a feeling of vulnerability, working alone at night, dealing with peculiar customers in a really eerie setting. This game is developed and published by Binary Lunar, with the console port being published by Ultimate Games.
Story
In Nightmare Shift, you play as Emma, a young woman who took a job working night shifts at a budget motel. When you start your first night, you’ll get some instructions from your coworker, which all seem simple enough. However, you have to deal with rude guests, creepy calls, and one room where mysterious things keep happening. After finishing your shifts, you’ll return to your apartment, which in itself is cozy, but walking to it takes you through a really ominous alley, and the building itself also seems a bit off. While everything you do seems mundane, Emma keeps being haunted by nightmares that blend in with reality in such a way that you keep questioning what’s real. The guests at the motel are rather strange, and some seem a bit suspicious, but Emma keeps being nice and helpful and seems to have the patience of an angel when dealing with difficult people or answering calls. Eventually, even Emma’s apartment doesn’t seem to be safe anymore; strange things are happening there too, and at first she thinks she’s paranoid or just having nightmares, but creepy and unsettling events keep happening even at her home. Because of the strange calls and the scary things happening to her, Emma feels like she’s being followed and watched, making you as a player feel paranoid and vulnerable as well. On top of that, spooky, unexplainable things keep happening at the motel, which seem unrelated but might be connected to what’s happening with Emma.
Graphics
The graphics of Nightmare Shift are pretty basic and simple, and look like they could have been from a PS2 or PS3 game, which would fit the approximate time period of the setting of the game. The character animations are clunky, and faces aren’t animated at all. Lights don’t always behave as they should, but with some suspension of disbelief, it’s not really an issue.
However, even with these simple graphics, the game really conveys the unsettling atmosphere and does this very well. The environments are well designed and believable, and the lighting and darkness really help to set the tone. Nightmares and chasing sequences are really well designed and very creepy and disorienting. Eventually you’ll even be spooked by your own shadow, so the game doesn’t need fancy graphics in order to portray the story and set the mood.
Sound
The game is fully narrated, and the voice acting is pretty good! Sometimes it seems a bit uncanny or over-the-top, but that’s mostly due to the character’s faces not being animated and no animated gestures to show emotions. The background music is very creepy and gets more intense whenever something scary happens. Sound effects are simple but fit the game.
Gameplay
Nightmare Shift is a psychological horror game with a mostly linear story and a few puzzle elements. The game has multiple endings based on your choices and reactions at the end, and they can change the overall outcome a lot!
The controls are intuitive, and the game generally makes it clear what you need to do. If you’re unsure, you can always check the objective list. Sometimes there are moments where you don’t have much to do, and you just wait to see if something happens, but that’s pretty much the job description of a motel receptionist, so even if it felt a bit confusing, it’s very fitting to the setting.
Both as a receptionist and as a human being, you’ll be doing lots of mundane tasks, like changing towels and putting them in the washing machine, throwing away trash bags in the dumpster, and making yourself a nice breakfast. These tasks are simple but fit the setting and help with the immersion in the story and the character. There are also a few puzzle elements, but these are quite easy to figure out. A fun addition to the game is a video game console in Emma’s living room, where you can play Pac-Man. If you want, you can play to your heart’s content!
You can finish Nightmare Shift in just a few hours, but playing it all in one run is pretty intense, especially if you are sensitive to the horror elements.
Conclusion
Nightmare Shift is a simple but really nice psychological horror game which manages to make you feel very vulnerable in your position as a motel receptionist at night. The graphics are simple, but the sound design, overall atmosphere, and story are really good. It’s a good title to pick up if you like spooky, story-driven horror games.
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