Late Shift

Late Shift is a short psychological horror game set in a cinema. The player takes the role of a missing employee who becomes trapped in a loop while working the late shift. The aim is to escape an endless version of the building by finding and reporting anomalies to management. Anomalies that go unreported are dealt with accordingly. The game draws on analogue and found footage horror, as well as liminal spaces and horror walking simulators, and the developer cites The Exit 8, CAPTURED and Cabin Factory as inspirations.

The player moves through a looping environment, pieces together clues and works towards uncovering the truth behind the situation. A feedback system tells the player about any anomalies they have missed. Procedural generation means each loop differs from the last. A progress tracking feature records advancement towards discovering every unique anomaly, and finding all of them reveals the story, with multiple endings available.

Presentation relies on realistic lighting, sound design and a minimal user interface to build its atmosphere. The listed playtime is roughly 30 to 120 minutes or more. One new DLC item has recently been added on Steam.