Late Shift Reviews

Late Shift is ranked in the 28th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8.5 / 10.0
Apr 20, 2017

Late Shift is an excellent FMV game and a unique point in interactive cinema. It's a vastly interesting new way to allow the viewer to change the outcome of the movie they are watching, but has the very odd position of trying to sell itself as neither a movie or a game, but at the same time, both. What I am most interested to see is how Late Shift impacts the future of media. It might just be a flash in the pan, but if we end up one day having an Oscar nominated film that is also a Game of the Year contender, I can safely say that Late Shift will be seen as the original piece of interactive cinema that provided the catalyst for that potential combined media future.

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70%
Apr 19, 2017

A slightly iffy script, one or two uneven performances and some questionable scenes aside, Late Shift is an intriguing FMV crime thriller worth checking out.

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6 / 10
Apr 19, 2017

Late Shift is a decent FMV title with a cast that puts in a lot of effort to make their characters believable. It's let down by some glaring plot holes that don't stand up to scrutiny. There are seven endings, meaning that some of the choices made do matter, while others feel a bit like filler and don't seem to change anything. The ambition and the actual cinematography is there, but the writing really needs some improvement to push Late Shift toward greatness.

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Apr 18, 2017

Late Shift uses an awesomely innovative idea in a game that revolves around a young man being pulled into a deadly heist. The lack of normal gameplay elements makes it a very different kind of game, but it's a fun and compelling sprint for anyone who likes a good story.

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Ofisil
Top Critic
6 / 10
Apr 18, 2017

For fans of the interactive movie genre, Late Shift is, without a single doubt, a product worthy of its price tag. Those grown tired of the usual flaws of this flavour of games, however, beware, as these make their appearance here too, with choices rarely changing things as much as they should.

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75 / 100
Apr 18, 2017

Late Shift is an interactive movie of cinematic quality. Players have the power to decide what the protagonist should do next, shaping the narrative with their decisions and leading to seven possible endings. Every decision you take is shown seamless on screen, without abrupt transitions that may disrupt your immersion. It is an enjoyable thriller, even though some events may happen without so much development, making them hard to believe. For the same price of a DVD release, it is worth a shot.

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9 / 10
Apr 18, 2017

With its entertaining story that you have a surprising amount of control over, Late Shift is definitely a triumph in a genre that is steadily making a revival.

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4 / 10
Apr 18, 2017

If you really boil it down, Late Shift is a movie with a plot that you can alter. Sadly, that plot isn't very good. Gameplay is minimal, and where The Bunker struck a decent balance, the lack of interaction here only serves to make the experience more of a slog. This can only be described as a complete disappointment.

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Cubed3
Top Critic
6 / 10
Apr 18, 2017

Late Shift would be a fine movie, although it would falter from an odd lack of direction from time to time. As a game, though, Late Shift just feels too disconnected from the player to justify even giving them control. It does allow you to steer the story, and on occasion it feels like the decisions that have been made actually mattered. Still, the player's involvement just feels like the movie occasionally wondering where it should go.

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Apr 18, 2017

Doubt is understandable given the history of the full motion video game genre, but despite some glaring missteps, Late Shift is a step in the right direction for this presentation style. With a story that changes drastically on the way to many different endings, issues like stuttering after decisions and a hint of less than stellar production value can be somewhat forgiven.

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75 / 100
Apr 18, 2017

When you make totally different choices, events actually play out differently enough where it doesn't just feel like the illusion of choice.

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5 / 10.0
Apr 18, 2017

Late Shift is interesting enough on its first go around, but without reward in its narrative or punishment in its gameplay, there's not enough reason to go back.

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4 / 10.0
Apr 18, 2017

Late Shift is an interesting update on the idea of the interactive movie. While it brings decent tv-quality production values and soap opera level acting to a genre notoriously riddled with far worse, it still doesn't do enough to stand out as a film, nor offer enough interactivity as a game. There's potential for this template, but the interactivity needs to be much more ambitious.

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7 / 10.0
Apr 18, 2017

A well-executed novelty experience for the most part, and proof that outings such as this deserve to be taken seriously rather than reduced to kitschy relic status within a few years.

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6 / 10.0
Apr 17, 2017

Despite being a thriller, Late Shift, is not nearly as well written, or structured as the films of the very same genre, such as the critically acclaimed North by Northwest. And that’s okay, because unlike Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece, Late Shift is a compound entity, which consists of numerous scenes which revolve around each other depending on the choices made by the player.

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Apr 17, 2017

Overall, Late Shift does well to ensure any choices you make impact on the story, either immediately or later on. The technical issues really hold it back though, and despite not being game-breaking, it’s irritating to have such problems spread out from start to finish.

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Unscored
Apr 17, 2017

Late Shift is a fun experiment that I'm glad I got to experience, and would encourage gamers and film-goers alike to give it a shot. It manages to suck you in enough that you want to see where your decisions take you, and successfully creates an experience which is fairly unique in both the worlds of cinema and gaming.

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