Late Shift

 Xbox One
Late Shift Image
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 42 Ratings

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  • Summary: Late Shift is a high stakes FMV crime thriller. Forced into a brutal London heist, you must choose your own adventure in this interactive cinematic experience with adaptable storylines that lead to one of seven conclusions. Your decisions are you.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 16
  3. Negative: 1 out of 16
  1. GameSpew
    Apr 18, 2017
    90
    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.
  2. DarkStation
    Apr 28, 2017
    80
    Was the story exciting and interesting enough to experience it several times? Yes and then some! It tells something that even after a few play-throughs, I was curled up in tension with heartbeat in my ears when I drove the story to previously unseen directions. Lastly, would I recommend Late Shift to hardcore gamers? Yes, because I'm such myself and I could see no reason why someone else would't get thrilled by it. And there you have it. Late Shift is a solid crime thriller where you don't have to just watch people making bad choices because you can make them yourself. Or even some good ones necessary to pull you through the night.
  3. GameCritics
    May 7, 2017
    80
    Even with the issue of repetition hanging over its head, Late Shift remains a remarkable accomplishment and I recomend it without reservation. It’s a solidly entertaining FMV game that surpasses many modern adventure titles, and it kept me hanging on to the plot through every scene, constantly wanting to know if Matt was going to make it out of London alive.
  4. COGconnected
    Apr 18, 2017
    75
    If you want something to do that will hold your interest while you laze around, or a bit of a different experience the next time you go to watch a movie, I highly recommend Late Shift. It has some issues that are a bit jarring, but if you don't let those distract you, it's a great experience overall.
  5. TrueAchievements
    Apr 18, 2017
    70
    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. Before playing, Late Shift's prospects were met with skepticism, but several playthroughs later we need to see more FMV games that continue to build on the progress this one exemplifies.
  6. Generación Xbox
    Apr 19, 2017
    68
    In Late Shift we can find great actors that represents the characters and although there are some small failures of performance and the total absence of a language like Spanish, these bad things are nothing if we talk about the good plot and the good amount of hours of that the game can offer us with high replayability.
  7. Cubed3
    Jan 7, 2019
    30
    The concept behind Late Shift is not necessarily a bad one, but if you're going to design a game around an interactive story, it is crucial the story is actually well done. This isn't the case here, sadly, and is a mess of continuity errors, laughably bad acting, and straight up nonsensical plot points. It doesn't matter which decisions you make, because you're always going to get a bad ending by virtue of having to play the game to get to it. This is a short, entirely forgettable experience that isn't even worth the low price of admission. There is some novelty here because of it being FMV, but with how bad things are, it certainly feels more like FML than anything else.

See all 16 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. SenorKoquonfaes
    Nov 14, 2019
    7
    In terms of FMV games I've played recently, I certainly liked this a lot more than The Bunker. I felt that the story was far more engagingIn terms of FMV games I've played recently, I certainly liked this a lot more than The Bunker. I felt that the story was far more engaging with the Late Shift. I guess I like the choice and consequence style of gameplay more than the point-and-click style.

    You play as Matt Thompson, a college student who works the late shift as a valet/car park attendant. The night appears to be rather quiet, until a robber breaks into the car park, holds you up at gun point and forces you to drive to a house where a robbery is being planned. Unfortunately, the guy who kidnapped you suffers an injury when he broke into the garage and Matt is forced to take his place in the robbery instead. The robbery goes awry and you end up in the crosshairs of a Chinese triad gang, thus beginning the adventure to escape with your life based on the decisions you make.

    "Gameplay" is fine for what it is; a choice and consequence, FMV style game. Certain choices can lead to entire chapters being locked off until you try again on another play through, so there's at least some consequences for your actions.

    The acting is fine, it's kind of interesting to watch Matt's character arc quickly go from an average, innocent college student to a hardened criminal. The music is just kind of throw-away, although I wish they hadn't mixed the music to be so loud and the voices to be so low. I had to drop the music levels to about 60% just to hear what the actors were saying to each other.

    There are some technical issues I've found with the game. The subtitles and the actors lines don't match up on several occasions, there was one instance where I pushed my luck and managed to get a 50% share in the money for the robbery. The subtitles matched that decision when it played out, but the actor recited the line where it was only 25% (If you don't push your luck). There's also random multi-coloured bars that can flash up on screen momentarily and I get some frame rate slow down and acceleration with a number of scenes, leading to believe that maybe parts of this game weren't rendering correctly. Could simply be a console vs. PC thing.

    I do wish there was a way to check what choices you've made, what ending you got and even compare your choices globally with other players. I don't really care that I made X number of choices in a play through, when would that ever tell me anything of consequence?

    Overall, Late Shift is short, fun FMV game that I can recommend if, like me, you've never really played many FMV games. Do try to pick it up on sale, though. I picked it up for $7 CAD, as oppose to $12.49 CAD.    … Expand
  2. CenkAlp
    Sep 2, 2018
    7
    Hikaye = 7
    Oynanış = 7
    Grafikler = -
    Sesler = -
    Keyif = 8
    Atmosfer = 6
    Süre = 8
  4. Broyax
    Apr 3, 2018
    6
    Les jeux FMV (Full Motion Video) étaient à la mode dans les années 90 lors de l'avènement du CD-Rom qui permettait de stocker une quantitéLes jeux FMV (Full Motion Video) étaient à la mode dans les années 90 lors de l'avènement du CD-Rom qui permettait de stocker une quantité faramineuse de données et notamment les gros fichiers vidéo... Notez qu'ironiquement, les CD sont de nos jours devenus les disquettes d'antan puisque Late Shift nécessiterait une bonne douzaine de disques avec ses quelques 7 Go !

    Et malgré ses **** 7 Go (risibles à l'heure du blu-ray), Late Shift affiche une qualité d'image sans commune mesure avec les horreurs qu'on se tapait à l'époque... les Wing Commander peuvent en témoigner ! Mais les Wing Co. 3 et 4 (avec le Privateer 2 aussi) utilisaient la vidéo (et ses choix) comme cinématiques interactives de luxe, le coeur du jeu était toujours numériquement calculé et modélisé comme un jeu normal.

    Ici, avec Late shift, la vidéo fait tout et fait partie intégrante de l'expérience. Pas vraiment un jeu donc, car le problème avec ces trucs-là, c'est toujours le manque de rejouabilité. Ainsi, se retaper des scènes entières jusqu'aux choix qu'on veut tenter est assez fastidieux... Et puis on se rend compte que certains choix anodins en apparence mènent de façon inopinée et comme un cheveu sur la soupe vers quelque chose d'inattendu, voire d'invraisemblable... mais ça, c'est aussi le lot de nombre de jeux d'aventure à dire vrai.

    En tout cas, Late Shift reste une belle aventure, bien réalisée et globalement bien écrite : on est pris dans les intrigues et les rebondissements (au moins les deux premières fois) du début à la fin. La troisième tentative sent déjà trop la redite, alors la quatrième (ou plus ?) pour voir les 7 fins (!) disponibles me semble tirer un peu trop sur la corde.

    Le "jeu" est tout de même en anglais (correctement sous-titré français) et prend une bonne heure je crois à chaque fois (j'ai pas chronométré). Intéressante expérience donc mais pas forcément concluante sur le long terme.    … Expand
  5. nandika
    Jan 22, 2019
    6
    Very nice "make your own choices" tv-show slash game, but it's too short and lacking catharsis. Netflix abused the idea recently, and I thinkVery nice "make your own choices" tv-show slash game, but it's too short and lacking catharsis. Netflix abused the idea recently, and I think we're going to see a lot of these kinds of experiences (let's not call it netiher a game, neither a tv-show/film).… Expand
  6. zezeljmare
    Jun 25, 2021
    6
    EN:
    An interesting concept. "Choose your choice" game in the form of a TV series. This is definitely not a classic game, but an interactive    EN:
    An interesting concept. "Choose your choice" game in the form of a TV series. This is definitely not a classic game, but an interactive show. Netflix later copied this concept for its series. Unfortunately, apart from the then innovative approach, the game is nothing special. The story is just good, the characters are average ...

    SRP:
    Interesantan koncept. "Izaberi svoj izbor" igra u formi tv serije. Ovo definitvno nije klasična igra, već interaktivni show. Netflix je posle kopirao ovaj koncept za svoje serije. Nažalost osim tada inovativnog pristupa, igra nije ništa specijalno. Priča je samo dobra, likovi prosek...    … Expand
  7. ElSeano89
    Apr 16, 2018
    5
    Late Shift is a very difficult thing to put a score to and that is due to many reasons. Let's get the first out of way immediately; this isLate Shift is a very difficult thing to put a score to and that is due to many reasons. Let's get the first out of way immediately; this is not a game. Your input as a player is making TellTale Games style timed choices on the fly and they are usually "this or that" with an occasional third option. But the game/movie... whatever it is... in fairness, doesn't ever pretend that it's got more to it than simple choice but instead attention has been paid to making it cinematic.

    As a movie, it's a mixed bag and again I find myself giving it a break because of the medium in which it is presented. If I sat down and watched Late Shift start to finish would I consider it a good movie? Not especially but I wouldn't say it is offensively bad either but once again because this is presented to me under the guise of a "game" I find myself thinking "Well this is hardly Black Mirror but there are some good bits to this."

    I think by and large the spectre of how bad "FMV Games" can be makes you look at what is on offer here and go "Actually this is alright". The acting varies from decent, occasionally spiking up into quite respectable and occasionally plummeting into amateurish. The best analogy I can use to explain this is to compare Late Shift to a student movie but a very accomplished one. There are flashes where the lead actor really nails a line and I found myself sort of getting hyped for the actor rather than the character. The female lead also generally comes across well also and this is with both of them dealing with a very average script that has to branch across numerous possible outcomes (there are 7 endings). But there are also moments where they both, whether its the script or their ability are quite cringeworthy. The vast majority of the lines are theirs however and most of the time they do well enough with what they're given. Some of the side characters are woeful however. The first thug you encounter for example is painfully wooden, your male sidekicks later on equally so. Mr Woe and his waiter also earn some scorn but once more the script was doing them no favors.

    Budget was clearly no object here; the locales are impressive, varied and populated. The fleet of vehicles that show up are impressive and at no point do you really look at what's on screen and think "low budget". It is very well shot and directed. The camera work is slick and overall on terms of presentation this is pretty much up to par with most anything you'd watch on television/netflix if not the big screen. The score fits with the action well and it's pleasing to see that the game/movie never tries to overstep it's mark with over elaborate chase scenes or action scenes. It tries to remain driven by and about the dialogue.

    My first play through of the game took probably a standard feature length movie of time, between 1h30 and 1h45. It must be said however that the ending I got was undoubtedly the "bad" ending and as such as abrupt and I likely cut off perhaps another 20 minutes they use for the "good" or "canon" ending as it were. But at the end of the play through I nodded and had to admit that really they'd done a decent job. I mean this isn't a hollywood production or even a netflix type deal. They aren't working with big names here and the quality as such can only be expected to reflect that. But they held my attention, they entertained me for 2 hours and that is really all I can ask of them. To expect a £6 indie video game to blow me away cinematically seems if not unfair then at least overly demanding.

    However it is to its detriment that you have to replay from the beginning each time. I understand that with all the choices you are presented (180 over all story branches apparently) that they feel it is important to do so but the fact is after a play through I don't want the whole 2 hours again, I just want to see where it could've gone differently. A chapter select option would have been a good idea.

    Which all comes around to my original point. It's hard to put a score on. I find myself grading what is there from a cinema standpoint because this is barely a game but I find myself giving it a break from a cinema standpoint because "it's just a game".

    What I like most about this game is that it shows the exciting potential of the medium. If you do another game with just a marginally better script and maybe just one absolutely stand out acting performance (and that isn't to decry Matt or May-Lings performances at all) but if you were to have the lead just give out an absolute "wow" kind of performance and you paired it with this level of presentation and budget? It'd be a game changer. It's praise enough that whatever this studio releases next I will likely try because of the impression this attempt left on me.

    You'll find Late Shift on Xbox Game Pass as I did but I would certainly recommend picking it up for cheap. For what it is, it is quite successful and thats to be applauded for a studio of this scale.    … Expand
  8. Joellemm
    May 1, 2018
    5
    In terms of quality, its probably the best I have seen for this type of game. Most importantly, choices made by the player appear to impactIn terms of quality, its probably the best I have seen for this type of game. Most importantly, choices made by the player appear to impact the direction the story takes. Nonetheless, when the bar for FMV games is set so low, its easy to peak above the rest. Remove the intractability, and the game does not compare well with even low budget films. The acting is still a little corny, the writing is weak, and the overarching plot is ridiculous.… Expand

See all 8 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

79
#79 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2017
53
#53 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2017