Nightmare Shift – PS5 Review

Kyle McGrath

1 day ago

The image shows a scared woman in a red, dark hallway. She has black hair, a striped shirt and mascara running down her face. Behind and above her are two hands descending, as if to grab her. The white test reads "Nightmare Shift".

Another low-budget horror coming straight off the bus is Nightmare Shift. This game is developed by Binary Lunar, and has us playing as a new employee at a Motel. What is the worst that can happen? The game is available on Steam, but I’m checking out the PS5 version. I check out a lot for different horror games to see if they are worth your hard-earned money so why not check out some of my other reviews here.

Hope you enjoy your stay.

Why does the newbie always got to deal with the spooky crap?

Gameplay

We play Nightmare Shift through the eyes of Emma, who has just gotten a new night shift job at a motel. Players get the quick rundown of how the motel works by one of the reoccurring characters Anderson. All the scenes are scripted when it comes to clearing rooms ready for the guests, so sadly you don’t get any real control. After everything is explained Anderson warns us that guest tends to complain about Room 3, and that is where I shall stop for you to find out. There will be times that will offer Emma the chance to make decisions but these more appear near the end of Nightmare Shift.

Not sure what Emma is talking about, Mr. Graves looks like he is having a blast.

While actually playing you will be visiting back and forth the motel and her apartment as the story progress. Most of the game is a walking sim with some interactions, but for these types of horror games this is expected. The type of interaction will come from restocking rooms with amenities and answering the phone.

Graphics & Audio

The textures and character animations weren’t exactly the best in Nightmare Shift. The character models looked as though they were walking on a track or treadmill, and it made scenes a little weird, and the textures were a little under detailed. It was also awkward that one of the apartments was also almost a copy and paste of the main character’s, excluding the bedroom. However, there were some good things; the voice acting wasn’t half bad (though the actual script they had to deliver were awkward and contradictory at times). The music is also pretty decent, adding some good ambience.

Longevity

Nightmare Shift is rather short and is easily beaten within an afternoon. It does offer several endings depending on certain choices you made in the game, as I mentioned above. For the exact number of trophies there are 25 to get, with most earned by simply playing. While the rest are tied to what you pick, and the endings themselves.

Final Thoughts

Gameplay is bog-standard, and if you don’t mind walking with minor interactions then you will be good. Story-wise, I think Nightmare Shift could have been a little better. Mainly with dropping better hints as to what might be going on or building up on some events. I would have replayed the last couple of chapters but for some reason the chapter select reset. Which is a shame as the game is a really easy platinum. So in the end Nightmare Shift is okay, but nothing stood out and the horror was eh. It’s the Thumb Culture Silver Award. One more thing to mention is that the start of the game does have a lot of flashing images so be wary.

Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.