Shift 87
Table of Contents
Steam recommended Shift 87 to me when the game was on sale. I hadn’t heard of the game, but I clicked on the thumbnail and read that it was an observation game. The screenshots, trailer, and description of the game looked decent, and I love observation or anomaly video games, so I bought it. I spent a few minutes playing the game and fell in love.
SHIFT 87
Shift 87 is a first-person observation horror game where you hunt down anomalies and report them. There are three highly atmospheric locations to explore. Anomalies can be small and hard to spot or unmissable. Some anomalies can be terrifying.
Each playthrough is randomly generated. You’ll visit the same locations but the anomalies are random. There are 66 anomalies so you’ll need to do several playthroughs to find all of them. My playthroughs took about a half hour to complete.
The developer is Pixelsplit. They made the horror video game Reveil. There are influences from Reveil that carry over to Shift 87. If you played Reveil, you’ll notice the influences when you come across them. I enjoyed discovering them.
GAMEPLAY
Shift 87 is first-person and most of the gameplay is walking around and observing. You carry a device that is used for reporting anomalies. The simple gameplay mechanics leave plenty of room for the brain power needed to observe the room you are in and look for anomalies.
The locations loop. You’ll enter an elevator or door to begin, reset, or exit the loop. The object is to report anomalies. If an anomaly exists, use the device to report it. If no anomaly exists, reset the loop. You move on to the next location if you make it through five loops correctly. If you mess up, the loop resets and you start over.
ATMOSPHERE
Shift 87 nailed the atmosphere. The graphics are superb and may be the best I have seen in an observation game. Beautiful, horrifying locations are constructed with attractive lighting, fine reflections, detailed textures, random air particles, flashes, shadows, attention to detail, and more. Simply put, these locations are easy on the eyes.
There is a man in each location who appears to be observing you. He is unapproachable because he is either behind a door or fence or watching from a distance above. The man is not hard to spot but the idea of someone observing you while you are observing feels unnerving. I appreciate the added dread.
HORROR
The atmosphere compliments the horror on a grand scale but the horror doesn’t stop there. There are plenty of horror sequences to unveil. Some horror sequences are basic. These are subtle changes to the environment, atmosphere, or object. They may not invoke much fear but they are fun to discover.
Some of the horror sequences are easy to spot. For example, fog may fill up the location you are on. The dense fog makes it harder to see where you are going and what is in front of you. The lighting changes and looks eerie. There are sounds with no source in sight. Tension ensues but you must move forward. It’s spooky good fun.
The remaining horror sequences vary but are the most chilling to experience. I won’t spoil them but I will say that a few of them got me pretty good and I don’t scare easily these days. Watch my playthrough and shorts or play the game to discover them yourself.
DIFFICULTY
Observation games vary in difficulty. Shift 87 found a decent balance in difficulty. The first two locations are fairly easy. You’ll need to watch for anomalies but they can be easy to find. The third location is where the difficulty level spikes up a bit. The anomalies are harder to find in the location’s dark and busy environment. You’ll need a sharper eye in the third location.
I like how the difficulty scales through progression. It eases you into the game. The first location is so easy that I feel confident most gamers can easily make it through with ease. While the third location is tougher, exploring is fun and the difficulty is not unfair.
MEDIA
SCREENSHOTS
AS I SEE IT
I love observation games. They remind me of when I was young and received Highlights Magazine in the mail monthly. I’d open up the Hidden Pictures puzzle and find all the hidden objects within the picture. Observation games are the equivalence on a grander scale and I haven’t grown out of observing and finding hidden objects.
Shift 87 stands out to me. I like the locations, the controls, the difficulty, and some of the horror sequences are extremely chilling. My nerves are hardened from so much exposure to horror but Shift 87 got me a couple of times. Kudos to the dev team!
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