The Third Shift

The developers took their time with this one but boy did they cook. The game starts small and eventually goes bonkers where it just keeps going crazier and crazier. The puzzles are a bit difficult but perhaps its skill issue, either way, highly recommend. It's a short but sweet game so take your time with it. The biggest positive attribute of the game is its atmosphere, its very unique and unnerving but still very fun, its a thin line but they play well on it.

This horror game is amazing and must be played but it does come with flaws. You play as a security guard at a museum on his first day on the job. You go about the night doing tasks set by an older guard when you notice a possible break-in. From there, the story gets weird in a good way. I really liked how interactive the world was, seeing different esoteric exhibits, and seeing the variety of interactivity with these exhibits. I liked where the story was going. It is roughly linear but about 3/4 of the way through, you get to choose from two different paths to get multiple endings. I was not expecting how the game was setting up for a certain ending and I really liked the twist. I also really liked where the horror went in terms of the story. I also really liked how the horror meshed well with the different exhibits and horror-themed the exhibits were. I was always afraid of getting a jumpscare or having the exhibits come to life to attack me. The tension that built up with each passing exhibit that did nothing was phenomenal. As for the presentation, it definitely feels like it could have been a horror game from the Gameboy era. The visuals and 8-bit music are all great. And you can palette swap the colors too too change things up a bit. It really is a beautiful game and you can a lot of love went into the game. Now there are few flaws but really noticeable. First, there are bugs, especially towards the end that can softlock your game or annoy the crap or of you. There are bugs that can have texts overlap each other so you can't read anything, bugs that prevent you from interacting with the screen, and bugs that close your game. Most softlocking bugs can be fixed by exiting the game and loading a save but that becomes an issue if you're trying to get the no-save achievement and you get stuck because of a gamebreaking bug. The dev has been active in the discussion board to fix most bugs and if you discover some, report it to the dev and they will likely fix it in a day. My next issue with the game is the saving. You can save as much as you want, but if you do, you overwrite the previous save. For a game that has multiple endings, it would have been nice to have been able to save in different slots, instead of starting all over again to get a different ending. This is especially annoying if you mess up and save at terrible health or locked at only 1 ending and now you can't go back to a previous save state. Despite the flaws, I really appreciated my time with this game, and I highly recommend you play this game. I can't wait for the devs next game. I just hope it doesn't take another 4 years. Plays great on Steam Deck.

A socially conscious game that sheds light on the brutal working environments young men in their 20s had to endure. Experience the true horror of working as a museum guard—a job where your superior teaches you ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, and unmannerly guests try to brute force through you instead of talking. Finish tasks like fixing pressure gauges or feeding fish, only to realize the absurdity: "Why is a museum guard even doing this?" The developers have meticulously designed the game to express the dread everyday workers faced in the 90s, reflecting a reality that remains relevant even today. Bad jobs aren't just today's news.

The Third Shift has probably been one of my most highly anticipated games for years, its Gameboy style charmed me despite not normally being one for horror games. Its use of multiple perspectives in different areas helps add a lot of charm to the museum you are doomed to be spending the night in, but it does come with a few flaws, due to how you are mostly in view of security cameras, it can occur alot that you will be thrown off with a sudden change of your direction and angle from changing screens, which can be rather frustrating when you accidently run backward into the plastic horror hounding you. The Puzzles themselves help break up the tension a bit, be it adjusting valve pressure, or figuring out the order of buttons to activate a camera, though some of them do require you to go around and look at various parts of exhibits for an idea or solution. In terms of the horror, the limited colours and even the first person segments nail the atmosphere quite well, sending shivers for those who are unaware of whats waiting for you around the corner, that said however, there are a couple of jumpscares which may feel cheap to some, but not greatly a turn off as they are not the games entire source of scares. There are however a few times in story progression which at the time of writing feel rather obtuse, two particular segments in the late game don't really give much direct implication on what you are meant to do, but they are practically non-issue once you do figure them out. Your playthrough is likely to reach at least 1 to 2 hours, which does make the game a little short, but with several choices that can alter where you end up going, as well as multiple endings adds to re-playability, especially with hidden collectables dotted around the building. So if your looking for a nice little thrilling experience, you can't go wrong with applying for work at the Roanoke museum of history!

there are a lot of ways a game can be good, but my favorite way for a game to be good is when it feels like a labor of love. when it has a real personality and feels like a real ass human being poured themselves into it. the third shift is like that! it's a one of one kind of game. but on top of that it nails everything it's trying to achieve, and it's just really fun. outside of the great creepy meets tee hee energy, the interesting environments you explore, and the excellent writing, something I really respected in the third shift is that I was continually surprised my entire playthrough with the variety in gameplay - it felt very fresh all the way to the end. worth every penny, pick it up!

Such a unique experience, and I love every single moment of it! Sure, the game does have its flaws, but the devs show LOVE to the craft they made. From the art to the music (Looking through the glass my fav), and all the small details, all are full of personality, I spend hours checking all of them! Some of the jumpscares got me good :'D It's just getting better and better as the story goes on. I have good memories with this game back when the demo came out and I am so glad I finally get to finish it ^^ Highly recommend!

Having seen the real Body Worlds exhibition in Vegas years back, they NAILED the aesthetic and visuals of the whole thing, to the point I recognized some of the actual exhibits. That praise aside, I was eagerly awaiting the full release of this game for quite a while, and despite some initial bugs (which were patched almost as quickly as they were discovered, excellent work on the part of the devs), the game was a wonderful experience. Highly recommend,

ENG REVIEW (avaliação PT-BR abaixo) I'm so glad to play this as a full release after working as QA tester for this game! I discovered the demo in 2020 on itchio and I've played countless hours during development ever since. Still, every single time I play it manages to give me give me a visceral reaction ;D This game has an amazing atmosphere, you get drawn in a mistery and continue to descend into more horrifc situations as the story goes on. It has immersive soundtrack, massive map and AMAZING creature and environmental design, which are just a few of many highlights of this game. Also the multiple story paths that branch according to your choices and multiple endings will make for many hours of creepiness. This is truly an one of a kind game, huge thanks to Scottie and Julian for letting me in! Find me in the Cryptid exhibition at any time! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- PT-BR Muito feliz por poder jogar a versão completa do TTS, já que eu trabalhei como Analista de Qualidade (QA tester) durante o desenvolvimento do jogo! Eu conheci o TTS através da demo publicada no itchio, e desde então joguei inúmeras horas durante todo o período de desenvolvimento. Mesmo assim, não importa quantas horas passe, o jogo ainda consegue me surpreender e tirar algumas reações viscerais. A atmosfera do jogo é incrível, a gente começa envolvido no mistério inicial, enquanto o jogo vai se tornar cada vez mais tenso e assustador a medida que a história continua. Eu sou apaixonada pela trilha sonora imersiva, mapa enorme e design das criaturas/ambientes, que são algumas das minhas coisas favoritas nesse jogo. O TTS tem vários caminhos na história dependendo das suas decisões, então isso somado aos multiplos finais dá a ele muitas horas de gameplay! Realmente é um jogo único, muito obrigada Scott e Julian por me darem a oportunidade de trabalhar como QA! Estarei na exibição dos Criptídeos que é a minha favorita ;D

Great game! I had so much fun playing this game. The art style is very charming, the entire concept was really interesting and I think the execution was very well done. I enjoyed the writing too, the witty dialoge combined with some pretty gruesome horror is always a good combo to me. The plot and worldbuilding was very solid and kept me captivated through the whole game . I would also like to say that the game does a great job att making me feel on edge, something I think can be harder to do in a pixel medium. Now for some negatives ( keep in mind that this is mostly opinion based), because even great things are rarely perfect. I think some notes were a bit hard to read, there was one letter in particular that I think mightve been glitched out or something because some letters were unfinshed. Navigation was also kinda hard at times, though that might not be accedental, I still wish there was some sort of map (if there is I am sorry for not realising that). I think a mission reminder could be good so that i´m not roaming with no memory of what I was supposed to do. Also more save locations would be nice, however I know i´m not the greatest gamer so my issue might just be a lack of skill on my part. Even though I had some problems, it wasen´t even close to make the game a dealbreaker. This is some real good work and I think everyone working on this game should be extremely proud! 10/10

Super fun gb horror game with tons of replayability.