Late Shift (Nintendo Switch) Review

Matt, a young valet (played by the relatively unknown Joe Sowerbutts), gets wrapped up in a heist and there are basically two ways it can all end: go along with the plans, or face certain death. The idea behind Late Shift is that you are in the role of Matt, making key decisions along the way, guiding the story in varying directions. Comply and see where things go, or try to raise awareness of the crime-in-progress at any opportunity, running the risk of being harmed in the process? Stand up to a group of drunken street thugs, or keep your head down and carry onwards? Try to win the girl (May-ling, expertly portrayed by the wonderful Haruka Abe - 47 Ronin, My Phone Genie), or look after number one at all costs? The choice is yours.

As the action plays out, snap judgements need to be made, as two or three option boxes pop up at the bottom of the screen at certain junctures, with mere seconds to make the final choice before the default option is auto-selected. This works perfectly on Nintendo Switch in handheld mode as the touch-screen was made for this sort of experience, working as a great way to watch the taut thriller, as well as allowing for quick-touch responses to the situations faced.

With multiple endings to acquire, and all the chapter scenes only being unlocked via several tries, the lack of a fast-forward or skip function to swiftly get by already viewed scenes means that, despite the movie itself being highly enjoyable, certain aspects of Late Shift grow stale too quickly. Tricks end up being used to get all the achievements and outcomes; for instance, triggering a specific event, watching for as long as possible to trigger the achievement, before quitting out of the game and re-loading the last save, to start afresh at the beginning of just the last chapter viewed, rather than going from the very beginning each time. Such actions should not be required, so it is hoped that - as found in 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, and the other Zero Escape entries - some form of speed-up or jump feature can be included in future games of this ilk from CtrlMovie and Wales Interactive to avoid too much scene-repetition.