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.
It is difficult to evaluate Late Shift as a video game, considering how little is given to the player in terms of interaction. But its limits are also its main force. If you want to live a real dynamic and well-written movie, where are you going to decide on developments and consequences, the CtrlMovie product is fascinating and unique in its own right.
A captivating interactive movie, with great production values and a good cast of actors, even if with some technical imperfections like casual video stutters and audio desyncs. It's hard to evaluate it as a real video game, but as an interactive movie it's definitely worth one or more runs.
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.
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.
Late Shift is an enjoyable story and was good enough that I didn’t mind playing it through several times, even with the issues I had with it. If you’re in the mood for a decent story and don’t mind working for it, then give Late Shift a try. It is definitely an enjoyable experience.
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.
SummaryLate 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.