Late Shift is a unique experience that I probably wouldn’t have given much attention too had I seen it pop up on Steam or elsewhere, but I’m very glad that our paths did cross. The few issues that it does have are easily outweighed by what it does right, providing a compelling experience that engaged me, and has me wanting more. Both endings I experienced left me with a completely different opinion on the story’s purveying themes, and I fully expect to watch through the story at least a handful more times to see what else I can change.

Late Shift is interactive storytelling at its finest, a Full-Motion Video (FMV) title where Choices Matter. This gripping "crime thriller" puts players in the hot seat, allowing them to make decisions that drastically affect the course of events that take place in the London night. With seven different conclusions and choices that are genuinely difficult, Late Shift delivers on what it promises: An "interactive, cinematic experience."

Late Shift delivers on its premise. A true interactive movie where player decisions have an impact and meaningfully alter the narrative. The story will not impress genre buffs but it stands head and shoulders above Telltales’ efforts in the field and points to a very viable future for this beloved cult genre.

Most importantly, it’s an interactive movie made by professional movie-makers, not by game designers (for example, writer Michael Robert Johnson also worked on 2009’s Sherlock Holmes). Its biggest gameplay shortcoming is that you can’t skip dialogues you’ve already heard in previous playthroughs – but for a 2-hour long movie it’s not that much of a deal.[Issue#220, p.72]

The story has its weaknesses, but offers an exciting, non-linear experience with great actors and far-reaching consequences.

Late Shift brings an almost forgotten concept back to life with a nice story, but basically no gameplay and no replay value, although it has more than one ending and a couple of dozen ways to get there.

The FMV thriller is fully exhumed in this splicing of game and cinema, where high production values fail to obscure the creative fissures.