This game is extremely interesting.
One part soundtrack from the movie Drive one part Lynch's Lost Highway this game's minimalist retro aesthetic is strong enough to keep you hooked until you figure out what the hell it's supposed to be about.
That's right you won't have a clue at the beginning beyond a dark highway and a few cryptic visual clues.
Though once it clicks for you it drags you deeper.
I really enjoyed this.
The controls are a bit rudimentary and some things need a little bit more clarity in the beginning (i.e. the role of the ghosts)
But this is a very promising game especially considering it's early access.
I very much want to see where this game goes.
BTW the Soundtrack from Dance with the Dead is soooo good..

It's f*cking amazing !

The road in front of me receded into an empty void. It felt like I had been driving forever. The radio stuttered and crackled, catchy tunes occasionally popping in as I continuously drove, searching for the answers to our mysteriously disappeared sun.

Thank Christ I bought one of those fancy electric cars, because I haven’t seen a gas station for miles in this damn game. Only weird electrical trees. Welcome to the world of Night Shift, a currently in-development indie title by Brandon Brizzi that attempts to blend puzzle-solving with driving cars in a very 1980s retro-futuristic themed world. There really isn’t a story written up for the game at the moment, beyond the basic idea that “the sun has disappeared, go try to find and save it by solving puzzles. Oh, and there are ghosts for some reason.”

Control over your car is relatively straightforward. You use the WASD keys to move in any direction, and you use the spacebar to flash your high beams at things like an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. In addition, the E key turns your headlights off entirely if you choose, but there’s no real point to do so from what I can tell. The kicker here for me though is that you have to find all this out simply by finding out for yourself. There’s no list of key bindings in the settings, no tutorial or any kind of information to let you know what you’re able to do or not do, nothing. For a game this simple (and early in development), I can let it slide for now, but not everyone likes the whole “figure it out for yourself” take when it comes to learning how to control what you’re doing in-game.

As for the gameplay itself, it’s just a lot of roaming around and solving several different puzzles. Remember those ghosts I mentioned earlier? Well, currently they come in two flavors: Little specters that sit on the side of the road, and aggressive ghost cars which try to ram into you. Thankfully, both can be killed by flashing them. When it came to the specters though, for the longest time I would keep killing them and think nothing of it. Even though they respawn, what I didn’t realize was some of them (Maybe even all of them) actually give you hints on how to solve the puzzles. I didn’t discover this until the last puzzle, which I was totally stumped on, and I ended up finding this little hint system on pure accident. When you solve a puzzle, a little white flame appears that you collect, and it flies off to a magical glowing rock that sits in the desert. By the way, if you’re like me, you’ll more than likely keep passing that same damn rock while driving around just trying to figure out what to do, or where to go. On a side note, I think this game could use a benefit from having a bit more action-based gameplay, as it would really go well with some of rather more adventurous music the game has. In terms of graphics, having things set in first-person was definitely the best fit since you are driving a car everywhere you go. However, when you do finally choose to go do a little off-roading, you’ll find there is quite literally NOTHING out there but a barren wasteland that is too dark to really see in. And since the map seamlessly loops, you can find sometimes yourself continuously revisiting the same long patch of terrain for eternity. Personally, I think it would be cool if you passed through a deserted city or something occasionally, to give things a change of scenery.

Best ending ever.The soundtrack is great, it really is where this game shines the most I think. All of the music was composed by a band named Dance With The Dead, who make some pretty awesome and catchy electropop, and it really fits well with the artistic themes of the game. Unfortunately, I do have one slight grievance. From what I experienced, the music only plays in-game when you’re in an area that’s attached to one of the puzzles. If you’re out roaming, all you’ll get is the ambience of your car’s engine as you try to find your way back to wherever you’re supposed to be. Other than that, complete silence.

Night Shift is currently on Steam for $5, and while I’m not exactly satisfied with it, I think I can grant it benefit of the doubt for the moment because, as I’ve stated before, it’s still being worked on. I feel like this is a game that does have the potential to be something good if the developer can manage to expand the gameplay beyond just “drive, solve puzzle, drive.”

http://wtbfun.com/night-shift-an-early-look/

The best feature of this game is that you get to listen to some sweet electro. Problem is, it only plays when you complete an obscure task in an otherwise repetitive and boring playspace. And then it stops and you have to figure out the next inexplicable task. This game needs A LOT of work.

Very original puzzle game. I can't wait to see what the finished product will be like. Right now it's a bit confusing but I think that just adds to the puzzle effect.

Filled up my battery by flashing my lights at a tree. Turned some ghost cars into stone. 10/10. When will they release a port to Google Glass so I can play this whilst I'm driving at night?

A dark road lit up only by the lights of a lone driver's car in the dead of night, the pulsing beat and warm synth of the 80's era radio, all haunted with the actualization of surreal entities and glowing white butterflies before you. Whether they are real or a figment of your driver's sleep deprived imagination is unknown. The world you've cruised into is the essence of 80's obsession with a technological dystopia and sunless futures, the soundtrack (Dance With the Dead - http://dancewiththedead.bandcamp.com/album/out-of-body) the embodiment of cyberpunk, retro-future values recently re-popularized by the likes of Perturbator or the rest of the artists on the ever-popular Hotline Miami soundtrack. Night Shift caught my attention recently with it's appearance on Steam's Early Access, standing out with it's strangely unique concept and almost Knight Rider-like aesthetic.

Night Shift is a decidedly confusing game, pitting your solitary and anonymous retro hero against the empty pitch-black depths of the unknown and ruined roads before you. Many questions are presented without any real explanation, what happened to this world, who are these other phantasms and who is our driver, what exactly am I supposed to be doing? You're dropped into the pitch black land without any clue or indication of what to do other than the trail of butterflies leading you back on the road setting you on the right path for exploration. The gameplay is very straightforward and simple in execution but sprawling and secretive in it's discovery, having you explore and steal light from dimming lamp posts with your seemingly magical high beams while watching your energy closely, which can only be recharged by the glowing white trees that stand out in the darkness. You'll be stopped on your journey to gather and restore the light around you by the ghostly apparitions of other cars, perhaps even previous drivers on the same failed quest to find the sun as you?

Night Shift already has an attractively old school and fully realized atmosphere, but in it's current form lacks any narrative as to what you're doing or where you are which while effective in it's mysterious and strange nature is exactly why it's in Early Access. The developer, creator of the puzzle-platformer 10000 Amps, apparently has some pretty ambiguous ideas for where the story is headed in the future of Night Shift and is enlisting your help to ensure it's further shaped into something great with the addition of story cinemas and lots of new plot, new levels, as well as full Steam integration for controller support, achievements, cards and the like.

Overall, Nightshift is an awesome and quirky concept with a really cool dark and retro atmosphere that still has a long ways to go in terms of the overall experience given, and if you're the kind of person who's keen on watching as well as help an uncommon and unique idea develop into something even bigger you can pick it up for a very reasonable $4.99. I'm personally pretty excited to see where this one goes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvPkxKJ_rhQ

About 15 minutes in I realized that it was puzzle/mystery driving game(What?!) and it began to pull me in. The puzzles that I played were not all that difficult, but they were a lot of fun and gave me a good sense of accomplishment upon completion. The puzzles give you very little guidance, but when you're on the right track, it will give you some indication through the soundtrack gradually getting more complex or some sort of visual display. The soundtrack is one of the best parts of the game and the gradual shifts it makes as you progress are very satisfying!

I'd have to say that this game is more for the mystery/puzzle game enthusiasts rather than driving. While the driving controls and gameplay are fine, the game would would have been just as appealing to me if you played as someone walking around in the dark with a flash light. But I can think of a few games that have done something like that, whereas a puzzle/mystery driving game is a new breed for me.

I got lost as to what to do, because if you try to light up a small tree it doesn't work if you're right up to it. (Which is what I was doing)
Anyways, the music is good when it is playing, I like how the character is driving in a car, and although the story is incomplete it is very interesting.
It's actually pretty enjoyable but half the time I drive around with no idea whatsoever as to what I am doing.

The game is certainly interesting and very weird. Weird stuff happens. The mechanics are unique and make it fun interacting with the world. Such as using your headlights to blast away evil stuff and lighting up the world! The graphics are certainly retro-styled which make it intriguing and the music is very good.

I think a hint system at least is needed when players get stuck; this would be very nice. I found myself getting stuck for many minutes at a time, and it makes the experience not fun. Stuck on one particular part right now for about 15-20 minutes. Still not sure what to do. One example of a hint system would be Broken Sword's hint system.

It being easier or some form of hint system, would certainly stop me getting annoyed at certain moments. Although if the story is rich and detailed that might not be so much of a problem. But I think it is something to consider. :)

Other than that I give this game a 6 out of 10 so far, a game with an interesting concept but needs some work on the execution still. Hopefully the developer can tweak the gameplay a little to make it a bit more easier, but they are working on the story which will make it feel more like a living world.

It took me a few minutes to figure out what I was doing, but it quickly became entertaining.

This is a VERRY different type of gameplay than im use to... but i verry much enjoy it, it is definetly worth the money and i reccomend the game.

If you ever what we was like being inside the brain of Kavinsky, now is your chance! Interesting puzzles and very different gameplay.

I do hope there is more to this game when it's finished. I can't even access the controls for the radio and highbeams. I'm sure these were promised.

a small and short game in which you are driving a car at night [EARLY ACCESS REVIEW!]
the game offers some puzzles(which i found very easy to solve).
there is no story,background but the game is very nice to complete...i hope they will add more puzzles and even a story line(

This game is pretty unique.
It has interesting mechanics and nice music thats fits in well with the retro theme.
This is more of a puzzle game than a driving game.
The big downer on this one is it really lacks a story which is what it needs to stay interesting.
Im not sure if this lack of story telling is due to the game still being in alpha stage but I hope the story is developed more.
Another thing is with you being in control of a car, full controller support would be great for thing game. If that feature is amongst things planned for the future, awesome, otherwise I dont ♥♥♥♥in know dude.

You are mostly left to your own devices in this one, the only indication you are doing something right is the music volume/ music complexity will increase as you draw closer to a point of interest.

The only indicator I can see that tells you how far you are in the game is a moon/ orb thing sitting in the middle of no where.
I think a flame will circle it for each objective(?) you complete.
The most flames I got was 3, then gave up because I couldnt find any thing else.

This game really has potential. I just hope it gets what it's lacking and strengthens its strong points even further. Then we will be in for a bloody good indi game.

5.5 / 10

I have no idea what the hell is going on with this game.

How to have a good night:
1. Buy this game
2. Do Cocaine
3. Put on Lazerhawk/Kavinsky/College
4. Play this ♥♥♥♥ing game

very fun game definitely worth it. Its fun driving around and seeing weird things on the road, lights, trees ghosts.

In our very first Did Not Finsih review we check out why this game isn't recommended. It has redeeming qualities however there is no way on Steam of putting thumbs up and down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRcCddWUKgk