Replace the Lamp: The Last Shift Review (PC)

How many people does it take to screw in a lightbulb? One, apparently. Well, technically two, if you count the other helping hand that lurks in the shadows. But that’s not what’s important here; it’s a minor caveat in an otherwise easy individualist job, if anything. The world may bend and wane to the beating heart of the bulb, but to you, it’s all but a minor inconvenience—an issue that’s barely worth talking about. Who knows — maybe it’s easier to ignore the second pair of hands in the room. After all, being alone is a daunting issue unto itself. Maybe that’s enough of an illumination.

Replace the Lamp: The Last Shift doesn’t ask much of you, other than to, well, change the bulbs on several sources of light. And yes, it is a game. It isn’t a game that pushes the boundaries of modern gaming tech, I’ll admit, but it is a game that makes good use of its fairly dull flame with some tender scares and an atmospheric locale that bleeds uncertainty and bad aura. It’s an indie game, and so, naturally, it doesn’t boast the most compelling assets in the book. That said, where it falls short of original components and existing prowess, it most definitely makes up for with a surplus of intriguing stories and enthralling gameplay elements.

Of course, the concept is as it describes itself as on the tin: a player roams through the dimly lit corridors of four seemingly vacant complexes and, with the expertise of a technician under their belts, sheds light on the darkest of spaces. Granted, it does bring a little more to the table than that, but we’ll refrain from divulging too many details — for now, at least.

Illuminating Fears

Replace the Lamp: The Last Shift transpires over four shifts, with each shift transporting you to a self-contained location that houses various light sources and a number of unnerving events. The idea behind each shift is simple: restore the lights, and traipse through the dimly lit biomes in an effort to unravel the stories that lurk in their respective underbellies. As you near the end of the four shifts, you then have the opportunity to revise your choices and pursue one of several unique endings. With that, there is some basic level of replay value here, albeit a little less than your full-fledged horror campaign, mainly due to the fact that the story in its entirety isn’t massively long, to begin with. A minor hiccup, yet one that feels worth pointing out before we delve any deeper into the intricacies.

True to the point of psychological horrors, Replace the Lamp: The Last Shift pours most of its energy into creating and maintaining a disturbing atmosphere—a creative decision that it explores through the traditional use of frequent jump scares and unsettling audiovisual cues. The bad news here, however, is that once you encounter one jump scare—an event that typically occurs every other lightbulb, weirdly—the rest of the scares that follow suit aren’t quite as dramatic, much less effective. The simple reason for this is that it puts most of its time and resources into establishing the initial jump scare, but then, quite frankly, immediately loses momentum and the ability to build on it. And that’s a shame, because honestly, a little extra effort in that department would’ve been a real treat. Alas, Replace the Lamp: The Last Shift is, unfortunately, something of a one-trick pony.

Significantly Lacking in Wattage

While Replace the Lamp: The Last Shift isn’t the most reliable source of entertainment in the book, it is one that brings a good amount of secondary fittings to the table. Graphically, it does a great job, and it does indeed make a commendable effort to elevate its most forgettable assets to exceed the traditional standards of an independent horror. Is it a strikingly good piece of art? Absolutely not, no. But then, to be fair, I’ve certainly seen my fair share of shameful torchbearers in the field in the past, and frankly, this isn’t one of them.

The downside to the above comment is that Replace the Lamp doesn’t contain anything particularly memorable in its world design. Aside from the lamps and other sources of light, there really isn’t a great deal for you to look at here. It isn’t that there are no levels to explore; it’s that said levels don’t have much to present to you outside of the iconic energy sources and the frequent jump scare. And again, that’s a shame, because it could’ve done so much more with the space it has to offer.

Verdict

Replace the Lamp: The Last Shift doesn’t do much to improve the basic bone structure of a generic walking horror sim, though, to be fair, it does make good use of its standard format with a lot of genuinely tense encounters and tender moments that linger long after the final bulb reaches its supernova phase. To say that it’s a standout horror that surpasses the benchmark wouldn’t be an accurate statement, for it does fall short in multiple areas— the lack of meat in its storytelling capabilities and general audiovisual regions, for example.

Whilst you could argue that Replace the Lamp: The Last Shift’s self-contained horrors are more comical than shudder-worthy, the atmosphere that it does go on to establish does check a lot of the right boxes. The only thing holding it back, of course, is its ability to create original jump scares that differ from the rest in its casket. Sadly, Replace the Lamp does fall short in that regard, and it disappointingly loses its appeal in the short term.

With all of the above said, I will say that Replace the Lamp: The Last Shift has the capacity to evolve and prosper in its chosen category. While it isn’t the best indie horror on the monopoly, it is one that shows promise. With that in mind, it’s probably best not to roll into the game with the highest expectations, for Replace the Lamp isn’t illuminating, but rather, stuck in its energy-saving mode thanks to its safe scares and general lack of wattage.