Thanks to Choice Provisions for the review code

Title: Shift DX
System: 3DS (eShop)
Price: $4.99
Release Date: 01/12/2017

Presentation

Following tradition of prior entries in the Shift series, Shift DX maintains the monochromatic art style from previous Shift games while also including a few color options as secret unlockables. However, even with these cool themes available the presentation is still barebones at best, with the simplistic levels being squeezed onto the 3DS’s top screen to the point that some objects can look fuzzy or compressed. It’s a shame that the developers didn’t do a better job making the original flash games look nice and crisp on a handheld screen, since as it stands now the visual presentation looks a bit rushed with only the colored themes having anything close to quality effort put into it. It’s not that the traditional black/white is a bad design choice, but rather it’s just baffling how such a simple color scheme was transitioned over to a 3DS screen as a fuzzy mess. Perhaps it’s due to me using an XL model, but i’ve played other 2D adventures on this thing and they all look much sharper than Shift DX.

Gameplay

Originating as a 2008 flash game, Shift DX includes a lot of levels from those classic flash games, and the concept is incredibly simple. You simply use the shoulder buttons to invert the world around you in order to reach the open door exits at the end of each level, and that’s literally the entire goal of the game! New hazards, tricks and obstacles are introduced during the many levels, but the main end goal remains the same throughout, and levels don’t tend to take too long since they’re all the size of the 3DS’s top screen. Considering how simple and short this game is, there’s really not much else to comment on, outside of the fact that the game does control pretty tightly, which is a must in a game like this.

After clearing a few levels, you will unlock the ability to replay older levels in the form of a challenge mode, which tasks you with clearing each level with as few jumps and shifts as possible. There’s also a handy level editor, where you can design your own short puzzles in the twelve slots available, before sharing them over the internet via QR Code. Sadly, there’s not much room for creativity here considering the short nature of these levels to begin with, but at least the option is here for people to play around with.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Shift DX is as basic as puzzle platformers can get, with the simple premise clearly meant for casual players who spend a short amount of time clearing levels while they’re out and about. It can get challenging at times, and the level editor does offer a world of opportunities via QR Code sharing, but for the most part once you get the hang of things and clear the main levels, there’s really no other reason to go back to this game outside of improving your records through the Challenge mode. (which is just a simple level select) Still, for $5 the overall value isn’t that bad, just don’t expect anything particularly amazing or innovative. It’s simplicity at its finest! I give Shift DX a 6 out of 10.