Before Exit: Gas Station Review: A Creepy, Janky, and Surprisingly Great Night Shift From Hell

It’s a cheap, niche horror game about working at a gas station. It has no right to be this good, yet here we are.

Every once in a while, a weird little game comes out of nowhere and sinks its claws into you. Before Exit: Gas Station is one of those games. It’s a first-person anomaly-detection game where you play as a gas station attendant working the lonely night shift. Your job is simple: follow a checklist of closing duties, make sure nothing is out of place, and lock up. It sounds like the most boring job simulator ever made. It’s not. It’s one of the most tense and unsettling experiences I’ve had all year.

This isn't a traditional horror game. There are no jump scares. Instead, it builds a thick, suffocating atmosphere of pure dread. You're alone in the middle of nowhere, the only sounds are the hum of the refrigerators and your own footsteps, and you have the constant, gnawing feeling that you’re being watched. This is the kind of game that gets under your skin, a perfect example of how to do psychological horror right, something we don't see often enough in a sea of cheap horror titles like Slender: Reborn.

The Job is the Horror

The core gameplay loop is a brilliant mix of a walking simulator and a high-stakes puzzle game. Each night, you get a list of chores: mop the floors, take out the trash, lock the doors. But you also have to spot anomalies. A can of soda is on the wrong shelf. A tool is missing from the workshop. A light that should be off is on.

Your boss is a real hard-ass. You get two warnings. Make a third mistake, and you're "fired," forcing you to restart the entire seven-night week. This roguelike mechanic turns a simple cleaning job into a nail-biting test of attention to detail. You’ll find yourself frantically double-checking every corner, your heart pounding because you’re terrified you missed a single out-of-place tire.

A Mountain of Scenarios, A Molehill of Guidance

The game boasts over 48 different scenarios, which keeps things surprisingly fresh. One night you're just cleaning, the next you're putting out a fire or replacing solar panels. The variety is impressive for such a small title.

The game's biggest weakness, however, is its almost complete lack of guidance. One task told me to put away some tires. It didn't tell me where they were or where they were supposed to go. I spent a solid fifteen minutes wandering around the dark parking lot before I finally found them. This can turn a tense, atmospheric experience into a frustrating scavenger hunt.

Performance Jitters

For a game with a relatively simple presentation, the performance can be a bit shaky. The frame rate has a tendency to dip, especially when a lot of lights are on. It's not game-breaking, but it's a noticeable crack in an otherwise polished atmospheric package. The graphics themselves do a fantastic job of creating a believable, unsettling environment, but the optimization could clearly use another pass.

The Verdict

Before Exit: Gas Station is a fantastic, niche title that punches way above its weight class. It’s a perfect example of how to build tension and horror through atmosphere and gameplay mechanics, rather than cheap scares. The core loop is addictive, the setting is perfectly realized, and the constant pressure of being fired keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Yes, it has its flaws. The lack of hints can be frustrating, and the performance isn't perfect. But for its incredibly cheap price point, you are getting an absolute steal. If you're a fan of anomaly-detection games or just looking for a unique horror experience that will genuinely creep you out, this is a night shift you absolutely need to take.

7.7/10 A surprisingly tense and addictive indie gem that proves loneliness is the scariest monster of all.

We at NLM received a key for this game for free, this however didn't impact our review in any way.