Service with a Shotgun Review: VA-11 Hall-A Meets Doom, and It's a Blast

Review
Written By NLM Team

The concept is a mess, the story is simple, and the gameplay is basic as hell. I absolutely loved it.

A gameplay screenshot from Service with a Shotgun showing the store's dark counter, featuring a CRT monitor with dialogue from 'Mr. Boss' and a pixel art character portrait, discussing defending the shop from zombies.

Originality isn't dead. This game is proof.

The idea behind Service with a Shotgun is the kind of beautiful, high-concept nonsense I live for. It's a visual novel in the style of VA-11 Hall-A or Coffee Talk, but it's set in a zombie apocalypse. You play as Jones, the new guy at a roadside shop, and your job is to listen to the woes of your quirky customers... while also grabbing a shotgun to blast the undead hordes trying to break down your door.

It's a bizarre, one-man passion project that has no right to work as well as it does.

Customer Service is Hell (Literally)

The gameplay loop is, as the game's store page says, defined by simplicity. I'd even call it basic. You're stuck in one spot behind the counter in a stationary, Doom-style FPS. Customers show up, you click through dialogue, and zombies shamble toward you from the side.

The real game is the multitasking. I'm trying to have a heartfelt chat with a new friend, but in the middle of her sentence, I have to swing my shotgun to the left and blast a zombie. This forces me to try and remember what my customers are saying, because the game will quiz me later.

It's like "ADHD: The Game," and it's a frantic, hilarious, and unique kind of tension.

A Great Gimmick with No Teeth

Here's my biggest problem: that core gimmick is half-baked.

The game quizzes you on your conversations. If you answer correctly, you get a reward like extra cash or ammo. But if you get it wrong? You just... lose out on a few bucks.

In my entire 3-4 hour playthrough, I was never once strapped for cash. I was buying all the ammo and defenses I wanted. This means the penalty for failing the "quiz" is meaningless. It's a shame, because it completely undermines the tension of having to pay attention. The story just becomes something I click through to get back to the shooting.

Just When I Got Bored...

I was starting to feel the repetition set in. The story, while charming, wasn't exactly grabbing me by the throat, and the "point-and-shoot" combat was wearing thin.

And then the game threw a turret at me.

This is where SWAS is smart. Each new chapter adds a new layer to the simple combat. Just as you're getting bored, you unlock barricades to reinforce your door. Then you get traps. Then you get turrets. The game even throws in a few fully 3D, non-stationary action levels that, while simple, are a fantastic change of pace.

It's brilliant pacing. The game knows its loop is simple, so it never lets it get stale.

The Lo-Fi Apocalypse

I'm a sucker for this art style. The hand-drawn, pixel-art characters are expressive and distinct. It's got that perfect retro charm.

But the soundtrack... my god, the soundtrack is the star. This is a "buy the OST" kind of game. It's a perfect blend of lo-fi, chill hip-hop, and jazz that just oozes Coffee Talk style. It's the kind of vibe you can listen to for hours, and it creates this amazing, cozy-yet-chaotic atmosphere.

A dark, retro first-person screenshot from Service with a Shotgun, where the player aims a handgun at a pale, pixelated zombie standing in a dimly lit alleyway.

The Verdict

Look, this isn't Slay the Princess. The writing is a bit amateurish, the plot is see-through, and the characters aren't deep. But it's also not trying to be. It's a surprisingly heartfelt and human story about survival and hope. It's got charm and a sarcastic, witty humor that I really vibed with.

Service with a Shotgun is a quintessential indie passion project. It's overflowing with creative ideas, even if none of them are fully developed. It's janky, I hit one weird, game-breaking bug that forced a restart, and its main mechanic lacks any real consequences.

And yet... I loved it. It's a cheap, 3-hour thrill that's bursting with style, heart, and a killer soundtrack.

Score: 8/10 - A simple, and memorable weekend game. More heart than a dozen AAA titles.

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

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