Shift At Midnight beginner guide
Last reviewed: July 22, 2026. This guide explains mechanics described by official Steam material; it does not present undocumented values or a guaranteed walkthrough.
Your job during a shift
The official Steam description combines gas-station work with customer investigation. It supports single-player and online co-op for up to 3 players.
1. Keep the station operating
Stock shelves, receive deliveries, clean the store, serve customers, and earn enough to meet the nightly quota. Steam says shifts are randomly generated, so a fixed step-by-step route would not be reliable.
2. Examine the customer
The store tells players to inspect identification, cross-check details on the computer, and observe behaviour. Those are the confirmed evidence channels. Official material reviewed here does not publish a universal tell list, exact evidence weights, or guaranteed decision rule.
3. Contain a mistake
If a creature leaves, the store says it can return later as a monster. The officially described response is to barricade doors, place traps, and hide. Treat that as the shape of the escalation, not as proof of exact trap damage, enemy health, or safe locations.
Playing with friends
Steam lists online co-op and proximity chat. The July 10 platform announcement draws a strict matchmaking boundary:
- Steam players were announced to match with Steam players only.
- Xbox and Xbox PC Game Pass players were announced to have cross-play with each other.
The same post planned a Steam-only public server browser for launch or shortly afterward. Because that was a plan, check the current game or official announcements for its availability.
Story and Endless modes
The July 21 announcement describes Story Mode as 13 nights. Completing Story Mode unlocks Endless Mode (Beta), described as infinite nights. Ongoing Endless improvements were announced, so later content should not be assumed present until an official update confirms it.
What is not documented yet
The official sources reviewed do not provide complete tables for quotas, item locations, maps, trap or weapon values, enemy health, difficulty scaling, or optimal builds. This guide will not fill those gaps with guesses.
Official sources
Independent fan guide; not affiliated with the developer or publisher.