The gaming industry releases thousands and thousands of games every day - some become viral hits like Megabonka while others remain overshadowed by other titles. When I got the chance to play Before Exit Gas Station, developed by the independent Polish studio Take IT, which has several successful projects behind it like Before Exit Supermarket and There's a Gun in the Office, I expected an ordinary "store" simulator where the player has to be a cashier and shelf stocker. Considering that it's October, the month of fear and horror, and I am naturally timid, Before Exit Gas Station exceeded all my expectations.
To be clear, Before Exit Gas Station is at first a "store" simulator where the player immediately has to perform typical tasks of a store clerk. Your boss gives you several tasks to complete on your "trial day," which is actually a kind of tutorial - take out the trash, put bags in bins, clean dirt off the floor, turn off the lights, and finish your first trial shift. After the trial period, the game immediately "throws you into the fire" - no more help, you have no specific tasks, and you have to figure out what needs to be cleaned, repaired, and done in the store on your own. If you're like me, someone used to a faster pace in games, this will present a challenge because if you miss just one thing, your boss is merciless. If you make a mistake, you immediately get a warning and you only have two more chances to not "mess up" at work. If you manage to anger your boss a third time, you will be fired and have to start the whole week over again.
Because of the small margin for error, the tension rises, and you quickly realize that this is anything but an ordinary simulation. Your character begins to question the atmosphere in the store, starts noticing a strange vibe at the gas station and around it, and besides the demanding boss, a very strange and suspicious woman starts to appear.
While your boss is "on your back" with his demands, the unknown woman starts barging into the store, knocking over groceries, putting herself in dangerous situations where you have to save her. Throughout the work, the game unlocks scenarios that you can always play, but also a section called "forgotten memories," which are anything but normal. Without going into "spoiler" territory of the game, this part brings true tension to Before Exit Gas Station. It’s worth mentioning that these scenarios and memories you unlock refresh the game, which when played for the first time guarantees a lack of repetitiveness and the repetition of certain situations.
Throughout the weeks, through the eyes of the seller, anxiety and tension grow, and you must endure every shift and come out of it normal. If we delve into deeper analyses, the game very well questions the existential state of the main character, even though it doesn't have a concrete story. Before Exit Gas Station is a very atmospheric and effective game that lasts a few hours - depending on how well you do your job.
As for the hardware story, the game has several shortcomings, namely "bugs" that sometimes prevented me from progressing through levels - even if you complete the necessary step to advance, the game simply won't let you move forward. Restarting the game usually resolves the issue, but after a few "freezes" of levels, it becomes tedious. Regarding graphics, the game is not demanding, but you can feel the drop in FPS in enclosed spaces. I have a very good computer that runs games like Baldur's Gate 3 and all newer games very well, but the CPU struggled with Before Exit Gas Station. The "frames" drop to the point where you have to lower the graphics quality.
When everything is summed up, Before Exit Gas Station is a very good atmospheric game that has multiple layers, it is not one-dimensional, and if you want to feel anxiety for a few hours in this "scary" month, this project from the Polish indie studio is a very good start.
All in all, a very good gaming experience that thousands of games released daily can only dream of.
A copy of the game for review purposes was provided by the development studio Take IT Studio!
