PAWN SHIFT

THE LAST GUY DIDN'T COME BACK

You're the new night shift worker at a pawn shop on a quiet road outside town. The guy who worked nights before you, Dale, stopped showing up a few days ago. The boss hired you fast and asked no questions.

Open the register. Turn on the lights. Wait for the door.

EVERY CUSTOMER IS A NEGOTIATION

There's no combat and no chase. There's a counter, and there are people who walk up to it.

• Haggle. They name a price, you counter with yours. They accept, push back, or walk out.

• Inspect. Pick the item up and turn it over before you buy. Odd seams. Engravings. Initials that don't match the person holding it.

• Look it up. The old computer behind the counter has a price catalog and the local news. The customer waits while you check.

• Stock the shelf. Everything you buy goes up behind you and stays there all night.

SEEMS PARANORMAL. ISN'T.

A music box plays with nobody near it. A watch that stopped ticking starts again from the wrong time. A camera prints a photo of a room you recognize.

None of it is a ghost. Every strange thing in this shop has a human explanation, and you can find it if you're paying attention. Most people won't.

THE JOB WON'T LET YOU STAY PUT

The trash needs taking out. The breaker trips. Something moves in the storage room. The boss calls to ask about the numbers and tells you to stay at the counter no matter what.

You'll leave anyway. That's the job. And every minute you spend in the back is a minute the front door is unwatched.

NOBODY IS KEEPING SCORE. THE GAME IS.

No health bar. No sanity meter. No game over. The night always ends, and how it ends depends on two things you're never shown: how much you noticed, and how well you did as you were told.

FEATURES

• A complete 30 to 60 minute night shift, made to be finished in one sitting

• Negotiation as the core mechanic, used for buying, for selling, and for the one conversation you'll wish you had skipped

• Hands-on item inspection, physical shelves, a working register, a browsable shop computer

• PSX-era low poly visuals and film grain

• An ending that shifts with your behaviour, plus a short epilogue on what came after

Content notes: implied violence, missing person themes, sudden loud sounds, extended low-light sequences. No gore.