Think your manager is tough? Try having a boss who won’t hesitate to fire you for small mistakes. If you played the previous title, Before Exit: Supermarket, you will know what to expect. Every night you are to close the gas station. You must make sure every light is off, the store is spotless, and every door is closed. This is an anomaly spotting game. If you make even one mistake, the boss will know even before you get into your car to head home for the night. You will get warnings and eventually be fired if you continue to miss things that are out of place. Your main goal is to complete a week without being fired. You can’t just be a good worker, you must be perfect!

Here’s what I liked:

Pay Attention — The actual job is super easy; however, it’s all based on you having a good eye. As you play, you will get familiar with the store and the surroundings. A lot of times, you may fail because you forgot to do the easy part. Flipping the door sign to say “closed” might be something you might want to just get in the habit of doing first. I played the first game, so I was ready for this. However, I did still fail a few times because I got distracted by other things (like fires inside the store). There are a ton of different scenarios to encounter, so you will likely fail a few of them simply because you weren’t aware. Luckily, you do get a few warnings before you have to pack your bags and find a new job. You even get to play the same scenario, versus having to get another random one. This gives you some practice. If you like the demand for attention to detail, you’re in the right place.

FIRED! — While not being a horror game, there are a few creepy elements. The crazy customer acting in weird ways is always a nice touch. Outside having extremely dark areas and being dead silent. But that tension that happens when you’re exiting through the back is where the magic happens. You hope so badly that you checked everything off the list, hoping that the boss won’t jump out from around the corner. If he does, you’re either warned or fired, making you need to restart that day or even the whole week. This tension is a standout star of the game.

Building on the Series — There are some game series that reskin something they already made and call it new. One thing I really appreciate about “Before Exit” is that there are major differences and improvements. You now have both inside and outside areas to monitor for differences. There is a garage as well on the side. This makes the repetitive actions feel less boring. There are also many better scenarios, many of them very different, while bringing a few classics back (like fixing signs). We also get a story (somewhat), shown in some scenes that are unlocked as you complete multiple weeks. You unlock scenarios now through four weeks instead of just one, giving you a different approach to progress. In the menu, you can check what scenarios you have completed or have seen without completing. There are a lot of big upgrades from the previous title. I really hope they keep releasing and getting better, because I have a great time playing them.

Here’s what I didn’t like:

Unlocked Scenarios — While the game tracks all of your unlocked and completed scenarios, it doesn’t let you directly play them from the menu. After you have completed everything, there isn’t much of a reason to go back; however, when you fail a scenario discovered, it would be nice to at least go and practice it before you start a work week. It’s also a bit confusing when the “story” part of the game is supposed to happen. I guess as you complete scenarios, you will eventually get them all, but I was never sure if I had to do something specific or if it was just random.

Objective Clarity — While most of the tasks you must do are obvious, there are some random ones that may give you some trouble figuring out. There is one where the gas station has a theft, and there are a bunch of items you must gather outside. Some of them are in dark areas or near bushes, almost impossible to see. Because of this, you might fail and think the crate that is knocked over must be what you’re missing. But it doesn’t have to be picked up (it can’t), even though it breaks the game’s rules of making everything perfect again. There are a few other times when you must get a stool, and at first, you may not realize you can pick it up, since you haven’t had to before. Maybe that’s part of the appeal, figuring it out, but it can be a little annoying, especially if it’s the area you get fired on and you won’t see it again.

Wrap-up

Working at a gas station and spotting anomalies can be pretty addictive. Trying to complete every last one of them is part of the fun. This series has taken a lot of strides since the first installment, where you worked in the market. They added more mini-games versus mostly just putting things away or organizing signs. There could still be some improvements. The movement can feel pretty awkward. Some of the objectives can be hard to figure out. It’s one of those games that, if you’re hunting for achievements, it can be easily done while being somewhat of a grind at the same time. I can’t wait for what crazy job is in store if they bring in another installment, and what improvements we can expect!

Score: Highly Recommended

Before Exit: Gas Station was published and developed by Take IT Studio! sp. z o. o. on Xbox One. It was released on August 15 2023, for $9.99. A copy was provided for review