The Closing Shift Speedrun Guide and Leaderboard Overview

The Closing Shift (閉店事件), the atmospheric psychological horror title released by Chilla's Art in 2022, has cultivated a dedicated and passionate speedrunning community. While horror games are typically designed for slow, methodical exploration and tension-building, runners have embraced the challenge of slicing through the game's mundane tasks and terrifying encounters as quickly as possible. Tracking completion times primarily on Speedrun.com, competitors battle for the fastest times in categories like Any%.

This comprehensive guide details the current leaderboard standings, community statistics, known routing discussions, and strategies to help you understand—or even attempt—The Closing Shift speedrun.

Understanding the Game and Speedrun Appeal

At its core, The Closing Shift places the player in the shoes of a young woman working a late-night shift at a coffee shop. The gameplay loop consists of routine tasks: brewing coffee, cleaning tables, taking out the trash, and managing the cash register. However, an underlying sense of dread builds as a stalker closes in.

For speedrunners, the challenge lies in balancing the rigid requirements of completing customer orders accurately with the execution of precise movement and menu navigation. Because the game relies heavily on scripted events, dialogue triggers, and environmental interactions, minimizing wasted movement is the key to mastering the run.

Leaderboard Standings and Category Overview

The primary category actively tracked for the game is Any%, where players aim to reach the final credits as fast as possible from a fresh save file. The leaderboard features submissions from a diverse group of international players, reflecting the global appeal of Chilla's Art horror titles.

• First Place: Currently held by JapanRiKyu, who set an impressive benchmark time of 21 minutes, 4 seconds, and 833 milliseconds.
• Second Place: Held by FrancePrSigma with a highly competitive time of 21 minutes, 42 seconds, and 867 milliseconds.
• Third Place: Secured by JapanKIRUKURO, clocking in at 22 minutes, 34 seconds, and 838 milliseconds.

Further down the official rankings, the community features a healthy mix of casual and competitive runners. For instance, Englishlukersdistroy secured a respectable finish with a time of 36 minutes, 32 seconds, while RussiaSovietboy placed further down with a time of 40 minutes, 24 seconds. In total, the game's leaderboard tracks dozens of runs across multiple international players, supported by an active community of followers and moderators who verify submissions.

Community Strategies and Routing Discussions

Speedrunning communities thrive on discovering optimizations to shave precious seconds off their personal bests. In The Closing Shift, community forums and discussion boards have highlighted several notable routing tricks.

A prominent discovery discussed among top runners involves language settings. Community discussions point out that utilizing Japanese text settings can save valuable time during dialogue sequences. Because text rendering speeds and box animations can differ slightly based on localization files, or because certain text prompts require fewer frames to clear, switching the game's language has become a standard optimization for high-level play.

Additionally, runners meticulously plan their paths around the coffee shop and the surrounding neighborhood. Every second spent walking an inefficient path to take out the trash or stock the refrigerator accumulates over a twenty-minute run. Top competitors memorize exact trigger zones to initiate cutscenes instantly without fumbling for the interaction button.

Beginner Tips for Running The Closing Shift

If you are looking to jump into The Closing Shift speedrun category, here are a few foundational tips to help you get started:

1. Watch Existing Runs: Before attempting your own run, watch the top-tier runs by record holders like JapanRiKyu. Pay close attention to their camera angles, movement paths, and how they interact with customers.
2. Master the Tasks: Practice the coffee-making and cleaning routines until you can perform them on autopilot. Muscle memory is your best friend when trying to cut down your split times.
3. Optimize Text Boxes: Experiment with text-skipping techniques and test whether changing your in-game language settings improves your menu and dialogue navigation speeds.
4. Expect Dead Zones: Learn which cutscenes cannot be skipped and use those brief moments to mentally prepare for the next physical segment of the map.

Conclusion

The Closing Shift speedrun proves that even slow-paced, narrative-driven horror games can be transformed into high-stakes competitive events. With a vibrant leaderboard, ongoing routing discoveries, and a dedicated player base, stepping into the late-night coffee shop has never been more intense. Whether you are aiming for a sub-21-minute world record or simply looking to experience the game from a new perspective, diving into the speedrun community offers a thrilling way to experience Chilla's Art's creation.