In the aftermath, a countdown timer is depicted, preventing the player from replaying the game until they recover from their experience - or escape their legal troubles.

[2] Stick Shift was intended by Yang to "expand eroticism in games" by exploring the indirect representation of sexual experiences through emotion, facial expression and metaphor.

This approach was inspired by the 1964 Andy Warhol experimental film, Blow Job, in which an experience of arousal is implied in a close-up of a man's face.

Yang's previous games, including Hurt Me Plenty and Succulent, had concealed the faces of their character models to avoid the uncanny valley, which he wanted to subvert to explore a more human sense of arousal.

[2] Reception of Stick Shift was positive, with many critics responding to the erotic and absurd content of the game with amusement and bewilderment.