I watched a bit of gameplay on Youtube and just had to tick this game of on my list. Lets get my one complain off first. When you watch the credits, there is no way to skip them, or actually there is no skip, which is annoying, but sure fine. Now step into the boots or high heals of Agent A and stop Le French Girl. The game is not long, but you should be able to squeeze at least the same time as two movies out of it, so great price, and even greater if you get it on sale. It is a well done little puzzle game, with a simple story added on top, but it will not leave you lacking. And that is coming from someone, who rarely play puzzle games in general.
Currently I have played just over 18 hours of the game, since its full release, and here are my thoughts. If you are looking for a management game with width and depth in what you can do with wares, prices, PR, staff and all those areas, which a lot of company management type games have. Then this is not for you. It is in a light fantasy-ish, or medieval age setting. There are different wares you can sell, both by buying to resell and some you can even craft yourself, both by growing the resources and by buying resources. The classic design and plan out your shop, elements are all there, with furniture, crafting stations etc. Oh and you will at some point be able to hire employees to help restock your shelves and tables. Overall The game has a simple crafting system, gardening and building. Graphics look good, of course this will depend on your personal preference. Re-play value is there, though not strong. Here it comes down to your choice of how to run your store, read: focus on one type of wares or go full general store, on a re-play and wanting to design said store different from last. Closing I'm giving this game a 3/5, for my personal score overall. This is not because the game is bad or has many bugs, I only had one bug, which was an easy save/load fix. I did enjoy the game and will finish my run at some point, but personally I need more depth in a management game. Objectively the game is getting 4/5, but that would depend on your level of needs for what a management game should offer, in order to scratch your itch. The game feels like a passion project and they did it. They made a polished, simple and good looking shopkeeping game. Something for players, who do not want to micromanage or dive in deep, when it comes to management games. Just a small break from reality every now and then.
As some reivewers have stated, "This is not a type of game I typically play". I happened upon this game by chance and never played the Skyrim mod it is build after. The game surprises, it is very well done and spite completing it with in 4h:33m, I feel like I want to go back and explorer the things I did not get to explorer and discover one of the other endings. The story drags you in from the get go and keeps you pondering for every corner you turn. Gathering knowledge and using it to change the outcomes of each time you loop in time, keeps you playing and exploring. The game world is not too large, but large enough to hold the mystery you are about to uncover. Combat is a small part of the game, nothing fancy, but feel just right and enough for what it is there for. The story itself, which is the main attraction here, is well done and polished. So if you are just slightly into mysteries and exploring, you should give this game a try. For me to give a game 5 stars everylittle thing has to be just spot on, which nothing ever is, or almost never. I have so few grifes with this game that I wish you could give ½ stars, 4½ for this one.
I did find a few small details, which I did not like about the game, but they are very minor and of personal notice. All in all though. Once you load up the game you are thrown into the tutorial straight away, no waiting, you just boot into it. Which for this game is a nice touch. The game itself is fairly simple on the surface, but the RnG and tactics adds another layer to the whole experience. Like for each area you have to choose, which way to run your train. Left or Right, and taking one route will give you access to different things, so choose wisely. I have never really been into card games that much, on the digital platform, but this one is both fun, relaxing (mostly) and it will not take hours to complete a run. I have done a few runs already and they say "No playthrough is ever the same". Well, that depends on how high a variety you are looking for, but taken at base value they are right. The graphics are rather nice, with some cool creatures to defend your train and some vile heavenly attackers... So is the game worth buying? It surely depends on your taste, but I do think that many people will enjoy this little gem of a game, even if it is not your main genre, or handful of genres. It is a casual game, which does challenge you to think and plan, while in general having fun and enjoying a short break from reality. This game could get addictive, so play responsibly and enjoy.
