PC User Reviews

Stopped playing in the first 30 seconds due to disgusting propaganda. DEI detected

I'm a huge fan of this game and have a hard time ending my sessions because the entire flow is very relaxing for me. The premise of the game is quite simple; you are a goblin who is promoted from menial helper to trinket shop owner. You have access to 4 areas in your area. The first is your sales counter where you will present objects to customer. The second is your bed, where you end the day and eventually do other things. Other things being moving to different locations and not perhaps what you were thinking. It's not that kind of game and who would want to see a goblin do that anyway? What am I saying? Of course someone would want to see that. But let's get back to my point. The third area is your upgrade area and the fourth is your work table. The day is split up into actions, and the actions are burned at the work table. The work table is the meat of the game. It works thusly; your trash-picking purple aunt sends down a bag filled with an item she has discovered in her trash runs. You can open the sack with your chisel, and you are then moved into a mini-game where you have to chisel blocks off of the "item" to reveal what the actual treasure is. Once the item is revealed, you then can clean it with a sponge. Cleaning the items results in a higher sale value, and some customers won't even buy a dirty item. The chipping game and the cleaning game each use an action, and that is how the day passes. The customers will come to the shop throughout the day and will ask for specific items or items in a category like weapons or containers. Then you move back to your workshop or your stash and find the item if you have it, plop it on the table and make the deal. Every deal gives you the option to take what is offered or refuse. There is no haggling, but you can pick between the normal price or a lower price later in the game. Offering a lower price increases your relationship with that faction much more than a regular sale, but you obviously take about a 25% hit on profit for that item. And I really don't remember what the goodwill does, but since I am often a numbers go up person by default, I do it from time to time. Later you get another tool that allows you to combine trinkets. Doing this is necessary for some of the customers asks, and even if they don't ask for a combined item you get a higher price for the combined item if they do buy it. That's pretty much it. Chip away blocks, clean items, sell to customers, and upgrade and customize your area. Sounds pretty basic, right? For me, that is more than enough. The game has no time pressure. There is no clock for a customer sales. As far as I know, you can stay at the work table all day and then go sell to your one customer if you wish. Later on you can take orders from customers and they will eventually come back once you have the item(s) they are looking for, but I've left them at the counter overnight with no ill effect. It doesn't really matter what order you do things and for me, when I need that kind of slow pace, it hits home. The block puzzles are not difficult, but some blocks will only break if you hit a certain side, and some you have to chip off by removing their connection to the item. Some take longer to break than others. But this is what you do over and over and for whatever reason I really enjoy doing that. I think maybe it's because the game has many items in it and I enjoy seeing what pops out. Maybe I'm a gatcha fanatic? The cleaning is just rubbing your sponge over the dark splotches on the trinkets, but for me that is also satisfying for some reason. Many of the characters in the game have humorous little stories and plotlines, and there are a lot of characters in the game. Most of it is tongue in cheek, but you won't find them reciting Shakespeare or commenting on global warming. It's fluff, it's amusing, and it's cozy. To sum up, this game is basically a cozy shop/puzzle game. That's what you are signing up for. There is really no difficulty curve to speak of. For me, during this season of my life, it hits the spot and keeps me coming back. If you are stressed out building an entirely new reporting platform at work, dealing with a substance abusing spouse and two adult children who have not yet found their own way, you might just come to cherish this little "timewaster". Thanks for reading and take care of yourself.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]