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Here comes another simulator. This time, we are going to be working as a cashier in Shop Simulator: Supermarket. Created and self-published by the team Three River Games. The game itself is already out on Steam and will cost you £8.99.
Cash or Card, Sir?
Regular Thumb Culture readers will know, I love a good simulation game. If you do too then you may want to check out some of my other reviews including: Zoo Simulator, Recycling Centre, Storage Hunter, and most recently, Beff Jezos Simulator. But back to Shop Simulator: Supermarket!
Gameplay
In Shop Simulator: Supermarket we don’t have a story as such, more little goals to complete to become, well, a fully fledged supermarket. The game walks you through the basics pretty well. With the major gameplay loop being purchasing stock to sell, then stacking the shelves with this same stock. Whilst stocking you can also place your own price tag. However, make sure to keep prices near “Market Value”, otherwise customers won’t purchase them!
Overtime, you will fulfil small objectives such as owning a plant for decoration or more shelves. These will unlock “Licenses” that can further aid in improving your store. Some offer more products like fruit, while others will unlock TV Ads to help generate small passive income. I wish the ads were something better, rather than just being for the dev’s other game. Even if it was your supermarket’s logo floating around like a DVD screen. I feel this would be a nicer nod than literally being advertised other games within a game.
Employees & Expanding
It ‘s not long int the gameplay until you’re able to hire people to aid at check-outs. They will need to be paid (of course) so remember to factor this into your budget. It’s worth mentioning that these NPCs only work on the check-outs too, so you will still have to stock everything manually.
Click & Collect orders are another thing that only you can fulfil. Find the requested items, box them up, then ship them out. This will give more money than if they were purchased in the store. My only gripe with this feature was remembering what items I needed. It would have been nice to have a note appear when holding the box.
Graphics & Audio
Typical of simulator games like this, the graphics aren’t the best. Textures are very simplistic, and clothing textures looked painted on to the character models. Character model animations aren’t grand, and some objects (such as plants) clip through walls slightly. The computer, cashier and general menus, while very basic looking, are at least clear and easy to look at.
The background music is very cheery and fun, and the weird noises and grumbles the customers make are funny.
Longevity
I’ve played the game for a good couple of hours but, I think playing with friends could lengthen that. however, I wouldn’t see myself or some mates actually put over 35 hours into it after the charm wears off from messing around. Shop Simulator: Supermarket has 36 achievements for players who do like to 100% every game and so far they’ve been easy to get with passive playing.
Final Thoughts
Shop Simulator: Supermarket is like most sims I’ve played lately, doing the same mundane thing over and over. In the end, it comes down to preference for what occupation might spark your interest. Issues that did appear were small and a quick restart fixed it. Gameplay is okay and you can kill time by easily with it. I think making the game multiplayer definitely helps make it fun. You can bring your own bitchy gossip and work place drama to life to really help with the immersion.
In conclusion, Shop Simulator: Supermarket is what you make of it, I can’t say I hated or loved it. Time to scan it with the Thumb Culture Silver Award and shelve it with the rest.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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