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0 Get ready to run and manage your own Supermarket in the aptly-named Supermarket Simulator! This chill, first-person management sim game has been developed and published by Nokta Games and released on Steam on June 19th. After having been in Early Access since early 2024, it’s time to stock your shelves and open up shop!
What makes this market so “Super”?
There sure have been a lot of simulation games that were released within the past year. Does this one stand out from the rest? Let’s find out!
Gameplay
Ever dreamed of running your own Supermarket? Well, this game lets you do just that. From ringing up your customers to cleaning and making sure that the shelves are stocked, you are the boss!
Alright, it’s 8am now (if it’s not for you, just pretend), time to start working! First task on the list: make sure that the shelves are stocked! You can order products to be delivered to your Supermarket, or you can walk yourself down to a local market to snag some nice deals. Just remember that you will have to physically carry all the stuff back to your store, which can take a while as you can only carry one thing at a time. Though you aren’t in a rush, time will not start progressing until you start letting customers in.
Okay, shelves are stocked. Check! Next task: set your prices. Some products fluctuate in pricing every day, you gotta keep up with the market. You don’t want your products to be too cheap, but also not so expensive that nobody buys them!
Now that that’s done, it is time to open up your shop! Once you switch your door sign from ‘closed’ to ‘open’, customers will start pouring in, and boy are they picky. It’s almost like they are looking for things to complain about, though anyone who has ever worked in retail can confirm that this is fairly accurate. “Oh I could not find this specific type of flour”; “Oh there is trash on the ground, I mean yeah I dropped it there myself, but I am still mad about it”. Boohoo. Who even litters indoors? Or rather, in the first place??
Customers
So far, so good. Task number three: Get ready to work the checkout. Scan all the items the customers put on the belt and take their money, either by cash or card. Make sure you don’t short-change them!
While you ring people up, you may occasionally need to get up from your spot to restock some of the shelves again. As long as you don’t leave people waiting for too long, it should be all fine. Though once again, they will tell you if the line gets too long. It is generally a good idea to keep an eye on your customers. Apart from having to hear their complaints, you can also learn a couple of things based on their behaviour in your store. Some may look around for products you don’t have, while others can seem kinda shady.
Some folks are definitely up to no good and will try to swipe some items. They are pretty terrible at hiding it, though, so it is kind of obvious who is trying to pocket some goods. So, in that situation, you just do the totally obvious thing — beating them with your baseball bat until they drop all the stuff they stole. As you do. Sounds very legal.
Staffing
Of course, you can also hire a bouncer to do that for you. And not only that, you can bring in cashiers, cleaners, and even restockers! Though, for those, you will need to buy the storage room upgrade and some racks for them to put any extra stock on. You can basically automate the entire store! Minus the ordering, that is.
While your staff are busy running the store, you are free to head out and deliver groceries that some of your customers ordered online. To make deliveries faster, you can also buy some vehicles, like a speedy bike or even a big truck! Of course, the latter one lets you put tons of stock in the back. Your restockers will even unload it for you. How nice.
Expanding
So, what’s next? You’ve got some experience under your belt now. You can’t just settle for a teeny tiny corner store. Well, you can. But where is the fun in that? Unless you are one of those masochists who love to complete games with the most ridiculous restrictions, of course.
If you aren’t though, then you should totally think about expanding your store, both in size and in product variety. After all, what’s a Supermarket without dairy, fruits, or cleaning supplies? Sure, you will have to put quite a bit of money on the table, but it is a solid investment in the future of your Supermarket.
But it’s not just that. With more space come more decisions. Do you really wanna stick to those default walls and flooring? Or would you rather spruce it up a bit by slapping on a fresh coat of paint? And what about the shelves? You are gonna need more than a handful if you want to stock all the products! Paint a wall, buy a fridge, live a little!
At the end of the day, when it is time to close your shop, you will get a nice overview of what you have achieved that day. How much did you earn? What did you spend your money on? How many customers are whiny little toddlers who threw a fit ’cause someone took all the pasta, and they couldn’t wait 30 seconds for someone to come restock it?’ Now, I am sure you did a great job today. Time to get some rest and do it all over again tomorrow!
Graphics & Audio
Supermarket Simulator‘s visuals are really nothing outstanding, though it doesn’t really take away from the game at all. The products, however, are actually really nicely made. Their models are really high quality and every item is a cute parody of a real product, which is a charming and fun touch. The character models feel a bit old school, but they fit in well with the overall style of the game. I’ve only run into a few graphical glitches, mostly the occasional clipping and one of the models that is, uhm, rather pale.
The game’s audio is alright. However, you only get to have background music after you buy a speaker for your store, which, for me, was a low priority for quite a long time, I fear. It isn’t THAT expensive, I just kept on spending all of my money on other stuff instead, which is on me, to be honest. The music itself is fine. I would personally describe it as “fancy elevator music”, which is quite fitting for the game. The game is even self-aware of it, having an achievement called “Elevator” which you unlock by playing music for the first time. The sound effects are spot-on and really satisfying. If you can tolerate the constant beeping from every scanned item, that is.
Longevity
When you jump into this game, you better be prepared for a slow start. You will absolutely need some patience. After all, a gigantic store doesn’t build itself overnight. Unlocking every upgrade and every product licence will take a good, long while. Even if you play absolutely optimally. The first hurdle to jump through is hiring some staff, then the game speeds up a little and gets less hectic.
I can see how the game could feel a bit repetitive for some players if you don’t progress quickly, but honestly, it kind of adds to the charm and realism of it. I am very certain that this is not a game you would beat in a day, or a week, or a month even. You will be here for the long run. Trust me. Or prove me wrong, that works too.
Final Thoughts
All in all, what do we think? The game sure has a lot of content, but the pacing can be a bit slow if you are impatient like me. The gameplay itself is fun and doesn’t feel too repetitive or grindy, at least not for me, even though you basically do the same thing every day. Some of the customers can be a little stupid, but let’s be real: that only makes it more realistic.
Now, this is not to say that the game has no flaws. There are some controversies around this game related to its art, which has (allegedly) got a very strong AI feel to it. A lot of people seem to be bothered by this, especially since the use of AI would need to be disclosed on the Steam page. However, this has not really been confirmed and is still a bit up in the air. Another big issue is the fact that there is no key remapping, so unless you change your keyboard language, the game is near impossible to play on certain keyboards. This is also quite an accessibility flaw, as some people prefer to remap keys for comfort or convenience.
For me, this game doesn’t stick out all too much among the countless other simulation games that dropped in the past year, but it’s definitely up there with the better ones. It delivers what it promises, has a fun gameplay loop and gives you a good chunk of content.
That being said, today I am giving Supermarket Simulator the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
If you enjoyed this review, why not check out my previous article about Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping?
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