Shoppe Keep Review

Shoppe Keep is the perfect game for those who would rather support the adventurer than go adventuring themselves. Build and maintain your own shop from scratch! Organize the layout, order inventory and price it accordingly for maximum profits. Running a business is not as leisurely as it seems, players must multitask from day to evening and sometimes use force to protect their wares. Our review will tell you whether this shop is destined for prosperation or liquidation!

Gameplay

From a first-person perspective, you play the role of the shop keeper and all the duties that come along with it. You will begin with very little money and must purchase furniture to hold your inventory and the items themselves. Your order sheet lists the items and their respective prices; orders take time to arrive so it's important to plan ahead. The day is broken up into phases where customer turnout can vary. Before you welcome customers to your shop, you can make any adjustments, repairs, or purchases in the build phase. The build phase allows you to take your time and make everything perfect for your customers. Your character levels up with every item sold and as you progress you unlock new pieces of furniture and items. After buying items you can set the price to whatever you wish. The goal is to price items at a profit that the customers are willing to pay, use the money earned to order more items and sell as much as you can in a day.

During the course of the day, you character can place offerings outside to customers, sweep up the dirt they track in, repair worn displays, sift through the garbage outside and chase down thieves who try to shoplift. In addition to this you must keep ordering supplies and retrieving them from the backroom. It all feels very fast-paced and sometimes the end of the day can't come soon enough, just like a real job! In the backroom there are quests the player can undertake that require selling a certain amount of a particular item in addition to the shopkeeper bedroom that can be customized with decorations.

Graphics

The graphics resemble something I might have seen on the Nintendo 64, but with more sharpness and clarity. This simple style works nicely with the lighthearted theme and always ran smoothly. Some colors tended to blend together such as similar shades of red or brown. I would have preferred a bit more color variety in that regard.

Duration

The game tracks your progress from days to weeks to months along with four seasons each with exclusive items to sell. This is the type of game that you can seemingly play forever, upgrading your shop with more space and profits. In time your business will expand beyond the shop, providing more complex gameplay like opening a street market or inn. 

Achievements 

There are 26 achievements for a total of 1000 Gamerscore with many tied to progression. Earning gold, purchasing  items, and simply playing for days/weeks/months (in game time) is enough to earn plenty of achievements.

Conclusion

While the game may at times feel frantic and look dated, Shoppe Keep will appeal to players who enjoy laid back games such as Animal Crossing. It's a perfect game to play while you listen to music or when you don't have the brainpower to play something more complex. I recommend playing it in short intervals, as the daily grind of the shopkeeper can get old.

*Game was provided for this review

Game: Shoppe Keep
Developer: Strange Fire
Publisher: Excalibur Games
Genre: Adventure, Sim
Price: $12.99
Size: 1.52 GB
Release date: 3/1/2018

For More Info: Shoppe Keep Official Game Website
Download from Microsoft Store