Review: Sticky Business
Have you ever wanted to open your own small business? Do you love graphic design and/or sticker collections? Have you been searching for a low-stakes game that just makes you feel good?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, then I have the Steam game for you: Check out Sticky Business, a new cozy simulation game from developers Spellgarden Games that is (excuse the pun) definitely worth sticking with.
Note: The game is currently only available on Steam; I played and am reviewing the version on Mac!
Story: A
The story in Sticky Business is simple: You’ve decided to open your own online sticker shop. The tutorial is short and sweet, and you are quickly on your way to creating and selling your very own personalized sticker designs. Once you get started, it doesn’t take long before your shop’s business grows, and soon you are sending orders to multiple customers a day, slowly but surely building your client base and spreading your sticker designs near and far.
My favorite aspect of the story is the way your relationship with your customers develops over time. There are several clients who repeatedly reach out to you with sticker orders, and each time they contact you, you learn a bit more about their lives and personalities. These connections help ground you further in the world of the game, and make it easier to be invested in creating and delivering stickers that you know your customers will want.
Gameplay Mechanics: B
The game loop is rather simple: Each day, you have a specific amount of time (at least if you’re playing on Normal) to complete various tasks related to your shop. These tasks include designing and printing stickers, filling orders for paying customers, and placing those orders in the mail. Each of these activities uses up a specific amount of time, and once you’ve run out of time for anymore activities you head to bed and prepare to repeat the pattern the next day.
I played Sticky Business for about four hours, and during that time completed 35 days of activity. While the gameplay is simple enough to master, there are a few technical issues that keep the experience from being as good as it could be:
The money system is never fully explained, which meant that when the review screen came up at the end of each day’s gameplay I was often confused by my coin total. Eventually I understood that the game was subtracting the money I spent on printing and upgrading my materials from the money I made on my sales each day.
On days when I had only a couple of orders to fill, I ran out of activities to complete before the day was through. I would have expected this if I were playing on Relaxed or Endless mode, but since I was on Normal it left me feeling a bit frustrated.
As far as I can tell, there is no way to rename stickers once you have named them and put them up on your shop page. This doesn’t affect gameplay, but bothered me aesthetically when I was reviewing my sticker collection and noticed that I had accidentally named two separate stickers “Flower Power”. One cheesy rhyme would have been enough, thank you.
The above concerns didn’t stop me from having a fantastic time with this game, and I’m hopeful for updates and/or patches in the near future that clear up some of these issues!
Vibes: A
I began play this game at 10am. The next time I looked up, it was noon and my breakfast burrito had gone depressingly cold. I was shocked at how much this game captured my undivided attention. Between the gentle music, the comforting color palette, and the gorgeous pixelated art designs, the vibes of Sticky Business are immaculate.
It’s the small details that really elevate this game to the next level. From the unique stories many of your customers share with you, to the diverse selection of sticker templates available for purchase with your in-game currency, to the candies that you can add as extra treats to your packages for the customers who really make you smile - it is easy to tell that the developers put their hearts and souls into making this game an experience that can be enjoyed and appreciated by all.
Overall Rating: A
Whether you want to play for ten minutes or two hours, Sticky Business will keep you pleasantly occupied as you build the digital sticker collection of your dreams. It’s the perfect game for wrapping up the day in a cozy way, and is sure to bring a smile to your face.
Bonus: Check out my five favorite stickers I’ve created so far!
