➤ Sticky Business: Sticker Shop Simulator Review 🕹

Many artists and designers have decided to open an online sticker store, now you too can live their dream in the Sticky Business review.

Analyzing a simulator requires separating the gaming experience into two parts: the practical and the emotional. The first takes into consideration the way the real activity has been replicated digitally, the second tests the power of the game to make the user feel like someone who does that activity for a living or as a passion. Sticky Business is a simulator that wants to put the player in the role of the owner of a new online sticker store and, if in practice the phase of creating a drawing is limited, from an emotional point of view the game will be able to give a series of very quiet afternoons in the company of your store.

Developed by Spell Garden Games and published by Assemble Entertainment, this game is the closest thing there is to a simulator of what Etsy was like in its early years, when it was a fair for handmade things and not a hellhole of scams and mass imported products. The introduction gently takes you through the stages of developing your business, creating the stickers, printing them, packaging and shipping them, and then launching into the lion's den of the Internet in search of clients for your designs.

There is a lot of customization and the game always finds new ways to make you feel like everything will be okay, that life is simple and that today you just have to pack some stickers, ride your bike to the post office and maybe stay up late to draw .

In this Sticky Business Review We will analyze the different components of the game, how the flow of activities is very well regulated and the limits of a game with creativity at the center that, however, has a clear limit in terms of expressiveness.

How to draw a sticker

Sticky Business: Sticker Shop Simulator Review — The Sticky Business editor is simple and intuitive but has a fundamental problem: there is no freehand drawing

The developers of Sticky Business had to make a fundamental decision: make the game as simple and intuitive as possible in its sticker creation part or embark on the difficult task of creating a small clone of Pro-Create (the most used graphics program by designers) to allow users to draw anything. In our opinion, the creatives at Spellgarden Games have wisely chosen the path of simplicity so that their stickers can only be compositions of pre-existing models. This has allowed for the implementation of an equally intuitive game flow whereby from a series of initial models you can add more and more to your repertoire using one of the two currencies you will earn by selling your creations.

Le edit options and the combination of predefined layouts are limited but effective. It is possible to increase or decrease the size of each element (which will then influence the printing process), move them in front or behind the others, rotate them 15 or 45 degrees and decide how much white outline each element should have. whether or not to underline its sticker character. Don't be afraid to start with simple designs or combine multiple units of the same item, Sticky Business is designed to take pity on budding designers, so the orders will keep coming. The only limit to your creativity will be the available spaces on your site which, once exhausted, will prevent you from creating new designs, forcing you to sacrifice one of your first ideas on the altar of progress. It is possible to increase the number of stickers for sale, but this will cost you 100 coins the first time (to go from five to ten slots) and then more and more.

Make your printer happy

Once you have created your first masterpieces, it is time to print them and here you will have to face a mini-game that real designers have to face in real life: place as many stickers as possible on a single sheet of adhesive paper to maximize performance. Each sticker sheet costs ten coins to print, so to generate profits, it is essential to make stickers of greater or equal value. By placing your creations on the sheet, you can rotate and adjust them but not overlap them, and in the end, if you are particularly happy with your design, you can save the page to print again in the future and replenish your inventory.

There is a function of auto fill of the page but it is almost never an effective way to complete this process, by placing the drawings by hand it is always possible to add some models in the spaces. It is in this phase that the dimensions used in the sticker editor make themselves felt: a sticker that is large in the creative phase will also be large on paper, so it will take up more space in the layout phase. The animation when the sheet comes out of the printer is really cute.

Once the printing process is complete, it is time to pack the stickers according to orders who got there. Each purchase specifies the type and number of stickers desired so, in case of stock shortage, you will have to print the missing components. Each package can be filled with filling, wrapping paper, and enriched with candy or other gifts that real merchants put in their packages to thank old customers or try to convince newcomers to buy again in the future. Most shipping customization options can be unlocked for coins as well as decorations and improvements for your website. Giving identity to your business is important not only on an expressive level but also because the game rewards perseverance or dedication to a specific topic.

When your packages are ready it's time to go to the post office to send them, but make sure you have enough time to do so. Sticky Business, like any business, has a day-night cycle that must be respected so as not to get too tired and lose money. Each action (designing a new sticker, packaging it and taking it to the post office) consumes a percentage of the time of the day and if you overdo it you will lose profits. At the end of each cycle, in fact, the money and hearts that you have accumulated by completing the agenda are counted and you will gain experience for each sticker used and sold.

Tell me a story

The last piece of the simple puzzle that makes up Stiky Business is made up of many little personal stories that you will find when placing your orders. In fact, as in the real world, customers can attach messages to their orders which in this game become the perfect vehicle to discover events, fears and doubts that something seemingly banal like a sticker can help, if not solve, at least bear. Some of the customers who are most open to you will come back to buy more stickers of the type they were sold on or to experiment more with your style. There may be the person who is passionate about space-related designs and has just gotten out of a bad relationship or the lover of witchy aesthetics who sends 24 cats flying on broomsticks. If you decide to attach candy to your package or use themed wrapping paper filled with their favorite aesthetic, you'll be rewarded with more orders and some referrals that will earn you new customers.

When the wheels start turning, the game becomes more fun, but also more difficult because you will have to make ends meet and satisfy your customers while continuing to expand your inventory to meet requests. Despite the increasing challenge factor, there is no time when Sticky Business is not aabsolutely relaxing experience. Don't expect moving stories or intense narrative development, the tone of the game remains light even when more personal stories or people going through difficult times arrive. Each of them will be happy to let you know how much your stickers have helped them overcome or endure a difficult situation.

Conclusions

Tested version PC with Windows digital delivery Steam Price 8,99 € Holygamerz.com 8.0 Readers (1) 9.5 your vote

Sticky Business is above all a relaxing game. Its simple economy, its intuitive sticker editor and its clear and simple game flow make it a perfect experience for all those players looking for a stimulating and never stressful activity. The pixel art aesthetic could quickly tire out those who don't like it, but the atmosphere is so calm and the music so pleasantly soft that if you decide to let yourself be kidnapped by this simulator you will have fun and rest at the same time. Sticky Business cannot replicate the creative process of real or digital brushstrokes of artists who create professional stickers, but it does a good job of simulating the life that those artists' social media accounts offer us. Your job is as stressful as any other, with bills to balance, cutthroat competition, and inefficiencies, but Sticky Business takes just the beauty of that life and transforms it into a smooth, cozy hobby. In addition, it is possible to export all your creations outside the game to print and paste them wherever you want; Who knows, maybe this game will prompt some shady artists to take the leap and start their own business.