Yet another title proves what the industry fails to see, games don’t have to be perfectly polished to be good. Still in Steam Early Access at the very reasonable price of £10.99 (with frequent sales at even lower prices), it would be reasonable to expect that this relatively new tycoon title is more of community playtest than a complete experience. I couldn’t have been more wrong when I went into the game with this expectation. OPNeon Games have done an impressive job at keeping their eyes on the prize and prioritising features that matter.
The game menu prominently features a roadmap of intended future features, with lofty goals like making the trading card game “Tetramon” fully playable. The actual shop management and tycoon elements of the game are certainly complete – providing a Cookie-Clicker-esque constant supply of dopamine as you watch your wealth grow exponentially through your shop’s expansion. More complex mechanics are present in the game, including price manipulation of different item categories via the play tables in your store, and mass card pack opening stations to specialise in unique rare cards rather than the packs themselves. The genius is that these are completely optional, giving you many different ways to approach the game.
While the varied mechanics and store layout allow for replayability… I sincerely doubt you’ll be needing it. Many games in this genre are targeted at a very casual audience with only 20-30 minutes a day to play and therefore progress very quickly. This is particularly noticeable in the mobile games market where progression is fast and the ceiling impossibly high, making for ludicrous endgames. TCG Card Shop Simulator however is not afraid to make you wait for progress. Things will pick up fast as you make more money of course, but you can expect to be 20-30 hours deep into the game before you’re in a position to afford all the different placeable furniture in your store. For full completion of all the sellable items you could easily be looking in the 50+ hour range.
I highly recommend checking out the game if you’re looking for something to chill out with while enjoying second screen content.
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