When I was little I had one of those toy tills, the ones where you could pretend to scan items through with a little scanner that would go ‘beep’ when you pressed the button. It had a little cash drawer that opened up with different compartments in it where you could put your fake money and get change out, which also locked with a key I lost so frequently my mum would repeatedly wedge it open for me (thanks mum!). Anyway, I spent so many hours pretending to have various businesses with that till, be it a vet service tending to tigers with bad paws to lining up my toys and pretending I was at Toys R Us. It was always one of my favourite toys, so when I found that Toy Shop Simulator’s (still available!) Steam Next Fest demo gave off the same vibe as one of my childhood favourites, I knew I had to give it a try.
Toy Shop SimulatorDeveloper: PaperPixel GamesPublisher: PaperPixel GamesRelease: Q4 2024Download the demo on: Steam
At first I was a bit lost. Should I start by ordering in stock, should I rearrange the shop or should I repaint the outside of the store? There was so much to do to prepare the empty store for customers that I was stuck deciding my first steps for a few minutes. Strangely, discovering that I could throw a mop took me to my first task: ordering toys from a wholesaler. I know, you’re wondering how does lobbing a mop across a room bring you to that step? Well, it took me to the manager’s office, which has a computer in it that acts as your base of operations for planning and running your store.
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Here, you can order stock from wholesalers, obtain licences to sell different toy brands (such as ‘WarmWheels’, which is totally and completely legally distinct from those , real-life tiny cars you might have heard of), keep an eye on bills that need to be paid, hire new workers to keep your store running smoothly as well as a bunch more in-depth details to help you manage and expand your business.
In the demo, I stock the shelves and worked the till myself, which proved one inescapable fact – I am organised enough to run my own toy shop! Sure, it was fine as a kid when you could wander off and explore an imaginary jungle while your loyal customers (a line of stuffed bears) waited to pay for their plastic fruit. But in the Toy Shop simulator there’s a silent pressure to serve customers as the line gets longer, and finding time to get to the till is just the beginning.