Written by Kris Galvez
Title: Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?!
Developer: Daylight Studios
Publisher: Rising Star Games
Price: $14.99
Genre: Simulation, Strategy
Also Available On: Android, iOS, PS4, Steam
Management games are totally my buzz. While they are often too complicated for my wee brain, I still tend to enjoy them especially if they are good. Combining it with a satirical story for a JRPG together with the simplicity of a Kairosoft and you may have a winner.
You play as a young potato inheriting his dead grandfather's weapon shop. His greedy business partner has given you the task to revive it while giving him most of your proceeds. The story itself is simple but the way it parodies pop culture as well as video games is good. Potato puns are abound as potato incarnations of famous video game characters serve as the customers of your humble weapon shop. The story will get nonsensical at times but it's just there to give you a purpose to advance through the game.
The management style of this game is essentially similar to Kairosoft's Game Dev Story. You have potato blacksmiths whose stats, temperaments and specialty need to control by training them and letting them rest. Different weapons can be created with their stats depending on the chosen blacksmith to develop them. Research needs to be done in order to develop new weapons. There is an in game contest for the best weapon at the end of the year. You can tell that the game is inspired by Game Dev Story.
As I said, the game's strength is in its simplicity. You don't get the hundreds of stats that are abundant in management games. Weapons you craft can have 3 simple stats at the start plus some modifiers. Heroes who buys your wares typically prefer 1 or 2 stats. Warriors want strength, thieves want agility and archers love accuracy. Managing your blacksmith, assigning them to the correct stations and powering them up at the right time is key in forging the legendary weapon that a hero will buy. Great weapons are needed as heroes tend to buy at a higher price depending on the weapons. Earning money is also the key to staying afloat as the blacksmiths you employ need to get paid monthly else your shop will go bankrupt.
At its base, the game is fun and simple enough to be enjoyed as a first entry to management simulators much like Kairosoft games. Unfortunately, the experience is severely hampered by the translation of the controls to the Switch. All of the managing of your blacksmiths will have to be done through the Switch control stick and the A button. Even controlling it through the touch screen feels bad. This makes the experience clunky and the fact that it was not optimized for the Switch is apparent. This makes an otherwise good weapon shop simulator turn into passable.
Pros
- Competent management game with simple mechanics like Game Dev Story.
- The potato puns and potato based story is cute.
Cons
- Controlling the game is clunky and dampens the overall experience.
Overall Score: 6/10
Note: This game was reviewed using a download code from the publisher.
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