Featured Image Credit: Nagai Industries
Topics: Steam, PC, Free Games, Indie Games, Features
The hum of the refrigerators performs a melody against the rain that beats against the asphalt outside; man-made power joining together with the power of nature.
Above us, a train rattles over its rusty tracks as I write tonight’s notes in my journal for the people who will come tomorrow and hear my voice, shrouded in the cover of night.
Before I flick on the fluorescent light, opening my small-town convenience store to customers, I wrap myself in the last moments of silence, stacking the shelves and cleaning away the remnants of the people who have come before.
That was my experience during the Steam demo for inKONBINI, an upcoming relaxing simulation game where you will take on the role of Makoto, a young girl who has taken the night shift in her aunt’s konbini before heading back to college.
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As the sole worker during the early morning hours, it will be up to her to take care of the shop that she has known all her life, including stacking shelves, placing orders, learning about the lives of the daytime workers, and, of course, meeting the customers.
The Honki-Ponki konbini may be one store but it is full of many stories and Makoto will learn about her regular customers through the tales they decide to share and the products that are so familiar to them.
Set in 1990s Japan, inKOBINI captures the magic of the time, especially in a small-town where everybody’s stories and lives are intertwined. Makoto is not just a worker, she is a custodian of her customer’s tales as they choose to trust her under the fluorescent lights of the Honki-Ponki.
As a result, Makoto is able to learn her customer’s orders, even helping them make choices which can greatly impact their lives.
In the demo, we meet Chief who reveals that not only is he hiding from Makoto’s aunt for a reason unknown to us, but he is also having a hard time with his business and is struggling to feel hopeful for the future.
Following him around the konbini and listening to his thoughts confirmed this and it isn’t long before we help him pick out the correct cat food for his sulking feline and listen to his comments about the store in general as listening to customers will allow you to make beneficial changes.
Developed by Nagai Industries, it is already clear that inKOBINI is a love letter to the devs’ experiences, especially growing up in 90s Japan. The demo only gives us access to such a small part of the whole game and yet it is filled with love and hope as Makoto regularly notices the magic in the mundane, and appreciates the stories that she will get to learn over the course of her job.
Although the demo is short and covers just one of Makoto’s night shifts, it has left me eager for more and has reminded me that no matter how hard things get, the rain will always stop and welcome the sun on a brand-new day and gives us a chance to start anew.
It also really makes me want to book that trip to Japan.
The inKOBINI demo is now free to try out on Steam ahead of the game’s full launch.