Is there anything more rewarding than running your own business? Each day I wake up, design some stickers, print out and package them, and then ship them out to customers all over the world. What's that? No, I don't need to worry about things like tax, making a profit, or having enough income to feed myself. All I care about is making sure that every person that orders from me also gets a little treat in their package.
In Sticky Business, you are in charge of your very own online sticker shop. You get to pick the name, modify the website, and design all of the products you sell. To get started, you'll need to create your first sticker. Your options are limited to begin with, so you've only got some basic shapes, animals, some greenery, and a couple of generic phrases to layer over the top. Don't worry though, there's countless other stickers available, you just need to make some money before you upgrade your wares.
The first sticker I ever created featured a dog's face layered on top of a donut, in front of a yellow square background - it was basic, sure, but it still sold like hot cakes while I was busy creating other masterpieces. The editing tool gives you quite a lot of freedom when it comes to creating your stickers, you really are free to make whatever you want with the resources you're given. You have the ability to rotate components, bring them forward, push them to the back, increase their size, change their color, and more.
Sticky start-up
Moving Out 2 is more brilliantly chaotic removal work fun, but now with more silliness
Once I had created my first sheet of stickers, it didn't take long for the orders to begin rolling in. Preparing customer orders is one of my favorite things about this game because it feels so satisfying and gives me a real sense of accomplishment - despite the fact these stickers aren't real and aren't actually going out to people who are really excited to receive them. Just like the sticker creation part of the game, in Sticky Business, you're able to customize each order with different package fillings, with the option to add a little piece of candy if you want to go the extra mile.
As more customers begin placing orders at your store, you start to recognize the names of the regulars, as well as receive messages from them telling you how much they love your stickers and where they plan to stick them. Sometimes, you'll also get messages that correspond with each other and that together tell the story of how a set of best friends or siblings found your site, stole each other's stickers, and so on. This is a nice way to experience the story Sticky Business has to offer, as it's mostly a simulation game.
Very a-peel-ing
Despite what I originally thought, there's actually a lot of planning required to run a sticker business. I had to learn this the hard way as I got a bit carried away giving out free stuff and then didn't have any funds to print more stickers that day, resulting in a few incomplete orders. Don't let this sway you, though, as it really doesn't take any business knowledge or strategy to keep the shop running smoothly.
There's also no consequences or timers in the game - other than the day to night cycle which dictates how much time you have left to complete your tasks for the day - so overall, it's a pretty laid back experience. I was more than happy following the same routine for a good couple of hours, just for the satisfaction of keeping things moving along each day. I could definitely see this being the perfect game for those times where you want to get away from your thoughts, and just want to enjoy the cozy vibes.
That being said, it might not be the game for you if you want a bit more variety in your simulation games. Still, I think it'll stick with fans of cozy, laid-back games that encourage some creativity - with unlimited combinations available to try to create your dream sticker.
Sticky Business is available now on PC. Find out what other hidden gems are heading our way soon with our upcoming indie games list.
