No Umbrellas Allowed

About

No Umbrellas Allowed is a single player role playing game with business and science fiction themes. It was developed by Hoochoo Game Studios and was released on March 22, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

In "No Umbrellas Allowed," players manage a secondhand shop in the mysterious Ajik City, 2080, where citizens are obsessed with a product called 'Fixerain.' As the newly named manager, Bob, players must reveal the true value of strange items and uncover the city's hidden secrets. The game is a simulation set in a world where people are reluctant to share their thoughts and feelings, and some even mimic the police.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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78%

Audience ScoreBased on 699 reviews

gameplay129 positive mentions

stability12 negative mentions

The art style is visually appealing and fits the dystopian theme well.
The gameplay loop of appraising and negotiating items is engaging and rewarding.
The story is compelling with multiple endings, providing a strong incentive for replayability.

The English translation is often poor, leading to confusion in gameplay mechanics and dialogue.
The game can feel repetitive and slow, especially with the long days and constant walking between locations.
Some mechanics are unclear or poorly explained, making it frustrating to progress without making mistakes.

gameplay
410 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
62%
7%
The gameplay of "No Umbrellas Allowed" is a mix of engaging mechanics and frustrating elements, drawing comparisons to titles like "Papers, Please." While the core loop of appraising and selling items is satisfying and offers high replayability through multiple endings, many players find the mechanics overwhelming and poorly explained, leading to confusion and stress. Overall, the game presents a unique concept with potential, but suffers from localization issues and a lack of polish that detracts from the overall experience.
- “Engaging story with very enjoyable gameplay.”
- “The gameplay loop is very fun -- challenging, yet rewarding, with the best ending requiring you to play reasonably well throughout the whole game.”
- “I found the core gameplay loop very engaging in general, and there is enough variation to keep me engaged through multiple playthroughs.”
- “Hard to decide when to use something like 'brand eraser' or 'wrong gem' when people come to purchase and you appraised wrong; sometimes they don't tell you why--the guidelines or mechanics for some of the appraisal process is infuriating.”
- “The gameplay turned out to be more shallow than I expected, but still held my interest for the first half of the game by slowly introducing new mechanics.”
- “The main issue I have with the game is how much the story impedes gameplay.”
story
376 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
55%
6%
The story of the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it engaging and immersive, particularly due to its dystopian themes and multiple branching endings that enhance replayability. However, some reviewers criticize the pacing, translation issues, and complexity, which can detract from the overall experience, making it feel slow or convoluted at times. While the narrative is praised for its depth and character development, it can also be seen as a hindrance to gameplay, leading to a divide in player enjoyment.
- “Its gameplay simplicity reflects a very curated storytelling and multiple endings, guaranteeing a high replayability.”
- “The story is engaging with multiple, branching endings, and is fed to the player bit by bit over time as they go through the core mechanic of buying and selling secondhand items while managing increasingly difficult conditions.”
- “With a captivating storyline and detailed yet easy-to-understand game mechanics, what's not to love?”
- “It has an interesting style and a quality soundtrack but it absolutely blew its potential by undermining almost every mechanic it establishes and having a random and overly complicated plot that is really hard to follow if you aren't paying perfect attention.”
- “The game seems to be focused on the story, but the story is dragged out longer than it needs to be, and the gameplay doesn't really carry it.”
- “However, both the story and the gameplay peter out around halfway through the game, becoming repetitive and droll, while the story loses its way and seems to tread water for hours on end.”
graphics
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
40%
5%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their appealing art style, which combines retro pixel art with a charming and atmospheric aesthetic. Many players appreciate the passion evident in the visuals, noting that the graphics enhance the overall experience, despite some minor translation issues that can detract from immersion. Overall, the art style is considered beautiful and effective, contributing positively to the game's storytelling and gameplay mechanics.
- “The graphics in the game are very appealing as well, and you can tell that a lot of passion was put into everything.”
- “Very entertaining and captivating, great mechanics, choices matter, beautiful graphics and great music, amazing story.”
- “As a designer, I appreciate just how clean every item looks despite the pixel graphics.”
- “Pixel artwork may not be for everyone in this day and age.”
- “I love the idea of the game and its artwork, but the translation is so horrendously done it was really pulling me out of the game and I simply couldn't enjoy it.”
- “But if you are not turned off by its retro graphics, you will find rewarding and in-depth gameplay and a fascinating story behind it.”
music
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
37%
10%
The music in the game is widely praised for its captivating and atmospheric quality, with many players finding it both comforting and enjoyable enough to listen to outside of gameplay. While the soundtrack is described as amazing and effective, some users noted that it can become repetitive over time. Overall, the music significantly enhances the game's environment and complements its art and story.
- “The soundtrack is amazing; I'm obsessed with the tracks and I still listen to them when I need to chill out or during work time to cool off.”
- “The dialogue, music, and sounds are all so very charming as well as comforting. Despite being such a simple game, the creators have managed to make a wonderful environment.”
- “The music is great, very comfy and atmospheric.”
- “The soundtrack gets a bit repetitive, even if it's nice.”
- “There is room for improvement for music, animation, and making the different rules more accessible.”
- “The art style and music are both simple, but effective.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
The game offers high replayability due to its curated storytelling and multiple endings, with many players finding it engaging enough to replay despite some overlapping endings that may limit choices. While some users appreciate the replay value, others feel that certain aspects could become repetitive over time. Overall, it strikes a balance between simplicity and depth, encouraging players to explore different outcomes.
- “Its gameplay simplicity reflects a very curated storytelling and multiple endings, guaranteeing a high replayability.”
- “Tons of replayability.”
- “And it's not that the game isn't replayable, it is, but I think some of the endings overlap each other and you get forced into a better one even if you qualified for two or more.”
- “There is no replayability in the gameplay that makes me want to change the ending.”
- “I've abandoned many a 'replayable' game after having to face the prospect of repeating lengthy tutorials and exposition, and 'No Umbrellas Allowed' is the first game in a long time that I'm actually replaying.”
atmosphere
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
14%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its engagingly goofy and absurd dystopian elements, complemented by a charming cyberpunk pixel art aesthetic. Reviewers appreciate the surprising narrative twists, humorous dialogue, and a cozy soundtrack that enhance the overall experience, making it feel immersive and enjoyable. Many feel that the atmosphere elevates the game beyond its individual components, creating a unique and memorable setting.
- “The atmosphere is great and makes the game more than the sum of its parts.”
- “The cyberpunk pixel art aesthetic is really cute and atmospheric, and there are so many different pop culture references to be found as well.”
- “The music is great, very comfy and atmospheric.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, including a malfunctioning bug reporting tool and localization issues that lead to typos. Many users feel that these stability problems significantly detract from the overall experience, making it hard to justify its price.
- “A bit of note though, the game is still fairly buggy.”
- “It has a few glitches, most notably a broken bug reporting tool, and the occasional typo indicative of a non-native English speaker.”
- “I don't think it's worth $20 because of how buggy it is and how easy it is to find mistakes that are just not programmed correctly.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, especially when attempting to unlock all 16 endings. While the ability to load any day and skip tutorials helps alleviate some frustration, the sheer number of choices makes replaying feel laborious, even for those who enjoy the game. Overall, it is described as "grindy, but fun" despite the challenges.
- “The game boasts a variety of endings, but grinding them is not fun, despite being able to load any day; because there are so many different choices.”
- “It can be pretty tedious to go back and do-over everything you just did, but at least tutorials are skippable, and you can speed through dialogue pretty quick.”
- “The game has 16 endings, and if you're a perfectionist like me, playing through the whole game again just so you can see all endings might be a little tedious and/or repetitive.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its surprising narrative twists, witty dialogue, and a sarcastic robot companion that enhances interactions without being overly guiding. The absurdity of its dystopian elements adds to a goofy atmosphere, making it engaging and enjoyable for extended play. Overall, players find the humor to be a standout feature that elevates the experience.
- “Continually surprising narrative twists and humorous dialogue make this an even better game of its type than 'Papers, Please', and the absurdity of the dystopian elements contributes to its engagingly goofy atmosphere.”
- “Funny, great references, can play for hours and hours.”
- “The sarcastic little robot companion makes all the interactions funny, and helps guide you without feeling like hand-holding.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Reviews indicate that while the game can evoke some emotional complexity, it often falls short of delivering a profound emotional impact, with many players feeling that the narrative becomes slow and tedious despite an engaging start. Overall, the emotional experience is mixed, with some enjoyment noted but a lack of significant depth.
- “It gets complicated and emotional but still enjoyable throughout, and I'm not even close to finishing.”
- “Fun beginning... slow, boring story.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's user interface is poorly optimized, leading to frequent misclicks and a frustrating experience for players.
- “The UI is not optimized, and it's easy to misclick.”
- “The UI is not optimized, and it's easy to misclick.”

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7h Median play time

9h Average play time

3-10h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 12 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

No Umbrellas Allowed is a role playing game with business and science fiction themes.

No Umbrellas Allowed is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 9 hours playing No Umbrellas Allowed.

No Umbrellas Allowed was released on March 22, 2024.

No Umbrellas Allowed was developed by Hoochoo Game Studios.

No Umbrellas Allowed has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

No Umbrellas Allowed is a single player game.

Similar games include Mind Scanners, Not Tonight, Need to Know, Do No Harm, Beholder and others.

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