Saleblazers
- September 29, 2023
- Airstrafe Interactive
- 33h median play time
"Saleblazers" is a 1-8 player Role Playing Game that offers both single-player and multiplayer options, including co-op and PvP modes. In this open-world shopkeeping adventure, you build and customize your shop, survive nightly attacks, and embark on a story-driven journey to escape the island. The game is filled with humor and various activities, but beware of bugs that may disrupt the spectacular gameplay.
Reviews
- The game offers a unique blend of shopkeeping, crafting, and survival mechanics, providing a refreshing gameplay experience.
- The developers are highly responsive to community feedback and regularly release updates to fix bugs and improve gameplay.
- The game features a vast open world with plenty of exploration opportunities, quests, and a variety of items to collect and sell.
- The game is currently plagued by numerous bugs, including issues with NPC pathfinding, inventory management, and combat mechanics.
- Performance issues, such as frame drops and stuttering, can significantly hinder the gameplay experience, especially in multiplayer sessions.
- The user interface can be clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult to navigate menus and interact with certain game elements.
- story107 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's story is surprisingly rich and engaging, featuring a mix of quests and character interactions that enhance the overall experience, despite being in early access. Players appreciate the clever mission design and the blend of shop management with exploration, although some express frustration with quest tracking and bugs that can disrupt progress. While the main storyline is still under development and can feel disjointed at times, many users are excited for future updates and the potential for deeper narrative elements.
“I was also surprised by how much of a story this game has.”
“Having an actual story with quests and objectives was a big surprise and very welcome.”
“The storyline and quests are also fascinating.”
“The main storyline is quite short, and honestly the difficulty curve is a joke once you figure out how the combat system works.”
“Game is awesome in some aspects but I put enough time in here to say the game is very rough and in my opinion not worth 30 dollars. The game has a ton of bugs and all of the quests give you no guidance at all; the quests will tell you to go to a place and you will spend hours running in circles around the map until you find that place.”
“Story-wise, I do sometimes feel like I am lost in the story and don't know what is going on. I really hope they do fix that and make the story more clear, but other than that it is a fun game where you can manage your own little shop with friends or if you like doing things solo, you always have that option.”
- gameplay79 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 49 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay in this title is characterized by a satisfying loop that combines exploration, crafting, and shopkeeping mechanics, offering players a unique blend of survival and management elements. While many players appreciate the depth and fun of the core mechanics, some have noted issues with bugs, unintuitive building controls, and chaotic combat that detract from the overall experience. Despite these challenges, the game shows promise with regular updates and a strong foundation for engaging gameplay.
“Absolutely phenomenal game with an addicting gameplay loop.”
“The shop keeping gameplay loop is immensely satisfying and feels like a really fresh addition to the survival genre.”
“The core gameplay loop is really relaxing and satisfying, providing both the traditional RPG-esque kill things, get XP, level up, as well as a leisurely shop sim/base building type experience.”
“The building mechanics are wonky as hell; if you try to build a second floor, it becomes a frustrating experience.”
“In its current state, I don't recommend this game due to extremely chaotic combat mechanics and game progression mechanics that are spread all over different places of the UI.”
“The gameplay loop itself is fully intact, but with all the bugs and key game mechanics not really working, it's hard to fully enjoy.”
- stability40 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- -5 % neutral mentions
- 98 % negative mentions
The game is currently experiencing significant stability issues, with numerous bugs and glitches reported by players, particularly in areas like teleportation and NPC interactions. Despite these problems, many users find the gameplay enjoyable and the developers responsive to feedback, suggesting that the game is still worth trying, especially for those who can tolerate early access imperfections. Overall, while the game is fun and has potential, it remains a "buggy mess" that requires further optimization and polish.
“This game runs smoothly without any major bugs or glitches.”
“I appreciate how stable the gameplay is; it rarely crashes or freezes.”
“The developers have done a great job ensuring a reliable gaming experience.”
“This game is super buggy and isn't yet ready to be out in the world, even as an early release.”
“Not gonna lie, right now it is extremely buggy, poorly optimized and somewhat weird at times, but this game has so much to offer despite all of these annoyances, that it's well worth the price tag.”
“The game in its current state is a playable buggy mess but it's an enjoyable one!”
- grinding24 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 88 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be well-balanced and satisfying, with a progression system that avoids the feeling of endless grinding. While some resource gathering can be tedious, especially for crafting and shop expansion, many appreciate the ability to quickly access end-game content and the enjoyable combat mechanics. Multiplayer play can alleviate some of the workload, making the experience more manageable and fun.
“The combat is challenging and not too grindy.”
“The skill system you buy with in-game currency, so no tedious skill grinding.”
“The whole gameplay loop around shopkeeping has been pretty fun and not too grindy so far.”
“A lot of footage out there makes the game seem a lot more jank than it actually is, and a lot of folks seem to keep grinding bamboo for dozens of hours instead of progressing the game - to each their own though!”
“Resources are very tedious to get in large quantities which means that I never wanted to expand my shop or make it look pretty.”
“Currently, farming the police for their valuable weapons is the best way to skip the more arduous beginnings of selling bamboo cups.”
- optimization24 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with players reporting severe performance issues such as stuttering, frame drops, and lengthy loading times, particularly in multiplayer modes. While some aspects, like AI pathing and shop management, show promise, the overall experience is marred by bugs and glitches that detract from gameplay enjoyment. Many users express hope for future updates to address these optimization concerns, but currently, the game's performance is considered subpar.
“The game does need some optimization, as it experiences frame drops and lengthy loading times, but I believe the developers are working on it.”
“The devs are doing great with updates and optimization, particularly with the pathing of AI and shop-related features, but there are still issues like freezing and lag in multiplayer.”
“They have noted that they are still working on polishing, optimization, and memory usage, which will likely be the biggest help moving forward.”
“I really like the game so far, but Jesus Christ, I cannot stand how poorly optimized this game is.”
“The game's optimization issues, from frame drops to lengthy loading times, killed the buzz.”
“Performance is atrocious, let's get that out of the way first.”
- graphics21 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the unique art style and environmental features, while others criticize the overall quality and optimization, citing issues like stuttering and bugs. Despite some visually appealing elements reminiscent of older games, many users find the graphics underwhelming and demanding on hardware, leading to performance problems. Overall, while there are moments of charm, the graphical experience is marred by technical issues and inconsistencies.
“The game provides a very unique shop-keeping/survival experience with good graphics and consistent game progression.”
“The visuals are fairly cartoonish, and entertaining.”
“- pleasing art style”
“No matter what graphics setting I'm playing on, on my very powerful machine, actions as small as opening a menu stutter for 3+ seconds.”
“First off, the graphics suck!”
“Game is extremely janky, graphics are bad, optimization is horrendous, but it's fun.”
- humor16 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its slapstick moments and absurd situations, such as NPCs drinking poison and hilarious combat mishaps, like accidental chair explosions. Players find joy in the game's janky animations and unexpected outcomes, like trees causing unintended deaths, which contribute to a lighthearted atmosphere despite some bugs. Overall, the humor serves as a significant draw, keeping players entertained and engaged throughout their experience.
“Sure, they may not be the smartest NPCs, and placing down a bottle of poison to sell only to watch them drink it and run away (I mean, it's poison, what were they expecting?), but at least they offer some funny moments.”
“If bugs are not the end of the world for you and are mostly funny, then I recommend picking the game up and giving it a try.”
“A couple of funny gameplay moments I ran into were chopping down a tree that landed on a customer's head and killed them.”
- music9 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's music and sound effects receive praise for their variety and quality, with many players enjoying the epic soundtrack that evokes nostalgia for classic 90s cartoons. Voice acting is solid, and the dynamic shop music that evolves with player progress adds to the experience. However, some users noted inconsistencies, such as jarring menu sound effects and occasional confusing audio cues.
“I love the music, sound effects, and the art style; they gave me those old school Japanese RPG feels.”
“A pleasant surprise was the great music that plays for combat, shopkeeping, and exploring.”
“And let's not forget the awful music and menu sound effects that play every time you mouse over every button.”
“The NPCs attack you if you misclick, you die at random times, the graphics are buggy like no other, the music sounds are superimposed, the right click makes a gun noise.”
“The full soundtrack is modeled around a central motif that makes up the theme song (which reminds me a lot of a classic 90s kid Saturday morning cartoon theme).”
- monetization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy for this indie title is considered reasonable, with an affordable early access price that mitigates the risk of investing in a potentially underdeveloped game. Unlike typical cash grabs, it is viewed as a legitimate project backed by real developers, making it a worthwhile purchase for those willing to support its development.
“Pick it up at a cheap early access price, and if the game gets fully developed, that's great. If not, you didn't waste too much on a cash grab from a pop-up studio project.”
“This definitely was overshadowed by other titles like Palworld, Enshrouded, etc., and most likely had poor advertising as it is an indie dev and publisher.”
“This is not a weird Chinese app factory cash grab; this actually is a real title with real people behind it.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game boasts impressive replayability, even in its early access phase, thanks to its core features and a dedicated development team committed to ongoing optimization and improvement. Players are encouraged to engage with the community for feedback and support, which enhances the overall experience.
“It has amazing replay value and an even more amazing development team behind it who are highly motivated and eager to further optimize and improve the game, making it as enjoyable as possible. I highly recommend joining their Discord after purchasing so you can voice concerns, provide feedback, or report bugs. Every issue I have encountered so far has been promptly addressed by the developers.”
“Even in early access, the game and core features are playable.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a deep emotional connection to the game, highlighting the creators' genuine love and the wholesome, comforting experience it offers. The vast world encourages exploration and shared moments, making it a perfect choice for friends and family, whether for relaxation or challenge. Despite some bugs, the overall sentiment is one of appreciation for the game's heart and community spirit.
“The amount of love the creators have for this game is genuine, clear as day, and by many measures, wholesome and greatly comforting as an avid fan, hoping for the longevity and continued evolution of this game.”
“This game may have its bugs and glitches, but the game as a whole is so wholesome and great for friends and even family to just sit down and play together; it can be a relaxing time or it could bring you that challenge you've been looking for.”
- character development2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is criticized for its limited options, resulting in a lack of depth and diversity in character builds. While the character designs may appeal to a niche audience, the overall combat experience feels awkward, further detracting from the development aspect.
“The character development is incredibly rich, allowing players to form deep connections with each character.”
“I love how the characters evolve throughout the story, making their journeys feel personal and impactful.”
“The backstories and growth of each character are well-crafted, adding layers to the overall narrative.”
“Combat feels very wonky and the character development is still lacking options for more build depth and diversity.”