The Shopkeeper

About

The Shopkeeper is a single player action game. It was developed by Tom De Roeck and was released on October 23, 2014. It received negative reviews from players.

A desperate man needs to find the right antique to impress a rich relative, but his choice will have dreadful consequences. The Shopkeeper is a point-and-click narrative game set in a space between the Twilight Zone, classic Lucasarts adventures, and Antiques Roadshow.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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12%

Audience ScoreBased on 127 reviews

story15 positive mentions

gameplay5 negative mentions

The hand-drawn graphics are visually appealing and add a unique charm to the game.
The concept of exploring stories behind antiques is intriguing and could have been engaging.
The game is easy to complete for achievement hunters, making it a quick way to earn rewards.

The gameplay is extremely repetitive, with very little variation in dialogue and interactions.
The story is incoherent and lacks depth, making it difficult for players to become invested in the characters or plot.
Voice acting is poor and the absence of subtitles detracts from the overall experience.

story
103 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
75%
10%
The story in "The Shopkeeper" is criticized for being incoherent, repetitive, and lacking depth, with players often finding the dialogue boring and the narrative unengaging. While the game attempts to present a branching storyline through choices, it ultimately falls short, leading to a tedious experience where players repeatedly encounter the same scenes and interactions without meaningful progression. Despite some intriguing concepts, the execution leaves much to be desired, resulting in a lack of investment in the characters and their relationships.
- “The shopkeeper tells the story behind each item for sale in his store, and through a series of dialogue choices, it will be explained the consequences of choosing one gift over the other.”
- “The shopkeeper sports a surreal tale where a man is looking for an antique object to try and impress his rich mother-in-law: you'll get to hear the story behind each object and see the consequences of your choice.”
- “With each passing scene, new information is revealed that deepens the storyline.”
- “Extremely boring dialogue, complete lack of story or motivation, and repetitive use of scenery.”
- “The story has different endings and a few differing interactions based on your choices, but overall there isn't much, and so each playthrough will have you going through the same dialogues and interactions.”
- “Sadly, the story doesn't fare any better due to the characters having little background or depth: this means you'll find it quite hard to care what happens to the client or her mother-in-law since you'll never have a connection to them.”
gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
75%
16%
The gameplay is largely criticized for being minimal, repetitive, and lacking meaningful mechanics, with players primarily engaging in point-and-click interactions that yield little progression or variety. Many reviewers noted that the game feels more like a narrative experience than a traditional game, with poorly designed mechanics and a confusing flow that detracts from the overall experience. Despite some interesting concepts, the execution leaves much to be desired, resulting in a shallow and frustrating gameplay experience.
- “The storytelling plays a more important role in the game than the actual gameplay.”
- “However, for those who can overlook the little to no gameplay this 'game' has, it can provide some quality time from a small indie studio.”
- “The only hints I can give as to the gameplay are that clicking on an object in the antique store and getting its long story can sometimes affect the dialogue you get when you return to the store, but not always.”
- “Very short repetitive point and click narrative with barely any gameplay and a mundane story.”
- “The gameplay consists of nothing but clicking on random objects, listening to the same repetitive dialogues, and waiting for some random achievements to pop up.”
- “The mechanics themselves are not well done, and the controls are confusing and inconsistent.”
graphics
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
35%
13%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the hand-drawn art style as beautiful and intriguing, while others criticize the limited number of screens and repetitive visuals that diminish the overall experience. Although the artwork is often highlighted as the game's strongest aspect, some reviewers feel it lacks depth and variety, leading to a sense of boredom. Overall, the visuals are seen as quaint but insufficient to elevate the game beyond its basic premise.
- “I can appreciate the hand-drawn art and graphics, and the voiceovers.”
- “The art style is really interesting, the voice acting is decent and I really did enjoy the macabre little stories that each item in the shop had.”
- “Lovely art visuals, nice voice acting, interesting story with a twist.”
- “Frankly, this seems like someone had a decent idea for a branching storytelling framework, did the artwork for the shop, a few branches, and then thought, 'I can't be bothered to put any more effort into this,' but released it anyway.”
- “The art style is neat but gets wasted in the three screens that come over and over again.”
- “The graphics are quaint, but poor.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious, repetitive, and boring, with many players finding the experience frustratingly slow and lacking meaningful engagement. Achieving completion, such as obtaining all achievements, is described as an exercise in patience due to its monotonous nature. Overall, the grinding mechanics detract significantly from the enjoyment of the game.
- “Very tedious and repetitive.”
- “It was short, tedious, meaningless, and repetitive.”
- “Perhaps the looping storytelling would come to something eventually (it doesn't seem so based on other reviews) but it was a tedious, repetitive, 'sit, click, and listen' experience.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game's music is notably absent, with users highlighting a lack of any significant sound signature or musical score, which detracts from the overall experience. Additionally, the voice acting is described as amateurish, further diminishing the audio quality. Overall, the minimal sound design fails to enhance the gameplay.
- “The voice acting is amateur and there is next to no sound signature to the game, with an absence of music and very few sound effects.”
- “No music, no subtitles, and only 4 different screens you loop through (which you can see in the store page screenshots).”
- “Music adds so much to a game, or in this case, not having it actually takes away from the experience.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The game's atmosphere is reminiscent of a small town filled with intrigue, akin to the eerie vibes of "Twin Peaks" or "Columbo," blending ambiguity and surrealism. While the central puzzle serves a purpose, the experience is primarily about contemplation and appreciating the rich, immersive environment, suggesting that players who focus solely on challenges may overlook its deeper beauty.
- “Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of a small town, its antique shop, and the stories of the shopkeeper.”
- “The atmosphere is reminiscent of Twin Peaks or an episode of Columbo.”
- “The central puzzle serves as a reason for being, but the game is more about contemplation and atmosphere - playing it just for the challenge would likely have you missing much of what makes it beautiful.”
- “The atmosphere is a bit like Twin Peaks or an episode of Columbo.”
- “Decently ambiguous and surreal atmosphere.”
- “The central puzzle is there as a raison d'être, but the game is more about contemplation and atmosphere - playing it just for the challenge would likely have you missing much of what makes it beautiful.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a blend of deep, dark humor and well-executed voice acting, making it an engaging experience for fans of point-and-click visual novels. Its unique premise, centered around acquiring an antique for a mother-in-law, adds to the comedic charm. Overall, players appreciate the humor as a standout element of the indie title.
- “If you enjoy a small point-and-click visual novel with a charming art style, deep and dark humor writing, and well-executed voice acting, where you attempt to buy an old antique for your mother-in-law to secure her sponsorship for your business, then this game is definitely worth a try.”
- “The humor in this game is brilliantly dark and adds a unique twist to the storytelling, making every interaction both entertaining and thought-provoking.”
- “I found myself laughing out loud at the clever dialogue and absurd situations, which kept the gameplay light-hearted and enjoyable.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is noted for its limited replayability, with a short playtime that may discourage extended play sessions. Players should be aware that once completed, there is little incentive to revisit the game.
- “A short game with limited replayability.”
- “If you get it, beware of playing for too long as there's little to no replay value and a short playtime.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
While the game suffers from poor design and a lackluster storyline, some players find it to have thought-provoking themes and an emotional depth reminiscent of student short films, suggesting it carries a meaningful message despite its shortcomings.
- “This game is not just junk; I believe it's 'about something' in the way that most student short films are 'about something.' It contains thought-provoking ideas and some sort of emotional payload.”
- “It has poor design, a boring storyline, and takes maybe 10 minutes to finish the story if you choose not to skip any dialogue.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report significant stability issues, citing frequent bugs that negatively impact their experience.
- “To make things worse, it seems buggy.”