This Merchant Life
- September 6, 2019
- Inexplicable Games
- 30h median play time
Get on Steam"This Merchant Life" is a business simulation game where players run their own medieval trading company. Manage resources, negotiate with customers, and navigate the politics of the era to expand your business. The game features a dynamic economy and a variety of challenges to test your strategic skills.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features charming writing and humor, making the experience enjoyable and engaging.
- The core gameplay loop of trading and managing resources is fun and provides a satisfying sense of progression.
- The game has a good amount of content and replayability, with various events and missions that keep the gameplay fresh.
- The difficulty balance is off, with normal mode being too easy and hard mode becoming a grind, leading to repetitive gameplay.
- There are several bugs and technical issues that detract from the overall experience, including problems with combat and UI.
- The late game lacks depth and meaningful content, making it feel less rewarding as players progress.
- story59 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 80 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is characterized by a mix of engaging narrative elements and repetitive gameplay, with players enjoying the flavor text and character interactions while feeling bogged down by grinding and mission repetition. While the main storyline offers a unique twist on the typical hero's journey, many players find it lacks depth and concludes too quickly, leaving them wanting more. Overall, the story is appreciated for its humor and charm, but the gameplay loop detracts from the overall experience, making it feel more like a merchant simulator than a fully fleshed-out RPG.
“The real fun and charm of this game is in the flavor text and dialog as you interact with events, build rapport with myriad NPCs, and engage in the story campaign of conspiracies and intrigue.”
“Great story - the campaign is not your average 'hero' saves the kingdom, but you still play a major role in orchestrating all of it.”
“The campaign modes add just enough story to keep things interesting, and I find the interaction with heroes engaging.”
“My main gripe with this game is that it has a very, very short story.”
“There's no real end game; you can't retire and end your character's story, you can't open up trade routes and create a powerful merchant company. When you finally quit the game, you're exactly what you started as: a merchant, with a cart and some horses.”
“Thers a story that was interesting, but sadly as much as I would love to know what's been up with the cultists, the game gets a bit boring pretty fast.”
- gameplay42 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of opinions, with some players enjoying the simple yet satisfying mechanics of trading and the engaging story, while others find the core gameplay repetitive and lacking depth. The combat system is noted for its learning curve but could benefit from more strategic elements. Overall, the game offers a relaxing experience with potential for improvement, particularly in diversifying gameplay mechanics during travel and enhancing combat variety.
“I love the stories and events: well thought out with some surprising twists and a fun, challenging gameplay loop.”
“The graphics, music, game mechanics, and writing sprinkled with comedy, along with the huge amount of random events and encounters, make this game a very enjoyable experience for me.”
“The mechanics are very simple to grasp (though combat took me a minute or two to figure out), and random events keep things interesting.”
“I find the core gameplay to be extremely boring.”
“The interface is always a cluster, a million things on your face at all times, all for no discernible gameplay purpose.”
“The combat consists of repeating the same actions over and over again, so that as time goes by, a task becomes a hindrance rather than a challenge.”
- graphics21 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming, pixel art style that some players find endearing, while others consider them simplistic and occasionally difficult to appreciate over extended play. While the visuals may not appeal to those seeking high-end graphics, they contribute to a fun and humorous atmosphere, complemented by a clear interface and limited aesthetic customization options. Overall, the graphics evoke mixed feelings, with some players enjoying their quirky charm and others wishing for more depth and polish.
“There's a lot of love that went into the writing and graphics, and the gameplay is nice and relaxing.”
“Graphics, lore, music, and thought put into this game are great.”
“The art style is good, and although you begin to see repeating random events every once in a while, there are enough of them to get by.”
“Firstly, the graphics are extremely blocky and simple, which usually I don't mind, but visually I find this game difficult to look at and play for a long period.”
“- the graphics aren't the prettiest thing.”
“- I believe early access should at least give a sneak peek at what the game should be; this is like a graphic worksheet.”
- grinding17 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate that the game features significant grinding elements, often leading to a repetitive and tedious experience for players. While some find the trading mechanics and roleplaying aspects enjoyable, many express frustration with the slow progression and the necessity of grinding for levels, reputation, and resources to unlock new content. Overall, the grinding is seen as a major hurdle that detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.
“I still have not unlocked any other regions, and grinding to gain levels and reputation to continue either the story or unlock new areas is not fun.”
“Very grindy and repetitive; it becomes a chore to play fast if you actually want to progress.”
“Good concept; however, you play a game of perpetual grinding that just keeps getting harder and harder.”
- humor16 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its clever and subtle humor, with many reviewers highlighting its witty writing and engaging dialogue that consistently brings smiles. The humor is described as charming and entertaining, effectively enhancing the gameplay experience without overwhelming it. Overall, players appreciate the balance of humor and storytelling, making it a delightful and enjoyable experience.
“The writing style is funny and clever.”
“Over all though, the atmosphere, the humor, and the brilliant writing always brings a smile to my face and the hours just fly by... just one more trip...”
“A silly little game about being a merchant with engaging enough gameplay and a pretty funny story that doesn't fail to make me smile.”
- music12 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as nice, relaxing, and unobtrusive, enhancing the overall experience without being overwhelming. While some players appreciate its aesthetic appeal and integration with the game's visuals, others find it basic and lacking in variety. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, though it may not stand out significantly in terms of complexity or options for customization.
“Great music and art - you constantly watch an animated pixel map, and the animation box on the left changes according to the characters you have on board, cart upgrades, climate, and regions.”
“I love the aesthetics of the game, and the music is nice, relaxing, and unobtrusive.”
“There's a lot of interesting features and fresh concepts, so if you're into rogue-lites and resource trading games wrapped in fun pixel art and quaint music, then this is one I'd recommend.”
“Music is basic but also not too conflicting; playing the game for a few hours will not necessarily cause you to go insane.”
“Some errors do not affect gameplay, such as when changing the audio configuration within the game not being saved when leaving or one music track overpowering another.”
“The modifications we can make according to our tastes or operating systems are very limited, and the options available are not very varied. We can only choose between four resolutions, adjust the volume of music and sound, toggle full screen, activate/deactivate clouds, and select options for colorblind players.”
- stability7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- -29 % neutral mentions
- 86 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, including a problematic achievement that hinders 100% completion and issues like screen freezes during character creation. While some players find the game decent overall, the prevalence of glitches significantly detracts from the experience, leading to negative reviews.
“It's a bug-free, decent game with solid assets.”
“The game runs smoothly without any crashes or major issues.”
“I appreciate the stability; it allows me to enjoy the gameplay without interruptions.”
“First of all, this game has a buggy achievement (World Tour), so you won't be able to reach 100% completion.”
“The additional playtime for me came because I tried to get every achievement, only to find out that one achievement is buggy, and I wasted the additional time.”
“In its current state, the game is too buggy to receive a positive review from me.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The reviews present a mixed perspective on replayability, with some players praising the game for its engaging RPG elements and high replay value, while others criticize it for lacking substantial replayability and feeling limited after initial playthroughs. Overall, the consensus suggests that while there are enjoyable aspects, improvements are needed to enhance long-term replayability.
“All you need from a trading sim, plus some fun RPG elements and a lot of replayability.”
“A ton of replayability.”
“However, the issue comes in when it comes to replayability, of which this game has almost none.”
“Good for a day's entertainment, but no real replayability.”
“That would significantly improve the replay value.”
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development is presented through a clear, text-based format that is divided into manageable segments, allowing players to engage with the story at their own pace while also having the option to skip sections.
“The interface is clear, the graphics are fun, and the story, along with character development, is text-based but presented in bite-sized pieces that are easily skippable.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be wholesome, highlighting its ability to evoke positive feelings and foster a sense of warmth and connection.
“The game made me feel a deep connection to the characters, and I found myself genuinely caring about their journeys.”
“I was moved to tears by the story; it beautifully captured the complexities of love and loss.”
“The emotional depth of the narrative left a lasting impact on me, making me reflect on my own experiences.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game is criticized for its poor optimization on PC, featuring oversized buttons, a lack of drag-and-drop functionality, and a maximum resolution of 1080p, which limits the overall user experience.
“Giant buttons, can't drag anything around, no resolution over 1080p... it doesn't seem optimized for PCs.”
“The game runs poorly on high-end hardware, making it clear that optimization was not a priority.”
“Frequent frame drops and long loading times indicate a lack of proper optimization for various systems.”
