itch.io

Wanted to talk a little bit about the playtest we’re currently having. The dynamic is very interesting to me. We have around 250 people who have joined for the playtest so far, which is much more than we expected. I personally thought even 20 people would be a great result.

As for the playtest data, there are also interesting moments: most people play around 20 minutes, which is expected, the test build is not that long.

But some people played it more than 200 minutes (and it’s not us, we checked), as well as people who played for 180, 150, 100, 90, and 80-70 minutes. Though the content of the game is about one hour long in that build, I think.

I am a little bit disappointed that we only got two pieces of feedback in the Steam community. It seems like people do not really prefer that channel of communication (I also noticed at the conferences our audience is much more introverted, and they probably don’t like making public posts).

Initially, the idea to ask people for public feedback was to cross-reference it with other players (and yes, excite the steam algorithms a little), but I am thinking about asking people for feedback in their favorite places of choice then.

Our playtest continues.

Please write your comment on the game’s Steam Hub page.

Hi everyone! The playtest has started.

If you want to join, let’s go!

Good morning, friends!

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been busy working on a playtest build for everyone interested.

So far, we’ve added great improvements to the game:

• Updated the character arts - added more details, shadows, and improved their designs
• Improved the UX and UI for better readability and clarity
• Improved the character and game balancing to remove dominant strategies
• Added customer fatalities - they do it to the player now
• Full rework of illusions - now all illusion images are replaced with those made with AI to human-made art!
• Made characters more alive - improved their bios, added reactions, and new details to their traits
• Fully reworked the chapters in the story

P. S. The playtest will start next Friday evening EST.

See you there!

(Image of the new chapter system)

Hi all!

I’m sharing great news: we’ve finally removed AI art from the game (it was previously in the illusions mechanic). But now even illusions are hand-painted by our artist.

We’re on the Women’s Day Sale!

To celebrate it, we are conducting a playtest for Shop Crush. Sign up if you are interested.

Long time no see!

Adding more characters…

Alex Entrepreneurs can rarely influence a mayor, though they enjoy good price talks. Negotiations are what made them mayors.

Nata They might buy simple groceries to hide the offshore activity. Or make a fake purchase to exploit their taxes. Sometimes, they buy regular geek stuff and threaten to take down your store for fun.

Sibs These sibs only look similar. They have opposite tastes and disagree with each other all day! Because of their unpredictability, they could be valuable clients for either profit or reputation gain.

Kaycey A prominent therapist and authoritative customer. They know how to manipulate sellers very well. If you refuse to serve them, they will take revenge. Aside from destroying your reputation, they will make you sell at a much lower price.

Mx Malkoff Highly intelligent, careful, and delicate buyer. Claire has exquisite taste and expects things to impress them. Claire likes their favorites and is willing to sponsor them greatly. Rare to visit, though.

Adding a bit of info about the characters:

Leslie A poor customer who usually buys trash. Sometimes, you may get a good offer from them. You will always have a small profit if you sell them cheap stuff for a tiny margin.

Chelsea This customer likes shiny stuff and may overpay for it. If you balance profit and reputation, you may succeed. If you decline to serve Chelsea, your shop’s reputation will improve.

Brinley A Coupon Hunter customer. Likes good deals and cheap items. Brinley guarantees you a small margin of income.

Zoe A highly passionate customer with unique values. Zoe likes people who agree with them. If you agree, Zoe might give you generous payback regarding profits and reputation.

Casey An inspector playing their own game. They might confiscate some of your items and demand a fine. If you refuse to pay, it will save you money, but not your reputation.

WOW! I really liked the game. Keep it up!

Added new screenshots

This week I’ve been mostly doing the kyc and the research about what aspects of the game players like and don’t like. To my surprise, the game was very well received among the Life Sim fans.

The core audince seem to be people who like life sims, visual novels and… cozy games? Which is so surprising, the game is not even cozy. But some people called it a ‘wholesome horror’.

Which got me interested in the term…

Improving characters after a feedback from community. Trying to make them more detailed and consistent with key art. It seems like players enjoy less flat characters, so we are adding shadows and additional details to them.

Initially we thought they might distract from the game environment.

Hi all!

Finalised a customer info menu ❤️

Thanks!

Yes, every customer has their own preferences, tastes, and gameplay behavior - how they buy products, how much they pay, how much hate they give.

Looks kinda like this. Players must learn about the customers, what they like, what they don’t like, and their personalities.

And also, every customer has an illusion connected to them.

About the game

The game I’m working on is a hybrid Visual Novel shop management game called Shop Crush.

In Shop Crush, you run a dusty, cluttered shop where every customer is a puzzle. You have to study their profiles, learn their tastes, and figure out their deep, often unhealthy obsessions with certain types of items. And their backstory.

The core gameplay is an economic choice-based game, where you have to choose between customers’ offers and your shop’s reputation (think Reigns series).

The Bigger Picture

The gameplay isn’t about flipping prices for profit. As you dig deeper into your customers’ profiles, you realize that nobody is here by accident. The game has 3 components in structure:

Trading: A tactical battle of nerves. You must balance your own greed against their hatred, using their personal traits to justify higher prices. But you always have a limited number of turns.

Narrative: Every customer has a backstory hidden behind their stats. It affects their shopping behavior - some customers are here for a good bargain, while others prefer something extraordinary. Behind the numbers lies a mystical history that slowly reveals why these people are drawn to this place.

Illusions: This is where the management sim starts to bleed into horror. The things they bring in aren't always what they seem. To bridge the gap between shopkeeping and the surreal, I’m using Literal Illusions. By manipulating the puzzle, you discover specific angles where the geometry transforms, revealing a hidden meaning in the story.

Check the game trailer to see what I am talking about

These illusions are the link between a customer’s obsession and the dark reality of the shop. Sometimes, finding the truth is the only way to understand the person standing across the counter.

Visuals: I’m moving away from a purely lo-fi look towards something more resembling the 2000s vibe. It’s high-contrast, uses PS1-style dithering, but keeps the UI sharp and readable. I want the shop to feel tactile - like you can almost smell the dust on the shelves - while the management part remains crisp and functional.

Current State: I’m currently refining the NPC response system to make their dialogue and expressions feel more reactive to the player’s pricing strategy. I’ll be sharing technical breakdowns of how I implement the literal illusions and some character design sketches soon.

Key Features and Contents

• Choice-based Card Game with tense and procedurally generated roguelite Core Gameplay.

• 2D Shop Simulator and an Economy game about trading with Customers.

• Atmospheric Visual Novel about insanity, doubt, and Reality Check.

• Innovative Puzzle Game based on the Literal Illusion Effect.

• 10 Unique Clients, each with their own tastes and shopping styles.

• 5 Selected locations with carefully crafted storylines.

• 50+ Levels to Upgrade Every Customer.

• 70+ Products to buy - from weird ones to essentials!

Screenshots:

A question for the management sim fans here:

Do you prefer when customers’ traits are explicitly stated, or do you like figuring them out through their behavior and the way they trade? Right now, it only shows their numbered stats, like visiting rate or average check, but the customer tastes are mostly narratively hinted at for the players to figure out on their own.

I’m leaning towards the narrative hints because it feels more ‘detective-like’, but I’m worried it might be too cryptic for a management sim.

P.S.

I’m preparing a demo for the upcoming months, but for now, I’m focused on getting the core loop and game feel right. If you find the project appealing, please consider a wishlist / follow.

Thank you!

Itch IO Page

Shop Crush is a hybrid Visual Novel, where you connect with customers, learn their characters, and untangle the dark, Literal Illusion puzzles about them.

https://hollowlimb.itch.io/shopcrush

https://hollowlimb.itch.io/shopcrush

You can try Shop Crush - it’s a Visual Novel and a Shop Sim with a horror twist.

Hi there, I am making a game Shop Crush.

It’s a hybrid Visual Novel, where you connect with customers, learn their characters, and untangle the dark Literal Illusion puzzles about them.

You can check out the trailer here:

I am looking for feedback for the game concept, trailer, and the Itch page.

https://hollowlimb.itch.io/shopcrush

Basically, the whole package, but whatever you feel the strongest about.

Thank you kindly!

https://hollowlimb.itch.io/shopcrush

Hey, itch!

My name is Bohdan.

I am a developer of the Visual Novel game called Shop Crush. Looking for interesting connections, insights, feedback, and in general, quality time.

You can reach out to me on Itch or on any other social media. Basically, the contacts could be found on my page:

https://hollowlimb.itch.io/

But I am most active on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/hollowlimb.bsky.social and X @hollowlimb

Happy New Year, everybody!

Thank you kindly!

What makes them interesting to you?

So, people, what do you think?