Dungeon Bodega Simulator is a medieval shopkeeping video game that has a powerful underlying message of hope.
The first ray of sunshine through the stained glass wakes me up. The package I ordered yesterday containing all sorts of produce and magical paraphernalia alike has arrived. I water my plants. I neatly organize, by color and type, every product I offer on the shelves in front of the customers. After all, if my store is a pit stop for valiant warriors to stock up before continuing their arduous battles, they should only have the best. I should know. I was one of them. I should still be one of them. And so, another day begins in the world of Dungeon Bodega Simulator.
Every great game should have an overarching plot, some sort of mysterious machinations developing in the background unbeknownst to the player, and Dungeon Bodega Simulator has that. Even if it wears it on its sleeve. The first letter you read in this medieval shopkeeping sim is one from a soulless, inhuman corporation called QuestCo: they thank you for 10 years of adventuring for them and have deemed you now disposable. A cog in the machine who has served its purpose, now to be thrown away. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.
It’s obvious to see the implications of our real-world parallels in this otherwise cozy game. At the time of writing, we are still reeling from Epic Games firing a thousand employees. The way that letter is written, with such glee and contempt, as if our poor adventurer didn’t give the best years of his life to this “company,” makes the blood boil. It’s true. And it did. As the days go by, you receive letters from your previous adventuring party, telling you to calm down and take this new endeavor as a shopkeeper in stride.
And you do. Oh, hell yes, you do. In this 5-hour or so playthrough, if you play your cards right, you’ll have a well-oiled machine of your own. Returning customers will praise you effusively for your efficiency. The secrets within your bodega, or prison, satisfy your craving for adventure. Maybe this sword that you are forging will not be used by you, but at least that action of holding the hardened steel in your hands harkens back to that glorious era you felt most alive. Have you already lived the best years of your life, you wonder, as the next customer comes in?
There is an underlying sadness permeating Dungeon Bodega Simulator. I have lived it. Most likely, you have too. Being fired from a job, rejected from an interview, or, worst of all, ghosted is a heart-wrenching emotion. What did the other candidates have that I didn’t? Am I not enough? Will I ever be enough? I was unaware that the solo developer of this game was fired from Turn 10 Studios, a Microsoft subsidiary, and developed this passion project as a result. It shows.
Rejection triggers feelings of anger, sadness, or self-doubt. We are social beings, and outright negating our entry to a potential society can be devastating. That is Dungeon Bodega Simulator’s best lesson. Our protagonist struggles with those powerful emotions every day that first ray of sunshine through the stained glass wakes him up. He sighs. But he gets back up again and works towards making the best Dungeon Bodega the world has ever shopped in.
Dungeon Bodega Simulator is out now for Steam.
