Tiny Book Shop Switch Review

Tiny Book Shop Switch Review
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch 

It’s slightly cold and damp here in Australia at the moment. I’m staring out of my office window where the rain is gently pitter-pattering down and the steam is lazily rising from my fresh cup of coffee. I love days like these, because there’s nothing more satisfying than curling into bed on a cold and rainy day with a book… or in this case, a video game. Tiny Book Shop, by Neoludic Games, lets you live out the dream of running a charming little book shop on wheels in this cozy management game. Each day brings new customers, new stories, and a gentle narrative where you slowly learn more and more about your customers as they go about their lives. What’s it Like? Put on some warm socks, curl up in bed, and don’t forget your bookmark as we review Tiny Book Shop for Nintendo Switch.

Tiny Book Shop puts you in charge of managing your mobile book shop that’s set up in a mini caravan. Each day, you stack your shelves, checking modifiers to see what may sell well, pick a location, and set up shop. Once open, you greet customers, activate time-limited items, and recommend books for a sales boost. On paper, this doesn’t sound too involved, but there’s an addictive nature in watching your sales rise in order to purchase items and decorations to upgrade your Tiny Book Shop in order to attract even more customers. There’s a strategy involved as you have to balance demand, location, and specific events to maximise your profits, as well as visiting locations to complete quests. Such events could be the Fisherman’s Market, or the Weekly Super Saver Sale at the supermarket.

Other events could have a negative impact, like setting up at the university during an exam block is a sure-fire way to lose money. Just as soon as you get into a routine, the season or weather changes, and you have to rejig your setup for the conditions by changing decorations on your Tiny Book Shop to suit. Time for a Halloween event? Better make it look spooky, rainy day? Put out an umbrella stand. Thankfully, you don’t have to be a clairvoyant to know what to expect during your day, as the daily paper covers weather and events, gently guiding you down the right path. Your choice of books also plays heavily into the equation, with certain books selling better than others. For instance, I found murder mystery and fantasy novels sold well in town, while fact books and non-fiction fared much better at the local university. There is such a satisfying core gameplay loop here, very similar to reading a book that you simply can’t put down.

Customers will ask for your recommendations from time to time, and you can then select a real-life title from your store to recommend. If you get it right, your customer is happy, and your store gets a limited buff to help increase sales. Both your interior and exterior of your Tiny Book Shop can be decorated with items that give specific buffs, like a 2% chance to increase kids’ book sales or nautical-themed items that will attract more customers in the Bay Area. You’ll use a lot of these in the early game until you can get some bigger bookshelves, and I found I stacked lots of little items to help maximise crime novel sales in order to make some money.

There are also limited items that you can only buy for specific periods of time. There was a section of the game where I started the Winter season, and there was a limited bookshelf that could hold 50 books. I had to carefully manage inventory, quests, and specific dates to maximise sales. I got a few wrong, but thankfully, just one day before the season ended, I got my bookshelf and was able to then sell an incredible amount of books after that, further helping me purchase stock and smash my previous sales targets. It’s a rewarding feeling when you finally accomplish a goal you’ve set yourself, and much like Civilisation’s “One more turn” mentality, I found myself glued to my Switch to run through “Just one more day.”

Tiny Book Shop is presented in a low-poly, simplistic art style that works well. Each locale is varied, and there are objects in the environment you can interact with, as well as potentially finding objects to decorate your van with. Some things are very clever, like firing a cannon up at the castle for fun, only to find a cannonball lodged in a hut on the wharf the next time you visit it. There’s a really cozy vibe to the visuals, and even though it’s clear there have been compromises to get the game running on Switch, it doesn’t really detract from the game. These compromises are lower-resolution textures and some minor graphical glitches that you don’t really notice unless you are looking for them. The game gently coaxes you along with some gentle acoustics and lo-fi tunes that complement the cozy vibe. It feels like everything just gels really well here, and coupled with the gentle character development and writing that ticks along the narrative and also helps the player grow attached to some of them, makes for a wonderful cozy adventure.

For $30 AUD, there are plenty of hours of cozy entertainment here to justify the price tag. While some may be put off by the slower pace, those with a bit of patience will find a rewarding and heartfelt game that will last upwards of 25 hours, which can continue after the credits roll. For my bookworms looking into accessibility, there are a few options here that will make your time running your Tiny Book Shop a little easier. They range from quality of life options like auto-assisting customers, increasing the duration of customers’ patience, changing the colours of book genres to any hue that works best for you, and various camera and controller sensitivity. It’s wonderful to see so many indie developers making their games more accessible for gamers.

As we come to the final chapter of this review, it’s safe to say that Tiny Book Shop is an absolute delight to play. It’s fun, well-thought-out, and addictive gameplay loop constantly engages the player into a one more turn mentality. While some may find the slower pace not to their liking, those who do will have a great time managing and decorating their Tiny Book Shop while also planning out layouts to maximise profits and improve with each day. It’s a heartfelt cozy adventure that lets you play at your pace, and much like a good novel on a cold and rainy day, I found it very hard to put down.

So, What’s it Like? Tiny Book Shop is like a cozy Kairosoft game.

In the interest of full disclosure, a review copy was provided by the publisher, but this doesn’t influence my score.

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