- Game: Electronics Supermarket Simulator
- Developer/Publisher: Midnight Games
- Release Date: Oct 3, 2025
- Platforms: Steam, Nintendo Switch
I just clocked in for my first one-hour shift in Electronics Supermarket Simulator, and boy, do I have thoughts. Imagine a game where you run an electronics store: stocking shelves, selling gadgets, living the retail dream (or nightmare). It’s mildly amusing and definitely entertaining enough to kill time between your real games, but it’s also jankier than a bargain-bin USB cable. Strap in, fam – we’re going into Electronics Supermarket Simulator, the good, the bad, and the hilariously awkward in this game. Let’s go!
In-game ‘days’ lasted about 20 minutes, which is actually a pretty solid intro pace. In that short time, I set up shop; furniture, order products, and met a couple of polygonal customers. Pretty much everything is extremely straightforward, specially for those with IRL retail experience, though I wouldn’t put ESS in your resume just yet. This sim is almost too easy – it’s basically Retail 101 with training wheels. There’s a certain simple satisfaction to it, though. It’s the kind of game you boot up when you’re waiting for a huge AAA game to download – a time-killer where you can zen out arranging virtual electronics on virtual shelves.
Entertaining enough? Sure, for an hour or so. But don’t expect depth or any surprises; by Day 3 I felt like I’d seen it all. The gameplay loop is so simple that I was wondering if the target audience was literally former cashiers in need of flashbacks.
Now, simplicity isn’t inherently bad. The game does nail some basics: the 20-minute day cycle kept things moving so I never got bored in that first hour. It’s quick enough that you get a taste of opening up shop, selling stuff, closing up and analyzing the market to keep your store profitable, without the game dragging on. On the upside, if you have worked in retail, you’ll slide right in and probably chuckle at how straightforward everything is. On the downside, you might also roll your eyes and say “Been there, done that,” because it’s all very surface-level.
Let’s address the controls. Oh my goodness. The mouse sensitivity in this game is slower than a grandma on dial-up. Seriously, the camera movement around feels so sluggish and there’s no setting to fix it. None. One frustrated Steam reviewer basically said they “can’t play more than 30 minutes without wanting to rip [their] hair off” due to not being able to adjust the molasses-slow mouse look. Another player chimed in that an option to change mouse sensitivity is desperately needed. Note to devs: patch a sensitivity slider in ASAP, I beg you.
Then there’s the object interaction, which is, how do I put it… awkward at best. Ever play a sim where you’re fighting the controls more than the actual challenges? Yeah, that’s this game when you try to stock a shelf. I attempted to add more products to a shelf and the game just flashes a cryptic message “can’t interact” and refuses to let me place the item. No explanation, no hint if I was doing something wrong, had an uncompleted task, nothing. This lack of feedback had me wandering the store wondering if I missed a step. (Spoiler: I didn’t. The game just doesn’t tell you how or when you can restock properly.) The shelving and restocking mechanics need serious work – even a simple pop-up saying “Shelf full” or “restock” would’ve saved me from running around the store confused.
By day 2 I was already feeling like an Amazon pallet reseller.
Let’s talk presentation, because a VTuber’s gotta comment on the aesthetics, right? Graphics in Electronics Supermarket Simulator are… how to put this nicely… low-quality. We’re talking low quality models, stiff movements, and textures that look straight out of a 2010 bargain game. The store environment could have been charming and more spacious, but instead it feels a bit lifeless, like an empty warehouse with some gadget props tossed in. Customers walk like robots, and don’t even get me started on the character models – one of the NPCs had a stare that bored into my soul with all the emotion of a spreadsheet.
Simply put, the visuals need improvement, big time. Store aesthetics are another lacking feature. Though you have the ability to “design” your store with the necessary furniture to display your merchandise, there is zero personalization. No in store decor, no option to choose flooring designs, no color customizations. The devs have acknowledged they plan on improving the game’s visuals and UI during Early Access, so here’s hoping they give the graphics a much-needed glow-up. Because right now, it ain’t winning any beauty contests in the sim genre. Did I also mention the game’s currency is in Euros? Yeah! there’s no way to change it to the player’s country currency.
Environmental sounds were surprisingly alright too! The distant chatter of customers, traffic sounds, the beep of a checkout scanner – the ambient sound actually made me feel like I was in a small electronics shop. HOWEVER, the NPC voice lines leave a lot to be desired. As store simulator, you’d probably expect, your customers interacting with you (via text or small OV lines) but instead, you get robotic interactions and zero conversations bits like “Wow, I’ve been looking for this” or “thank you”. You do however get a random NPC laughing “Ah HAHA”, in the same awkward way every five minutes for no reason. If the devs are reading: please either hire some better voice actors or add text interactions, even thought bubbles would work, they might actually help us run things better if we might get hints on what our customers want.
The unintentional comedy of the voices is the only thing keeping me from muting the game, not that I could find a volume slider anyway. Did I forget to mention? There’s no way to control the in game music or Environmental sounds, no slider. It’s these little quality-of-life oversights that give the game that rough, unpolished vibe.
The gameplay loop is as basic as it gets: open shop, analyze the market, stock items and furniture, wait for customers, rinse, repeat. The developers tout it as an “ultimate sandbox” where you grow a tech empire, but let’s be real – at least in the first hour, it’s more like a tiny sandbox with one shovel and no sand bucket. You unlock a few products, you put them on shelves, customers come in and grab stuff, and you collect money (Which btw its in ERUOS and no way to change it). You can eventually expand your store, get new stock, but early on it’s pretty linear. For Day 1-3 (about an hour of play), I didn’t really need to strategize or plan. Just keep the shelves from being empty and you’re golden.
The pacing, as mentioned, is decent for an intro. A 20-minute day cycle means you won’t be stuck waiting forever for closing time. It was kind of fun hustling through a day, making what felt like a handful of sales, then seeing the “Day End” summary. It gives you a sense of completion and readiness for the next day. By Day 3, I had the routine down pat: open up, maybe order a couple more items, restock, close shop, repeat. I kept expecting something new to happen – like maybe a rush hour of customers or a random event (shoplifter? power outage? anything!) – but nope. The game sticks to safe and simple. On one hand, that makes it accessible. On the other hand, it can get repetitive fast. If you’re hoping for wild sandbox chaos or creative freedom early on, you might be disappointed. At least there’s a “hiring” feature that allows you to employ a few, robotic but helpful NPCs to help with the store’s sales goal.
The game feels like shovelware in its current state. The low-rent graphics, clunky controls, minimal content, and that overall feeling of “we slapped this together, have fun” – all the signs of a quick cash-grab sim are there. It reminds me of those random simulator games that pop up out of nowhere, get a little attention, then vanish into Steam obscurity. Harsh? maybe, but that’s my snarky gut feeling after an hour of play. If you asked me right now if it’s worth buying, I’d say not yet unless you’re really hard-up for a little retail role-play.
And yet… there’s a spark of something here. Dare I say, potential? The concept is solid – running your own tech store could be a blast with enough depth and polish. A couple of players on Steam even pointed out that the game is “promising” despite the rough edges, and I agree. I found myself oddly engaged, envisioning how cool it would be if the devs leaned into the sandbox promise. The developers themselves call it the ultimate sandbox of electronics retail, and they plan to expand the management features, product range, and improve the economy as development continues. They’re aiming to implement more store management features and even improve visuals and performance as they go. If they commit to regular updates and really flesh out the gameplay, this could graduate from “time-killer shovelware” to “legit fun simulator” in a few months after release.
Electronics Supermarket Simulator is the kind of game you play when you’re bored and have 30 minutes to kill; you’ll chuckle at the weirdness, maybe enjoy the chill vibe of running a tiny store, and then likely shelf it (pun intended) until it improves. As one frustrated player said, “I’ll try this game again if they update it often”, and that’s exactly my sentiment. Keep an eye on it. The devs seem aware of the issues and are gathering feedback. If they hustle on those patches and deliver some major updates to controls, polish, and content, this could be worth a revisit down the line.
Electronics Supermarket Simulator isn’t ringing up a sale from me today. But with some major updates and a cleanup on Aisle Everywhere, it might just become a checkout-worthy sim in the future. I’ll definitely be back to see if they turn this discount store into a premium experience – but only after a few patches (and maybe after they hire a new voice actor or two or give NPC some text lines). Until then, I’ll be in the break room sipping coffee and waiting for this potential sandbox to actually become the ultimate tech retail adventure it promises.
TL;DR: A janky yet oddly amusing retail sim that’s okay for killing time, but seriously needs polish and improvements. Might be worth picking up after a couple of big updates – for now, consider it “early access” in every sense and maybe let it sit on the shelf until it’s cleaned up.
Join me over on my Youtube & watch my 6min, playthrough of Electronics Supermarket Simulator,
Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this product from https://www.game.press
Be on the look out for more VTUBER content from TKN!