Recettear

There are certain words that I just don't use often, for one reason or another. One such is "charming", but that's truly the best description I can come up with for Recettear. It's a fine example of the sort of offbeat game that you just never get to see in "mainstream" gaming... in this game's case, both because it's an indie game and because it's a translation of a Japanese game.

If you've ever played one of the many RPGs on computers and game consoles, you're familiar with the concept of the "item shop", where your adventurer/party converts their unwanted loot into cash, then buys wanted loot. The idea behind this game is that your character runs such a shop... but, to prevent it from becoming just a market simulator, they involve a couple of other features. First, the reason you're running the shop... it turns out that your father went and got a large loan to kit out for a life of adventure, then disappeared, leaving you to make payments on the loan or lose your home. It's not as grim as it sounds, but it's still a good rationale for why you set up shop in the first place.

The other odd feature... while there is a "merchant's guild" where you can buy and sell stock for your shop at a discount, the smart money is on hiring an adventurer. Basically, in exchange for a small fee and whatever equipment you care to loan them, they clear out a dungeon for you, keeping any cash but giving you any items they run across. Of course, you get to accompany them on their task, totally protected from harm, able to use items in your inventory to help them out... but, should they fall, you only get to keep one item from the various stuff you brought along or found.

All in all, if you've got a Windows machine to play it on, I'd suggest you follow the link above and download the demo from Steam. If you decide you like it, it's only $20 to buy the full game, or $18 if you pre-order before the full game releases on the 10th. Me, I've already pre-ordered, which is something I Just Don't Do, so that should give you some idea of how well I like what I've seen so far.