Sticky Business is an utterly adorable, relaxing, and addictive game about operating a sticker shop. Everything about it is astonishingly wholesome and although its gameplay eventually becomes monotonous, the positives far outweigh the negatives. Despite its theme occupying somewhat of a niche corner, there is a lot of fun to be had, and I hope to see a sequel, or DLC in the near future.

Pros

• Wholesome aesthetic
  
• Addictive & easy gameplay
  
• Every small task is made fun & with adorable animations
  
• A range of brief, generally uplifting stories for each customer.
  
• Encourages creativity, but does not shun those who lack it

Cons

• Monotonous achievements involving intense grinding to buy all upgrades/stickers
  
• The simple premise loses its spark after a few hours, providing no longevity

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Sticky Business encompasses such a simplified concept, yet I have not seen anything even remotely similar done so masterfully. Despite its slightly suspicious sounding name, the game is the definition of everything CUTE. It encourages inclusivity, wholesomeness and of course, a love of stickers.

There is no main story, but there are mini stories told through short paragraphs on returning customers. Gameplay is all about managing your very own sticker shop. Buy stickers from an enormous, ever-growing collection. Design your own sticker by combining designs from a monumental collection to create something truly unique. Print your stickers, customise your online shop and of course, pack and post the sticker orders! Every task you do takes up time. Once the day is over, you will be forced to sleep and start the next day. I never felt any time pressure and never experienced a late order, however if this concept sounds worrying to you, there is also an option to make the day speed “limitless.”

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3008662706

Sticky Business’s interface is exceptionally user-friendly and extremely easy to navigate. Not to mention that every click feels like a hit of dopamine with a cuteness overload of colours and animations. This is difficult to explain, but even printing stickers made me feel so accomplished, the matching ding sound only added to this. Making these mundane tasks fun and addictive is a success on its own. Pack the orders how you see fit. Upgrade your packing paper and filling to confetti colours, polka dots or your favourite colour. Add in a freebie sticker or sweet to make that customers day. Pack the stickers and send it off with a click. Earn money and hearts from successful orders to buy more upgrades. Add more slots to your online shop, buy different sticker paper to print stickers on, new designs and so much more.


Fulfilling customer orders
Customers will order specific sticker designs based on what is available in your online shop. Some clients will be connected to one of the branching stories and their order will come with a small bubble of text to read. The text typically relates to their personal situation and why they are ordering the stickers. It often will also reference a request for more stickers from a different theme, such as dinosaurs, space, animals or so forth. Creating stickers that encompass these themes will allow that character’s story to progress, and they will come back the next day or so, purchasing those new stickers, and with the next section of their story to read. All conversations are kept within easy reach and can be re-read at any time.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3008099291

As aforementioned, one of my favourite elements about the game is its promotion of creativity, to make unique, artsy designs, yet it is also OK if you do not… and the game will not punish you. Want to chuck three types of stickers together and call it a day? You can! Want to create the most perfect bouquet of flowers, with a matching starry background where every colour perfectly compliments each other and the angle of each sticker is flawlessly identical? You can! I would not call myself a creative person, but I adore this game. After seeing some of the examples of stickers from other players, I realised the games true potential. Works of art can be produced here, but if that is not your style, that is fine too. The stories progress based on the *types* of stickers used, not how cleverly you place them together. Of course, thoughtfulness and effort is encouraged, given the pure arrangement of stickers to choose from, but it is nice that progression is not restricted to this.

Monotonous gameplay and lack of longevity
The noticeable downside to this game’s simple premise, is this. The gameplay does become rather stale when repeated, which is to be expected with a game of this nature. My main gripe is the grindy achievements that force this. If you do not care for achievements, the four or so hours of gameplay will likely satisfy you, but for completionists, the achievements can turn this fun game into a bit of a slog. Even for those not interested in achievements, after the main stories are completed, you have most likely upgraded everything to perfection, and without new character stories coming in, there is little to keep you interested. Given the very reasonable price of $AU14.50, I believe this to be a fair trade off, well-worth the enjoyment I had. But for those looking for more of a long-term game, it is important to be aware of.


Visuals are bright, blocky, and reminded me of the Myspace era. The overabundance of vibrant colour is an attack on the eyes, but in the best way possible. Stickers are obnoxiously cute and ooze the cozy games aesthetic.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3008099577

The backing audio is nothing unique, but helps create a relaxing environment. Despite this sounding trivial, those dopamine-giving dings and clicks I described earlier also play a vital role in the game and help make every task an absolute joy to complete.


Playtime: 4 hours (I 100% completed all stories, but not the completionists achievements).

Controller Recommended? No

Replayability value: Not really.

Sticky Business is a reminder that even the most simple-sounding premise can provide pure entertainment – if done correctly. It is a testament for the many simulation-based games that have not been able to master such a niche theme. This is not a game that will appeal to the masses, but if anything you have read in my review even somewhat intrigues you, you are likely to enjoy this game and I encourage you to give it a try.

Follow our curator page, IndieGems if you enjoyed this review and wish to see more like it

Sticky Business is an utterly adorable, relaxing, and addictive game about operating a sticker shop. Everything about it is astonishingly wholesome and although its gameplay eventually becomes monotonous, the positives far outweigh the negatives. Despite its theme occupying somewhat of a niche corner, there is a lot of fun to be had, and I hope to see a sequel, or DLC in the near future. [b] [u]Pros[/u] [/b] [list] [*] Wholesome aesthetic [*] Addictive & easy gameplay [*] Every small task is made fun & with adorable animations [*] A range of brief, generally uplifting stories for each customer. [*] Encourages creativity, but does not shun those who lack it [/list] [b] [u]Cons[/u] [/b] [list] [*] Monotonous achievements involving intense grinding to buy all upgrades/stickers [*] The simple premise loses its spark after a few hours, providing no longevity [/list] [quote] If you would like to see more reviews written by me, please follow my curator page and help support my work [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34936724/] Cookie Reviews[/url]. [/quote] [h1]Gameplay[/h1] Sticky Business encompasses such a simplified concept, yet I have not seen anything even remotely similar done so masterfully. Despite its slightly suspicious sounding name, the game is the definition of everything CUTE. It encourages inclusivity, wholesomeness and of course, a love of stickers. There is no main story, but there are mini stories told through short paragraphs on returning customers. Gameplay is all about managing your very own sticker shop. Buy stickers from an enormous, ever-growing collection. Design your own sticker by combining designs from a monumental collection to create something truly unique. Print your stickers, customise your online shop and of course, pack and post the sticker orders! Every task you do takes up time. Once the day is over, you will be forced to sleep and start the next day. I never felt any time pressure and never experienced a late order, however if this concept sounds worrying to you, there is also an option to make the day speed “limitless.” https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3008662706 Sticky Business’s interface is exceptionally user-friendly and extremely easy to navigate. Not to mention that every click feels like a hit of dopamine with a cuteness overload of colours and animations. This is difficult to explain, but even printing stickers made me feel so accomplished, the matching ding sound only added to this. Making these mundane tasks fun and addictive is a success on its own. Pack the orders how you see fit. Upgrade your packing paper and filling to confetti colours, polka dots or your favourite colour. Add in a freebie sticker or sweet to make that customers day. Pack the stickers and send it off with a click. Earn money and hearts from successful orders to buy more upgrades. Add more slots to your online shop, buy different sticker paper to print stickers on, new designs and so much more. [b][u]Fulfilling customer orders [/u][/b] Customers will order specific sticker designs based on what is available in your online shop. Some clients will be connected to one of the branching stories and their order will come with a small bubble of text to read. The text typically relates to their personal situation and why they are ordering the stickers. It often will also reference a request for more stickers from a different theme, such as dinosaurs, space, animals or so forth. Creating stickers that encompass these themes will allow that character’s story to progress, and they will come back the next day or so, purchasing those new stickers, and with the next section of their story to read. All conversations are kept within easy reach and can be re-read at any time. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3008099291 As aforementioned, one of my favourite elements about the game is its promotion of creativity, to make unique, artsy designs, yet it is also OK if you do not… and the game will not punish you. Want to chuck three types of stickers together and call it a day? You can! Want to create the most perfect bouquet of flowers, with a matching starry background where every colour perfectly compliments each other and the angle of each sticker is flawlessly identical? You can! I would not call myself a creative person, but I adore this game. After seeing some of the examples of stickers from other players, I realised the games true potential. Works of art can be produced here, but if that is not your style, that is fine too. The stories progress based on the *types* of stickers used, not how cleverly you place them together. Of course, thoughtfulness and effort is encouraged, given the pure arrangement of stickers to choose from, but it is nice that progression is not restricted to this. [b][u]Monotonous gameplay and lack of longevity[/u][/b] The noticeable downside to this game’s simple premise, is this. The gameplay does become rather stale when repeated, which is to be expected with a game of this nature. My main gripe is the grindy achievements that force this. If you do not care for achievements, the four or so hours of gameplay will likely satisfy you, but for completionists, the achievements can turn this fun game into a bit of a slog. Even for those not interested in achievements, after the main stories are completed, you have most likely upgraded everything to perfection, and without new character stories coming in, there is little to keep you interested. Given the very reasonable price of $AU14.50, I believe this to be a fair trade off, well-worth the enjoyment I had. But for those looking for more of a long-term game, it is important to be aware of. [h1]Visuals & Sound[/h1] Visuals are bright, blocky, and reminded me of the Myspace era. The overabundance of vibrant colour is an attack on the eyes, but in the best way possible. Stickers are obnoxiously cute and ooze the cozy games aesthetic. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3008099577 The backing audio is nothing unique, but helps create a relaxing environment. Despite this sounding trivial, those dopamine-giving dings and clicks I described earlier also play a vital role in the game and help make every task an absolute joy to complete. [b]Playtime:[/b] 4 hours (I 100% completed all stories, but not the completionists achievements). [b] Controller Recommended? [/b] No [b]Replayability value:[/b] Not really. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] Sticky Business is a reminder that even the most simple-sounding premise can provide pure entertainment – if done correctly. It is a testament for the many simulation-based games that have not been able to master such a niche theme. This is not a game that will appeal to the masses, but if anything you have read in my review even somewhat intrigues you, you are likely to enjoy this game and I encourage you to give it a try. [quote] Follow our curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/] [b]IndieGems[/b][/url] if you enjoyed this review and wish to see more like it[/quote]