Developer Spellgarden Games • Publisher Assemble Entertainment • Release July 17, 2023 • Played On PC
It may look cute, but Sticky Business is actually deeply dangerous. You think you’ll take a few minutes making adorable designs for your virtual sticker shop, send a few out, get paid, and then be done. But no. Anyone daring to brave the hypnotizing store sim will find an experience that’s inexplicably hard to put down.
Time slipped through my fingers as I concocted perfectly composed, and super cute, stickers. Then it flew out the window as I strove to fit all my creations into one efficient sheet for printing and carefully packaged each order to fit my idea of the customer’s needs. Engaging and relaxing in equal measures, Sticky Business stuck in my heart.
There’s not a lot of setup to worry about and in no time, I am let loose to run my shop. My days are filled checking messages to see what might bringing in customers, seeing how many cute animals I can fit into one sticker, squeezing my masterpieces into as few printing jobs as possible, deciding whit wrapping choice to use in packages, then heading to the mailbox.
There’s some strategy to all this. I am running a business, after all, and I don’t want to run out of money. Offering bigger stickers nets more profit, but the larger products can lead to more expensive printing. Also, every action takes some amount of time. So, if I fritter my day away making great scenes with dinosaurs and cats reading together on a pride flag, I might not have enough time to actually send out my orders.
However, the business parts have a light touch, serving only as a gentle motivator to continue expanding. At the end of the day, I get experience points and money based on how many orders I received and filled correctly. The points and coins I earn let me pick up new sticker subjects — like the must-have capybara — colorful backgrounds, and even little candies to throw in with my orders.
Sticky Business is a feel-good game. It has enough wrapped in its gum-drop colored packaging to keep players engaged, but it’s ultimately the game form of stopping to smell the roses.
Leave a Reply