The Convenience Store

Release Date: February 17, 2020

Adventure, FPP, horror, indie games, simulation elements, singleplayer

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Adventure game and 24-hour shop simulator combined. Take on the role of a young employee of the eponymous "The Convenience Store" and try to both survive and work your way through the shifts during lonely nights in a building that is possessed.

Plot
Mechanics
Technical aspects

The Convenience Store combines elements of an adventure game and a shop simulator, and takes its inspiration from a Japanese horror movies. The game is played from the first person perspective (FPP). It was developed and published by an independent, two-person studio Chilla's Art. The game is divided into several episodes (each chapter is another night), and it takes less than an hour to play the whole thing.

Plot

The main character is a self-sufficient student, who spends her time outside of studies working in a 24-hour shop. The action of the game starts in her flat. After a good night's rest, the protagonist starts getting ready to go out - she is about to start her night shift at the shop. When she's ready, she takes her light and heads out into the dark night, almost hopping around the dodgy corners of the Japanese city. She is greeted by a cheerful co-worker with an offbeat sense of humour and a mysterious man threatening her with doomsday. Undaunted, she enters the staff room, stamps her employee card and starts her night shift.

Mechanics

The main task in the game is to take care of the shop and serve the customers who appear from time to time. The player can browse the shelves looking for expired products, unpack new merchandise, check the order in the restroom, eliminate pests gathering in the back of the building and monitor the surroundings thanks to the installed camera system. From time to time, the player will also have to interact with mysterious individuals who are not interested in buying beer or Chinese soups, as well as watch strange recordings that are dropped off every night. The player is not obliged to follow all of the manager's orders, written down on a piece of paper and left in the staff room, or to comply with requests or accept gifts from certain characters. As the game progresses, the protagonist witnesses more and more spooky events. More gloomy locations are also unlocked. Decisions taken by the player have an influence on the ending, which may turn out to be good or bad.

Technical aspects

The Convenience Store features 3D graphics, in a photorealistic convention. The characters in the game are 3D models with angular silhouettes and disturbing, photorealistic faces. In the game were also used effects like from old VHS tapes, giving the game an additional, ghostly character.

Videos and Screens

[0:35] The Convenience Store teaser trailer #1