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Opinion | Retail work can be hell, but there are plenty of games that teach us why the satisfying rhythms and repetitions of selling items can be heaven.
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(Image credit: 11 bit studios)
We need to have a conversation about virtual hoarding in games. We all do it: every snatched-up item shoved to the bottom of our adventurer’s backpack or stashed in a wooden loot chest never to see the light of day. I’ve tried to summon my inner Marie Kondo and organise and declutter my hoard. Do thirty clumps of iron scrap bring me joy? The answer is no, girl.
But I can’t let it go! I worked hard for that trash! I can never bring myself to do it, which is why I am incredibly keen to dive into Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, the faithful follow-up to the one game that made me a decluttering, organisational queen. The first Moonlighter is a light-weight RPG where you slay monsters one day, then sell your loot (and other useless crap you’ve picked up) in your store the next. This sequel follows the same successful formula. Sure, it feels fantastic punching a boss in the face, but have you ever felt the adrenaline rush of selling some crap for a high price? It’s unmatched.
Don’t get me wrong, I have worked many painful years in retail, but selling items in a shop is another real-world activity that games make fun. There’s so much joy to be found in running a shop. Stocking shelves, pricing items, chatting with customers – I love it all, especially when you don’t have to deal with horrible bosses, long work hours and shitty pay.
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I want to get into why it rules, so I’ve made a shopping list of games that perfectly highlight the best aspects of selling items in games. Kicking off with Moonlighter and Moonlighter 2, like I said, it’s a shop system that solves the issue of your RPG bag being filled with tat. Organizing the shop floor and then pricing and presenting your loot is a great way to fund your adventuring expeditions, help out the surrounding town, and keep on top of your cumulative spoils.
Selling items you’ve found is fun, but there’s something a little more satisfying about selling something you’ve made with your blood, sweat and tears, and that’s a feeling Potion Craft manages to bottle. It’s a shop sim where you play as a medieval alchemist selling their bubbling brews to townsfolk. I love the crafting system here – navigating an ingredient map, crunching roots using a mortar and pestle, stirring your cauldron to mix your concoction just the right amount – it really captures the art of potion brewing, then you get the added satisfaction of selling your wares for a fair price.
Fulfilling the role of a shopkeeper for a specified set of items is why the incredible Strange Horticulture and its follow-up, the just-as-compelling Strange Antiquities, are an exciting duo. The former has you run a shop specializing in powerful plants, and the second, powerful arcane objects. There’s no shop economy here, but these games perfectly capture what it’s like to have your expertise being part of what the customer is paying for.
In both games, you need to listen to your customer’s needs and then analyse your various wares, deciding what item will be the best solution. It’s essentially a shopkeeping detective game via customer service, which is super smart. Also, FYI, you need to identify and catalogue every individual item in your store, some key info for you organisational sickos out there.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ NewsletterContact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Confessions of a shopaholic
Okay, but what about the rush of retail? Yes, crafting and cataloguing are all good, but I crave the adrenaline spike I’ve only experienced working at Card Factory on Christmas Eve. Well, there are plenty of simulator games that will let you get into the busywork of retail. Supermarket Simulator, TCG Card Shop Simulator, Mall Simulator, Tabletop Game Shop Simulator, Waifu Pillow Shop Simulator – it never ends. My personal poison of the bunch is Supermarket Sim, and I can attest to how it certainly captures the rush of the shop floor, plus all the ‘boring’ smaller jobs of managing one. Buying stock, shelving stock, pricing stock, hiring employees – it’s all there. I’m just thankful that none of these sims make you balance the till at the end of the day, a retailer worker's greatest foe.
One aspect of running a shop I hadn’t considered in games until earlier this year is the idea that you’re living out a dream-like fantasy. I didn’t know I wanted to flee to a quiet seaside town and open up a second-hand bookshop until I played this year’s Tiny Bookshop, possibly the most cozy game of 2026. The hallmarks of the shop sim are here – stocking shelves, helping customers, and the like – but it’s all so quaint.
If you want the frightful realism of working in retail, then I suggest you try Night of the Consumers, a survival horror shop sim where you’ll get to experience the real horrors of being a store employee. It’s 100% totally accurate. Trust me, I know.
You really feel like you're making money on your own terms, escaping the rush of life and societal pressures. Your shop is on wheels, letting you decide where you want to set up shop for the day. It's good practice to have a variety of books, but if you decide you'd like to be the spooky lady who only sells horror novels, you can absolutely do that and still make enough money. There's freedom in Tiny Bookshop, which I really appreciate. It has the joys of selling items, but the setting inspires a slower, more personal type of shopkeeping.
To close up shop, these games may all be different, but they all have one definitive thing – and possibly the most important thing – in common. They all capture the rhythms and repetitions of work, understanding that there's satisfaction found in the loop of stocking and selling items. And I think there’s something quite humble in that. In games where you can just feel like the words ‘attention economy’ have been plastered on a corporate whiteboard, getting lost in the humble rhythms of shop life can be just as immersive and fulfilling.
Check out our best roguelike games list for more you shouldn't miss!
CATEGORIES PC Gaming PS5 Xbox Series X Platforms PlayStation Xbox
Rachel WattsSocial Links NavigationFreelance journalistRachel Watts is the former reviews editor for Rock Paper Shotgun, and in another life was a staff writer for Future publications like PC Gamer and Play magazine. She is now working as a freelance journalist, contributing features and reviews to GamesRadar+.
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