Sticky Business Review

Sticky Business is a Spellgarden Games and Lunar Studio 2 shop simulator with vibrant, pixelated art style. Initially, I wasn’t so sure about this game due to its overly vibrant visuals and cutesy aesthetic. But did I enjoy this game more than I expected? Find out below. 

Who needs a story when the visuals are this cute?

There is no plot to Sticky Business, as you’d expect in such a title, but there are small ways you can impact the world.

Customers will tell you about their days and how your stickers make a difference. They often request stickers with unique designs; if you honor these requests, they always appreciate it. 

Despite the lack of a strong story, Stick Business, and more importantly, the experience of playing the game, doesn’t suffer for it.

Cosy, colourful world of adhesive pleasures

The world of Sticky Business is a cosy, comfortable and wholesome place to inhabit. Unlike many games out there, there is very little tension, no violence and you only really compete against your self. 

The inhabitants of the world are your customers and although they have their own troubles, your place in this world is simply to ease their daily routine and bring a little joy into their lives. 

Go bright, or go home

The visuals of Sticky Business are bold, appealing and dripping with serotonin. The aesthetic is bright and pixelated, keeping everything as colouful and simple as the gameplay. 

The visuals of this title are definitely designed to keep you happy and zen and this is exactly what they achieve. 

Design, pack rainbow peanuts, sleep, repeat

The core gameplay loop of Sticky Business is to design stickers, pack them up for orders and then sleep and repeat the process over again. 

Described like that it might sound a monotonous process. But, much like a self-employed job in which you love what you do, the gameplay loop of this title feels like an exciting passion project you wake up in the morning rearing to go and design, sell and design and sell some more!

The gameplay is tightly controlled to keep things simple and make it easy to progress and not get too bored. 

Each day in the game lasts about 5 minutes or more depending on how many upgrades you choose. A game like this could have you designing for too long, but the devs have kept things succinct in a clever way to keep the momentum up. 

The upgrade system creates a good sense of motivation to progress and keep playing to unlock new design elements. 

This is especially the case when customers request designs with specific animals like rodents or foods such as boba tea. It’s always satisfying to see them respond with glee when they see you have honoured their request. 

The downside to the gameplay is that it can feel repetitive after a while. But this may just be as its designed as a zen relaxation game, rather than something to sink hundreds of hours into, like AAA RPGs. 

Lofi beats to study and make stickers to

The soundtrack of Sticky Business fits the gameplay and aesthetic perfectly and takes the form of the style of music you see on YouTube under ‘lofi beats to study and chill to’. 

But this is not to diminish its originality, as it is very much its own beast, with its upbeat chip-tune influences and synths playing a cheery and chill tune to the backdrop of brightly-coloured sticker design and shipping. 

Emotive response

Sticky Business is a title I enjoyed far more than I expected, from it’s overly wholesome aesthetic. 

The gameplay loop is surprisingly addictive, and brought out my creative side as I designed stickers and even felt proud as I saw my skills develop with the simple, intuitive design tool. 

All these elements make this a game I am unlikely to return to but will hold very fond memories of as a unique but short-lived title. 

Sticky Business is available on Steam for £8.50