I was immediately intrigued when I stumbled upon Saleblazers. Pitched as an open-world shopkeeping survival sim with RPG elements that you can play alone or with friends, it seemed like the perfect blend of genres. After a lot of hours sunk into the game and a rollercoaster ride of emotions, I’m here to tell you about my little adventure on a brutal island.
Starting Out
When I first jumped into Saleblazers, I was greeted with a sprawling world that was an actual visual treat despite its simplicity. I must admit, the first impression was a little rough around the edges – the brightness was a tad too high, and the trees… well, let’s just say they were less than impressive with their grainy textures. It struck me that, while visually, the game wouldn’t win any awards, it had a certain charm in its quirky art style.
Getting into the meat of the game, the tutorial did a decent job of showing me the ropes. I was able to wrap my head around the basic survival skills needed to thrive: gather resources, defend the shop, and keep my customers happy.
Building My Empire
The first few hours were intense. I raced around, gathering what I could, selling to the odd traveler, and fending off some troublesome creatures. The combat took a bit of getting used to – at one point, I was swinging a chair wildly at a thief who had eyes on my hard-earned stock. But as time passed, I found myself getting into the rhythm of things.
Building up my shop from scratch was a rewarding experience. I started with a simple stall and eventually turned it into a bustling market hub complete with employees restocking shelves and cleaning up after messy customers. The mechanic of stocking my shop with items I crafted, fished, or sometimes “borrowed” was a delightfully mischievous touch.
The Island
While shopkeeping was my main focus, I couldn’t resist the call of the open world. The island is vast, with various towns and biomes to explore. Each area brought new challenges and fresh faces, some friendly, others… not so much. I loved the sense of progress as I fought off outlaws and mythical creatures, inching my way closer to unlocking all the secrets of the island.
Multiplayer
One of the great features of Saleblazers experience was playing with friends. Engaging in cooperative gameplay was a blast – it took away some of the solo play’s frantic pace and added a layer of strategy and camaraderie that solo shopkeepers just don’t get. Engaging in a bit of friendly PvP was fun too, though I must confess, we spent more time laughing at each other’s misfortunes than actively trying to outdo one another.
Voice chat added another layer to the fun – it’s always a hoot being able to talk directly with your customers or shout across the room to a friend for help when thieves attack your shop.
The Economy Game
Saleblazers isn’t just about survival; it’s an economics simulator at its core. Figuring out the right price for the right customer was a game within a game. A group of college students wandered in, and I immediately knew not to charge them too much – they’re always on a tight budget. Meanwhile, tourists seemed willing to spend big on just about anything exotic or unique.
As the hours rolled on, I progressed through the game’s technology tree, unlocking new items and better ways to run my shop. However, it was around the 20-hour mark when things started to feel a little too routine. I had reached the game’s level cap and felt the weight of the grind bearing down.
I took this as a cue to focus less on the shop and more on exploring the rest of the island. There were still bosses to fight and regions I hadn’t set foot in. Despite the slight lull in motivation, the curiosity to see everything kept me going for a while longer.
While there were still parts of the world left to explore and the tantalizing prospect of player invasions, the drive to continue had waned. The sandbox nature of the game means there’s always something to do, but without further goals to strive for, I needed a breather.
The Verdict
So, is Saleblazers worth a buy? In its current form, despite the visual and mechanical rough edges, my answer is: try it! It’s not perfect – the graphics could use a touch-up, and the brightness might strain your eyes. And while the combat and overall movement felt janky at the start, I adapted to its unique rhythm.
