Retail is Hell in this RPG

Ever wondered what Earthbound and Silent Hill would look like mashed together into one game? Probably not, but that’s exactly what itch.io developer Oates has created. Sorry, We’re Open is a horror rogue-like RPG that places you as the new manager of a supermarket. The various tasks that you are given range from putting away shopping carts (that will attack you) and cleaning up several spills (that will also attack you).

The game isn’t complete yet but offers about an hour and a half of entertainment. The game can be quite challenging as well, so each decision you make can be your last if you aren’t careful. If you are a fan of turn-based combat and a macabre environment, you’ll be dying to start your next shift after you complete the demo.

Your New Job as a Retail Manager

The game opens with an employee training video that gives you a rundown of how to manage the supermarket. Things get dark quickly when the game explains that your employees will definitely die and you are encouraged to ‘terminate’ them should things get dicey. Terminating an employee will drain them of their remaining HP, which will heal you and your remaining party members. You are tasked with managing your employees and completing various tasks until your shift is complete.

The various horrors that you encounter aren't questioned by your player character. The few people you can talk to don’t seem to be phased by the hellish environment that you are in. You even come across a corpse at one point and upon investigating, your faceless character responds with ‘It smells terrible'. It makes you wonder what horrors your character has seen to be this calm after finding someone’s body.

First Impressions 

The game offers a unique take on combat where the player will take damage when anyone uses the standard attack. This led me to my demise because I wasn't paying attention to my HP. Death carries a light penalty in this game; if you die enough times, you'll start to lose money and be sent to the Corporate Dungeon. This game’s combat requires you to make difficult decisions at times, some of which can lead up to losing staff members just to keep yourself alive.

I was also caught off guard by the first decision that I made as a manager after hiring a staff member. I selected an option to simply put away some shopping carts and I was sucked into a fight that would end up killing me and my staff. At first, I thought it was funny, but those shopping carts were pretty vicious.

I decided to avoid combat as much as I could while getting through my shift to ensure that I can at least survive my first day. After work was complete, I was allowed to explore the overworld. I enjoyed the overworld the most as the pixelated style was perfect for my gore-hungry attention span. Part of the fun was barely surviving by the skin of my teeth and being eager to continue unlocking more areas in the store and to interact with the few NPCs that you can encounter.

Gameplay and Mechanics

While working your shift, each hour presents a new challenge that seems mundane and simple at first, but you’ll quickly learn what each option really means. You’ll choose between two randomly generated options each hour. These choices can vary from doing interviews, cleaning up trash, roaming the store, and other seemingly normal tasks that have a significant impact on you or your party.

You’ll quickly learn that something as simple as doing inventory can turn into a turn-based fight with your and your staff’s lives on the line. During combat, you’ll have to make smart decisions by selecting abilities with workplace-related names to survive. You can choose to ‘goof off’ which is the standard attack option, however, it causes you to lose a bit of health each time you or an employee uses it.

You’ll be spending most of your time managing your health points and deciding if it’s worth ‘terminating’ an employee to replenish your party's health. You can also collect various items to aid you and your party. You can find things like employee lunches to replenish health, bags of money that give you cash upon use, and you can use trash that has random effects.

In between shifts, you can explore the store as you gain access to more areas to scrounge for loot and lore. You’ll meet a few interesting characters that act as side quests that reward you with valuable information, access to more areas, or even new abilities. You’ll also find all sorts of items left out for you to swipe, so exploring is very beneficial if you wish to survive the three available shifts.

Game Design

The game looks and plays like an RPG maker game, but the assets used help make the game stand out and have a unique feel. The environment is presented in a dirty and grimy way that makes the world feel hostile and unsafe. Everything appears to have a coat of filth on it or is in terrible condition. The art style is simple but effective at making you feel uneasy while you explore the supermarket.

The sound design builds onto the art by building tension in the air with its quiet drones. Some of the sound effects have an old-school feel, which helps the game feel like a cursed SNES title you picked up at a garage sale.

Overall, the design does a great job of making the player feel threatened for the duration of the short experience.

Sorry, We’re Open is Not for the Faint of Heart

Sorry, We’re Open is a short and unfinished game at the moment, so it is difficult to fairly review the game as a finished product. The content that’s available at the time of writing can be cleared fairly quickly if you are experienced with turn-based RPGs. The demo leaves more to be desired with the limited encounters during shifts and open-world exploration, which left me wanting to keep playing more.

The game does have a bit of a learning curve and can be a turn-off if you have no experience with turn-based RPGs or rogue-like games. The combat can be very punishing at times. Due to this, I skipped the more difficult fights as much as possible to stay alive. When facing multiple enemies, your party can die quickly due to factors like party size and enemy strength. If you are ever unprepared and encounter a full enemy party, the odds are that you will lose some employees.

I love a good challenge, so the combat isn't too punishing for me, but I can see a casual player having a hard time enjoying this game. Most of the time, you’ll be learning hard lessons that can cost you your employees, a lot of money, or your life. If you get attached to your party members, you are gonna have a bad time. This game is not for players who can’t handle losing. Eventually, something will go wrong while playing Sorry, We’re Open and you’ll need to know how to adapt to progress through the game. 

Should You Play Sorry, We’re Open?

Sorry, We’re Open provides a unique take on horror that is cursed with stressful gameplay and unique mechanics. If you enjoy classic RPG gameplay and have a dark sense of humor, you’ll find this game to be entertaining but difficult if you aren’t used to rogue-like games. I’d recommend giving this game a play if you’ve got an hour or two to kill and can’t decide on something to play.

Overall, I think Sorry, We're Open offers a dark and humorous take on working in retail while deploying gameplay and visuals that are nostalgic.

If you want to check out Sorry, We’re Open, follow this link where you can download and play the game for free. If you are wanting to experience similar games, be sure to check out oates itch.io page to experience all of his other twisted creations.