Review: Discounty (Switch)
By Ask anyone who’s clocked shifts behind a till and they’ll tell you retail feels anything but cosy. I still wake up haunted by late-night inventory discrepancies and queues of furious shoppers who seemed committed to ruining whatever remained of my evening.
Danish studio Crinkle Cut Games, however, believes running a hectic grocery store is the perfect pastime for couch-bound or handheld gaming. Mercifully, they cloaked the concept in an adorable, pixel-art shell accompanied by laid-back melodies. While the inspiration is straight from retail purgatory, Discounty lands near genre veterans such as Stardew Valley, even if it never strays far from the classic playbook.
Your custom shopkeeper journeys to sleepy Blomkest, where Aunt Tellar has fought to keep her franchise branch alive. Convinced her fresh-faced relative is the secret sauce for success, she assigns you the noble quest of weaving the neighbourhood together—mostly through the magical power of competitively priced produce.
As a rookie market boss, you place bulk orders for sundries, line your aisles, and flip the “open” sign. Once the floodgates are open, you hop onto the register, zipping a calculator out to ring up totals while praying you didn’t fat-finger the decimal. Sloppy register ergonomics seldom help when conveyor belts clog up with biscuit boxes. Nail the math and the patron rewards you with either heartfelt praise or the vocal wrath of someone whose coupon just got rejected.
Early weeks see the Discounty Corporation parachuting scorecards that applaud variety and speed. Smashing those targets unlocks handy gadgets—a barcode scanner here, exotic fruit pallets there—and the ultimate drug of capitalism: more cash.
Much like ConcernedApe’s rural escapism, the game ropes you into a tight loop of rinse-and-repeat tasks before slowly unrolling town life’s quirky drama. Come closing time, you meander through Blomkest’s side-streets, haggling with grocers and accepting errands that seldom go beyond a quick chat. Every favour circles back to your ledger: a new supplier, a bigger flower display, an extra shelf row.
Though townsfolk comfortably tick archetype boxes, the writing still sparks. You’ll commiserate with a grizzled fisher who blames the cannery for squeezing him out, swap new-age wisdom with antiques owner Solruna, or eavesdrop on the frosty stare-offs between Elmer, the meddling clerk, and your aunt. These vignettes are sharp, often hilarious, and blessedly brisk.
Where Discounty deviates is in refusing to relinquish floor space. There’s no dating sim detour, no sideline harvest festival. Story arcs wrap the instant you’ve located the right bag of beans. For players seeking pure aisle optimisation, the tight focus is refreshing; for those missing the fishing tourneys and heart events of Stardew (or even Graveyard Keeper), it can feel a tad spartan.
Automation options let robots stock crates and ring change, theoretically freeing you for exploration—only to reveal Blomkest has little in the “after-hours” department. I’d have loved an extra festival or a rooftop garden, but Crinkle Cut clearly wagered their chips on spreadsheets and sale signs.
Visually, Blomkest sings. Pixel stylings recall genre cousins yet carry enough custom polish—the gentle jiggle of a nodding avatar, translucent water reflections in canal barrels—to feel distinct. Sound design oscillates between soothing lullabies and calcium-deficient register beeps that may trigger shellshocked ex-cashiers. Best played with headphones removed during checkout sequences if you value your nerves.
Conclusion
Discounty is a sturdy entry in the Switch’s ever-growing catalogue of snug life-sims. Its day-sized loops are proof the hybrid console still owns the pocketable-farm genre, working equally well for micro-managed marathons or 15-minute breaks. Supermarket expansion remains satisfyingly dense, even if the townsfolk stories are more side-salad than main course. Most notably, the game accomplishes the impossible: making retail enjoyable and stress-free, a certified miracle worth applauding.