Goblin’s Shop Review: A Quirky Little RPG Adventure With A Job Simulator Twist

On Monday, indie game dev, David Hung released Goblin’s Shop, a charming little retro offering that’s part dungeon crawling RPG and part job simulator.

The game begins on a slightly corny note as we are introduced to the protagonist of the adventure, wimpy little Mr. Goblin. Mr. Goblin is sick of being bullied by humans but lacks the physical brawn to teach them a lesson, so he devises a plan for exacting his revenge. He decides to try to recruit local monsters, who are stronger than himself, to accompany him on his adventures into the world of men. His companions will fight Mr. Goblin’s battles for him and gain experience and strength in doing so. In an effort to meet more monsters, Mr. Goblin opens a small shop where he crafts weapons, armor and potions to sell them.

Mr. Goblin has no resources of his own, so an elderly uncle supplies him a few materials and coins to get his shop started. Mr. Goblin must use the materials given to purchase equipment like a checkout counter, shelves, and furnace so that he can begin crafting his merchandise. Once the shop is set up, the job simulation portion of the game begins. Players must help Mr. Goblin manage his time in the shop, in order to keep things running smoothly, While in the shop, Mr. Goblin must craft items to sell, all the while keeping an eye out for customers that are ready to make their purchases. If Mr. Goblin waits too long before serving customers, they’ll grow impatient and may leave or worse yet, post a bad review about the shop. Your shop has a star rating outside based on customer reviews, and if your stars run low, you’ll see a decline in customers entering your shop. Besides keeping paying customers happy, Mr. Goblin must also watch for shoplifters who try to sneak out of the shop without paying for their goods. Crafting items costs both materials and a few coins, so if a shoplifter successful pilfers something, you’re out time, money and materials.

As you craft and sell more items, your materials will eventually run out and you’ll need to get restocked. While you can purchase a few materials in town with gems — a premium currency in the game, the best way to get more materials is to go out on adventures. This is where the RPG element of the game comes in. When Mr. Goblin leaves his shop, he has the option to go into Goblin-town or adventure into the world of men. On his adventures, Mr. Goblin can bring up to four monsters he’s recruited that will defend him from humans he encounters as he searches for materials.

The adventure portion of the game functions like a standard dungeon crawling RPG, with the main difference being that your hero, Mr. Goblin, doesn’t actually do any fighting himself. His job is to gather resources and dodge humans while his companions do the fighting. To clear the dungeon you have to kill off all the humans. Sometimes a dungeon will have a couple different areas you use a portal to get to and so it may take more than one trip to beat it. Dungeons have resources like herbs, rocks with iron in them and trees you can chop down for wood. There are also chests found in various locations throughout a level that contain materials, coins, and ready-made items that can be sold in your shop.

Though there’s plenty of resources to be gotten when you venture out into the world, you want to be careful to take a good team and leave before you get killed if the world becomes too treacherous. If you die in the world, many of the items you collected while there will be taken from you, making your trip less worthwhile. Going on adventures does cost a small investment because you have to pay the monsters you take with you, so you want to plan wisely.

If your monsters manage to kill all the humans in a particular segment of the world, a new segment or dungeon is unlocked. With each battle both Mr. Goblin and his monster friends gain experience for leveling up that makes them stronger and more able to take on even tougher enemies.

As with most dungeon crawlers, Goblin’s Shop quickly becomes a continuous grind of going on gathering adventures, crafting equipment and selling it, but it's the kind of grind that can be pretty entertaining when you have some spare moments to waste. The game uses a pixelated art style that gives me a nostalgic fondness for it and includes some cheeky dialogue that keeps things entertaining.

The game is a free-to-play offering that isn’t overly inundated with ads and while there are in-app purchases you can make, they don’t feel necessary for enjoyment of the game. Goblin’s Shop is available now on both the Apple App and Google Play store. If you enjoy a retro RPG adventure, be sure to check this one out.