Discounty Review (PC)
Summary: Discounty turns the grind of running a supermarket into a unexpectedly addictive life sim.
4.3
Impactful Tale
In Discounty, you find yourself under the wing of your sharp-tongued aunt, who wastes no time putting you to work in her franchised supermarket. You’re tasked with buying stock, arranging shelves, manning the till, and keeping customers happy. Timing is crucial, as customers can be impatient, and popular products need immediate refilling to avoid shortages. You’re also responsible for cleaning up spills on the shop floor, which, if not cleaned, causes customers to walk more slowly – something you don’t want if you wish to finish work at 5 o’ clock on the dot. Ordering stock is also part of the routine, and deliveries are promptly handled by Guy, whose truck conveniently appears inside the store with the goods ready for you to unload. Organising the warehouse presents an additional challenge: you can keep everything tidy and efficient, or just let it spiral into chaos. The responsibility of being a supermarket manager ramps up day by day, turning a cosy life sim into a surprisingly intricate management experience.
After the shop finally closes, you’re left to mop the floors and re-stock shelves for the next day, before retreating to the modest trailer behind your aunt’s home. Aunt Tellar herself is ambitious, unapologetic, and occasionally ruthless. She isn’t the soft-hearted mentor you might expect; she’s cutthroat enough to fire an employee just to make room for you. Her unapologetic approach often places you as the scapegoat for her ambitions, as the townsfolk aren’t all pleased with the way Tellar plans to expand her empire. As the sole employee for most of the game, you find yourself bearing the brunt of local frustration while still trying to keep the supermarket running smoothly. Although it can be frustrating at times, especially since you have no real say in these decisions, it does provide a refreshing narrative twist that puts you in the unusual position of almost being the bad guy in a cosy sim.
Visually, Discounty reinforces this sense of grit beneath the cosy exterior. The charming pixel art might suggest light-hearted escapism, but Blomkest itself tells a different story. Boarded-up shopfronts, peeling posters, and a weathered harbour capture the essence of a worn-down town. The environment is crawling with decay, as the water down the harbour is putrid green, while the forest is covered in a strange purple mist. These details are ingrained in the narrative, as your aunt tasks you with striking trade deals with some of the very characters responsible for the town’s decline. In turn, the game cleverly toys with ideas of capitalism and complicity, forcing you to reckon with how success for your store may come at the expense of the town’s wellbeing.
When you’re not stocking shelves or scrubbing floors, you’re free to explore Blomkest and strike up conversations with the locals. Spending time talking with the townsfolk often reveals more about the town’s struggles and history, making each conversation feel like a small piece of a larger puzzle. Each character has a distinct personality and backstory that makes them memorable. Some even run their own businesses, like the hardware store where you can buy new shelves for your supermarket, or The Drunken Tern, where you can shamelessly gossip with the barmaid.
The soundtrack shifts subtly with the time of day, as morning brings upbeat melodies, while after 9pm the music becomes quieter and more eerie. Conversations with townsfolk are accompanied by soft, whimsical sounds that vary in pitch depending on the character; some are deeper and more resonant, while others are softer and more delicate, adding personality to each interaction. The town itself hums with ambient sounds that respond to your actions: cars beep impatiently when you linger in the street, and rats flee into the nearby sewer gates as you walk by. Altogether, the audio design brings Blomkest to life, making both the town and its inhabitants feel vibrant and full of personality.
Final Thoughts?
Beneath the charming pixel art lies a story full of moral complexity and underlying tension, as you navigate your aunt’s ruthless ambitions and the townsfolk’s simmering frustrations. It’s a game that turns a mundane 9-5 routine into something strangely addictive, and one that will keep players coming back day after day. Though it shares familiar elements with well known titles, Discounty stakes its own claim, showing just how fresh and surprising a cosy life sim can be.
About the Author
Jade Darton Jade is a web developer and Computer Science BSc student from Suffolk, UK with a passion for games and writing about them.
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