Pet Shop Simulator is not a good game. This might not be the most shocking revelation, but as a big fan of the simulator genre, and after seeing the trailer, I admit I was hyped.
At first glance, it offers a look and vibe similar to Supermarket Simulator, which I love. But unlike Supermarket Sim, which is in early access, Pet Shop Sim is a full release, so I had even higher expectations for this foray into menagerie management.
Sadly, that enthusiasm didn’t last long. After a short stint running my own virtual pet shop, I can’t bear the thought of putting my paws on this game again.
I felt like I was playing something unfinished, with a clunky and basic UI. The developer has tried to be clever by making you pick up and scan the menu option you want to select, but in practice, it’s glitchy and slow.
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After a frustratingly slow tutorial (you can skip it, but I thought I best learn how to play), I was free to do my own thing. The world outside is beautiful, with good lighting effects and details. But the moment you step inside your new dream gig, it feels like a prison – it was going to take some time to brighten things up.
Too real?
I think back to the 90s when pet shops were peak. Puppies and kittens galore – every animal you could dream of crammed into a glass cage of emotion. I remember spending hours at a time glued to the displays, while mum looked at other stores nearby.
Over time, pet stores have either closed or been reduced to pet food and accessories outlets. Which is for the best. Seeing the sad look on the puppies’ faces when they couldn’t get out made me want to break the glass and free them all… We’ve come a long way.
But how far can we go in a virtual setting? We can openly use animals as slaves and send them to fight to their deaths in games like Pokemon (or even Palworld), and in Pet Shop Simulator the puppies and kittens aren’t real… So I can go ahead and sell them, right? Wrong. You can’t sell puppies or kittens in this game (PETA, don’t come for me).
While the developers never stipulated that you could sell cats and dogs, they do have a prominent picture of a dog on their steam store page. You have to delve into their developer blogs to find mention of no pups or kitties, which is a bit deceiving, if you ask me.
You’re able to choose from a variety of fish, turtles, hamsters and rabbits, but the closest you’ll come to an adorable canine is if an NPC brings one in on a leash. You can pet it and give it a treat at $0.10 a piece, mind you.
Say ‘Sul Sul’ to Pet Shop Simulator’s Build Mode
The best (and only) thing Pet Shop Simulator has going for it, is its build mode. Create rooms, place shelving and displays, customise wallpaper and flooring colours. It’s basic but it works.
As for buying stock for your shelves, that’s a whole other thing…
Pressing ‘Tab’ opens your ‘Tablet’ – great button assignment. Your tablet allows you to manage your stock and staff. Stock is arranged by animal type, with multiple categories for cats, dogs, fish and rabbits. Its design looks like it was made with clip art and MS Paint, but not in a cool or ironic way.
There’s an overwhelming amount of different types of animal foods, all with a variety of prices, but it’s not clear what was the best choice. Do I stock them all? Everything is seemingly available from the get-go. I figure once you have Pet Barn level of retail space, the product variety will be great… But as a new store, more direction is needed.
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I’d prefer rewarding upgrades over having everything all at once, the ability to unlock products as you play would give you more to work towards.
I’m About To Check Out
At the checkout, I scanned the customer’s items, bagged them, took their money, grabbed their change, and went to hand it back… But I couldn’t. The game was stuck. Here I was, with $33.40 change in my hands and nowhere to place it. I experienced multiple moments of frustration like this in my short time playing the game, another was being stuck in the ‘petting dog’ animation for eternity! He was a good boy… But not THAT good!
Thankfully, you’re able to hire workers and assign them various roles in the store, but they don’t just rock up for their shift as you’d expect, you need to call them in each time you need them.
I also feel a little bad for these virtual employees, they’re paid the price of dog food per hour and still act grateful for it; Pet Shop Simulator’s economy is a mess.
The Customer is Always Right
They say the customer is always right, but with Pet Shop Simulator, I say the customer is made up of a bungle of low-resolution textures, polygons and dogshit AI.
While browsing, customers can ask for help with a bubble appearing above their heads. My store was newly opened, I was selling goldfish, rabbits and a small range of foods and cages – yet no one was capable of opening their eyes to look for anything. They couldn’t find the Eiffel Tower if they were standing underneath it.
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One customer literally walked into the store, dirtied up the floors with their shoes and proceeded to complain that the store was dirty. Seriously? Get out.
Should I buy Pet Shop Simulator?
This is not a Supermarket Simulator clone, this is a cheap attempt at the genre. That said, Supermarket Simulator is far from perfect, it looks just as shocking but it doesn’t claim to be a finished game.
If you’re happy to push through unpolished user interfaces and some of the stupidest AI I’ve ever witnessed, you might enjoy it. The Sims-like building has a little bit going for it, and the recent addition of dogs on leads brings a little more colour to the game, but it’s far from enjoyable.
Developers Games Incubator should’ve left this one to incubate a little longer. If Pet Shop Simulator released in early access, I would’ve been more understanding. To produce something of such poor quality, release it at 1.0 to the world for over $20, and expect people to love it is a dog move.
A review copy of Pet Shop Simulator was supplied to Quest Daily by Keymailer for the purpose of this review.
