REVIEW : Merek’s Market (PC)
In the game world, it’s arguably the calm before the storm.
As the Christmas season approaches, a slew of massive triple-A blockbusters prepares for release to capitalize on the gift-giving season. Despite this, there is always a flood of indie titles flooding the market, making it tough to judge what is right for you. It has components that are reminiscent of classics like Overcooked, Moving Out, and Get Packed. However, in this chaotic crafting game, you will be in charge of running your medieval shop. Take control of a Dark Ages shop as you bargain, barter, and create your way through a hilarious single-player story or team up with pals in couch co-op to supply the entire town with medieval goods.
Let’s Haggle!
When you first start Merek’s Market, you have two options: campaign mode or co-op play. The campaign was created with the lone player in mind, and it has 50 levels of progressively hectic pranks that will keep you entertained for hours. If you want to relax with your family and friends in the comfort of your own home, the game has a fully cooperative option that supports up to four players in a full campaign with 40 levels. It is here that you will be compelled to work together (yell at each other) while facing a lot of hilarity and amusement – albeit there is one caveat: this co-op is not available online.
You’d expect that in a game of this genre, the campaign would be brief and featureless. So, let me say right now that you’re about to embark on a vast, varied, and detailed trip. I was pleasantly pleased by how quickly I became enamoured with the gameplay and mechanics in what I had classified as a typical game. Throughout your shopkeeper career, you will begin small and grow your business to bigger and better things. Nothing ever goes easily in business, especially when you’re up against a caustic and nasty competitor who will do everything he can to pull you down.
You’ll be faced with creating and selling products, bartering with customers who want to buy speciality items and more throughout 50 levels that last between two and five minutes. A boss task is triggered after every tenth level, and it usually entails large-scale craftsmanship and maintaining the shop. Time management and meticulous planning are essential for gaining the highest possible marks and attaining the gold standard at each level.
Medieval Madness
With the first few runs, you are eased in slowly, as with most games of this genre. A quick lesson starts you out on the first level. This is where you’ll meet Tess, your childhood friend who delivers you recipes and blueprints regularly so you can make new things. Learning how to make products is extremely simple, quick, and accessible. There includes a tutorial on making swords, shields, belts, seats, and other stuff. As you get more experienced, you will recall recipes and blueprints off the top of your head.
Gathering resources from your workshop and combining them in furnaces, and merging other bits and pieces on crafting tables is the process of crafting. Merek’s Market is incredibly accessible to casual and hardcore gamers, with a simple tap of the A button to pick something up and a tap of the X button to craft. You can drop and throw stuff, which will allow you to quickly dispose of everything you have in your hands. You have the option of correcting a mistake or tossing everything into a pile for later use. The mechanics are smooth and effective.
As I previously stated, you will begin slowly and gradually expand your shop. This includes Merek’s adaption. To get the work done, he’ll go about aimlessly hammering stuff with a hammer. You will obtain powers like running around the store and seeing what orders are coming ahead of time without giving too much away about the plot. This transformed the character of the levels and the way you brilliantly played the game. It was never monotonous or dull, and I was always looking forward to the following level.
A diamond in the rough
Merek’s Market has a very standard aesthetic. However, it does have some warm and colourful tones. The characters were all unique, and there were some fantastic lighting touches to help my medieval workshop come to life. The timers, dialogue, and everything else that surrounds the primary graphics is all well-presented. I believe the game excels in terms of sound and music. I’ve seen far too many games in this genre recycle characters, but that isn’t the case here. As a British citizen, I found the voice acting to be lovely. The diversity of characters that may appear have a wide range of accents. The chats are lighthearted, and I found myself laughing frequently. Aside from the main characters, the customers appeared to be different in style, attire, and unique conversations. The developer team here has put in a lot of effort to make the exciting game outside of the creating and running of the shop, and it shows.
In Conclusion
I’ll be the first to say that I didn’t anticipate enjoying this as much as I did. It took me over twelve hours to complete the campaign. My devotion to the game skyrocketed when I discovered that each level had its scoreboard, reawakening my competitive inner-self and resulting in a lot of replayability and longevity since I was continuously returning to levels to try to improve myself.
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