Set down your paper that’s due at midnight and take a break from the big city to get lost in the fluorescent lights of a Japanese convenience store in the middle of nowhere in the 90’s. Spend summer nights in front of coolers stocking special edition sodas and adding ice cream to freezers while music gently drifts overhead. An oasis of calm once you clean up any morning shift flukes that trickled down to you. The late hours don’t deter customers, and the stars guide the way for night owls who can’t sleep or early morning birds ready to hustle. Meet an interesting cast who need your assistance with more than just finding items, but also with their outlook on life. I played Inkobini: One Store Many Stories.
Inkobini has been on my wish list for a while, and the premise of taking over a cozy, easy-going store won me over instantly. The demo that I played in January convinced me that for me, this was a launch-day purchase. Play as Makoto Hayakawa as she covers the quiet night shift of her aunt’s convenience store during her summer break. Sleepy nights start with examining shelves for out-of-place items after the hectic day shifts. It’s like a game of I Spy, and if Makoto misses an item, a customer will jokingly point it out. Aunt Hina comforts Makoto during their daily phone calls, assuring Makoto that, even with all her experience, she still misses misplaced items sometimes. By Wednesday, I found I was developing an eagle eye for misplaced items or items in general disarray. Reading the notes from the day shift, there were times when Makoto had her work cut out for her before a customer set foot in the door. The ice cream catastrophe where the day shift ordered too much of one ice cream brand, admitting they shoved it all in the drink fridge. There was a lot of reorganizing with that one. I may have panicked myself when I saw how much of the product was over-ordered. No one even bought ice cream during that shift. When recommending items to customers, Makoto should have added a sweet treat to her list. Customers in a convenience store are always looking for something specific, something to drink, eat, or a friendly ear that will lend some advice.
When the door chime fills the air, it’s time for Makoto to put on her friendliest customer service face and greet whoever entered the store. There are four unique characters to interact with: Chief, a very superstitious man who is at odds with Aunt Hina and only sneaks into the convenience store when she’s not around. I enjoyed learning about the relationship between Chief and Aunt Hina a lot. Makoto has to uncover it between discussions with Chief and Hina. They’re old friends who care about each other, but have different views on the world. Chief is always looking for signs from the universe that his luck will change, while Hina seems more realistic and believes in making her own luck. I’m a believer in universal signs, so I enjoyed playing into his search for signs, especially in his ramen. I thought telling him pink was lucky meant he’d pick up one of the poorly-selling pink strawberry products. Marketing professional. Satoshi is the real marketing professional, giving Makoto tips on how to organize the store. Putting salty snacks next to the drink fridge because salty chips are going to make someone crave a cool, refreshing drink. I used this strategy with coffee and pastry, but I’m not sure it worked well. Satoshi is ambitious, recently starting his own delivery business during the summer before middle school starts back up. He picks up items from the store for older women in town, like the first Instacart shopper. Chief mentions that Satoshi’s dad is a gambler, and for a moment, I wondered if I should stop giving him his change in coins for the Gacha machine out front. Satoshi asks Makoto to play with him, unlocking the Gacha machine for the player to use. All the figures the player pulls are displayed on a shelf behind the counter. Naomi is a journalist who came to this small town looking for a story that sets small towns apart from big cities. Unable to find the interesting story she traveled for, Naomi comes to the convenience store for dinner and her thousandth cup of coffee. Makoto has more than just food suggestions; she also has ideas for Naomi’s next story. I think she should have made it about the store and its interesting nighttime visitors.
As a writer, I enjoyed listening to Naomi talking about her passion for writing real stories and disdain for tabloid stories only meant to sell papers with shocking headlines. She didn’t end up being my favorite character, though; that title goes to the tall stranger who gets his own small horror scene. There’s one night shift where the whole store is acting up as if it’s been cursed. The front door doesn’t work, there’s a mysterious leak from the ceiling Makoto has to keep mopping up. It feels like a close and try again tomorrow situation to me, but Makoto powers through. While stocking the shelves, the front door chime goes off. Surprisingly, it opened on its own. In walks the tallest man I’ve ever seen, towering over Makoto. He never speaks, pantomiming his requests for certain items. Right after Makoto learns what he’s looking for, the lights go out, and it’s a scary trek through the dead silent dark store. Luckily, the items he wants aren’t far, and in no time, we’re ringing out this silent customer. The doors open, and he seemingly disappears right before the lights kick back on. It left me with goosebumps; the automatic doors shouldn’t have opened with the power off. I wasn’t expecting a horror section in this game, but it was a fun change of pace and an interesting direction if the developers want to dabble in the horror genre.
Inkonbini’s story plays out over the span of a week, and each day there is a new mechanic for the player to learn. It starts with stocking the shelves, and suddenly, Makoto is promoted to ordering new inventory. The player can decorate the store with promotional material for a new soda and mop. As the task list grew, the day shift left more sticky notes for Makoto, so I never felt lost about what to do regarding store maintenance. Hina recommends reading through the journals of other employees so snoop Makoto did. The journals have personal stories from the morning shift employees, which was a nice touch. I felt connected to the other employees even though I never spent time with them. Their days seemed way more hectic. As a bonus, the player can change Makoto’s outfit and even dress up in an old retro hat to wear, which will get customers excited and nostalgic.
My least favorite part about Inkonbini is how short it is. The game play averages at about 6 hours. I was hoping that there would be a free mode after completing the story, but that’s not the case. Inkonbini is more of a visual novel than a management sim. I appreciate that it’s slow and calming, even though sometimes Makoto’s pace drives me up a wall. I enjoyed it so much I found myself wanting more. More customers, even though it’s the dead of night. More days to enjoy stocking and running the store. I liked all of the game’s mechanics, like finding items for customers, filling orders, and this game made change-making fun. I wish the game could have continued into some kind of free mode.
Inkonbini is about more than running a business; it’s about the returning customers who make work enjoyable. You’re making the store a welcoming place for the community, somewhere people want to be. I couldn’t help but match Makoto’s smile after each successful transaction. I felt good after, like I helped someone, not just bagged their groceries. Become part of the small town community and play some Gacha at the end of your shift. Pulling a rare figure is more satisfying under the stars. I recommend picking up Inkonbini and getting lost in the aisles.
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