Flip & Shop Simulator: Prologue

Flip & Shop Simulator: Prologue is a really fun idea for a simulator because it takes the usual shop management concept and turns it into a shared city where I can work alongside other people. I liked how quickly the game lets me get involved, since I can jump into a business, start handling customers and immediately feel like I am part of a much bigger little economy. The cooperative side is easily my favorite part. I can work together with friends, split up between different businesses or simply get in each other's way and cause complete chaos. I enjoyed how the game does not force cooperation to be perfectly organized. Sometimes helping each other makes things smoother, while other times pushing someone out of the way or messing around creates some of the funniest moments. The individual businesses also have their own little gameplay loops. The pizzeria is focused on preparing food and assembling orders, while customer checks give me the chance to inspect documents and decide who should actually be served. I liked that variety because it means I am not doing the exact same job every time I switch roles. It makes the larger city concept feel much more promising. The presentation is colorful and approachable, with a first person three dimensional style that makes the businesses feel more hands on. I especially like being able to arrange merchandise and organize spaces, because it adds a little bit of creativity alongside the management. The city also gives everything a stronger sense of place than a simulator that keeps me inside one building. My biggest issue is that this is still a prologue, so the amount of content is limited compared with the much larger concept being presented. I enjoyed what is here, but I could already feel myself wanting more stores and deeper progression once I understood the basic loops. Some of the interactions can also become chaotic enough that coordination turns into frustration, especially when everyone is trying to do something different. Even so, I think the free prologue does a good job of showing why the full concept could be interesting. I like the idea of gradually buying new businesses and building up my place in the shared city, especially when different stores offer completely different tasks. The option to work separately or together gives the game a nice amount of freedom. Overall, Flip & Shop Simulator: Prologue is a promising cooperative simulator with a lot of personality. I enjoyed the variety between businesses, the silly multiplayer interactions and the sense that the city could eventually become much larger. It is clearly only a taste of the bigger game, but the basic idea is strong enough that I had a good time with it. Rating: 6.4/10