Game: Miracle Snack Shop
Genre: Adventure, Communication, Simulation, Role-Playing
System: Nintendo Switch (Also on Steam (Windows))
Developers | Publishers: CFK | CFK
Age Rating: M 17 | EU 16+
Price: US $17.99 | UK £14.03 | EU € 15,66
Release Date: December 2, 2021
Review code used, with many thanks to CFK!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year and what better way to kick it than a short and sweet Korean treat? Miracle Snack Shop is a Korean visual novel and role-playing simulator.
Story
Seolhwa Han is the protagonist of Miracle Snack Shop. The story starts out with him recounting how he ended up at the shop, he experimented at a young age to see what made him special, which eventually ended up with him being conned out of quite a chunk of money by someone he trusted. To make up for the debt, he is given a snack shop by said con artist’s parents.
The shop has a reputation for being haunted, though the only thing of note is that there is a magic portal in the room Seolhwa stays in above the shop. Too reasonable (and afraid) to see where it leads, he ignores it until, one day, a mysterious woman in white appears. From there, the story is about the bond that Seolhwa makes with Queen Salt, the woman in question; a streamer who stumbles upon the shop later, and general business.
Gameplay
The story is a visual novel (VN) with some simulation elements. The main story sections are typical VN fanfare with choices that impact character relationships. These are accessed through free or paid segments in a menu. The paid ones are bought with in-game currency that is made from selling bing-su, a Korean shaved ice snack with various toppings.
The menu also allows the player to see reviews, fulfil requests, learn recipes, manage finances, open the shop, see character affection levels, and run promotions. It’s up to the player to strike a balance amongst all these stats so they can reach one of several endings during the 300-day story length.
Characters
There are three main characters in this game, only two of which you see. There’s Seolhwa, the player character; Queen Salt, the mysterious queen from another world, and Mira, an opportunistic streamer and content creator who stumbles upon the shop while filming. Seolhwa is level-headed and open-minded while also being rather snarky and teasing (depending on the player’s choices). Being inside his head for the game was a pleasure and had me cracking up a lot.
Queen Salt is a regal, yet easily embarrassed woman. She has her quirks, but learning about her burden as the queen of an otherworldly kingdom and her inner depths was compelling. Mira, in contrast, is bolder initially, pestering Seolhwa about the shop. Over time, she can become a valued friend (or more…) and ally (depending on player choice). All three are solid and believable characters.
Art and Music
The character sprites, food images, and computer graphics (CGS), which are special images given for the characters are absolutely stunning. The aesthetic-lover in me was dancing the whole time as I saw the mouth-watering treats, familiar backgrounds, and beautiful women in this game. As someone who has lived in South Korea, where the game is set, for five years, seeing the beauty of this country depicted in a game was thrilling! The character designs were striking. Each character had their own distinctive style, from the two main girls to the various VIP customers met throughout the story through quests.
The music was equally solid. I found myself humming the background music more than once after finishing a session of this game. It fits each scene and adjusts to the mood smoothly, which lent some oomph and life to the scenes.
Pros and Cons
There is so much going for this game. The music is great, the art amazing, the character relationships fascinating and believable, and the mechanics unique and easy to pick up. For an 8-hour game, there was so much fun and entertaining content that the game was hard to put down sometimes.
As for cons, there were some grammatical errors here and there. The game also doesn’t hold the player’s hand when it comes to managing the business, so it does take some time getting used to everything and learning how to maintain a good balance. However, that means the playthrough is easy to customize for different playstyles.
Conclusion
Miracle Snack Shop was a pleasure to experience. I had a blast the whole way through. It was the perfect game to cozy up with in bed on a cold winter’s night. If you’re looking for a funny and sweet game to chill out with, I highly recommend this!
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up