For possibly an older crowd, it was a rites of passage working in retail as a youth. It was often their first job, that would find them working at weekends or after school, and see them earn their first ever pay check.

For instance, this very writer found himself working in British Home Stores, Wembley High Street, aged fifteen, at weekends, to make some much needed pocket money, thrown onto the cheese counter, where he had to navigate the tricky cheese cutter, as well as trickier customers.

This then saw him graduate to working in the small Our Price on Tottenham Court Road, which would end up being the cherry on the cake of his retail career.

For those who may have had similar experiences, This game may well be a pleasing hit of nostalgia.

Welcome to Honki Ponki, a Japanese convenience store in the 1990s, where you play Makoto, a college student, who finds herself working there for a week, filling in for her aunt who is away.

It’s only a small store, about the size of stores you find at petrol stations, but she’s working on her own, on the graveyard shift.

Stock needs to be put out, and she has to follow requests left from the dayshift they leave on post-it notes in the office for her.

And of course she discovers that she has regular customers, often with specific requests, that she has to try and fulfil.

She may only be there a week, but it’s enough time to also see relationships grow, as she interacts with them whenever they visit.

Although it sounds like a standard sim game, where shelves have to be filled, and customer’s goods need to be scanned and paid for, there is a little bit more depth than that there.

It’s more of a gentle exploration in interaction, between worker and customer, and the stories that each customer brings into the store. There are only a handful of regulars, such as Satoshi, an entrepreneurial-minded kid, who probably shouldn’t be out late on his own, but his passion for his business idea is infectious. There’s also a mute man who comes in, whose non verbal – or non written for that matter – communication can be tricky.

The game is a very cosy experience, with no pressures or penalties to get it right, as you go about your shift at your own pace. It’s only a short game too, as Makoto only works there one week, with the main focus being the interaction with customers, rather than just putting stock on the shelves.

It’s kind of a shame that it so short, as it may take you a night or two to get used to the role, and by the time you do, you’re facing the end of her time working there. But at least it isn’t a time sinkhole, as you walk down the aisles, checking everything is as it should be, before the store opens.

The control system is a simple one, where when you approach areas or items, they are then highlighted if you can interact with them, such as the phone on the wall in the back office. It’s pretty intuitive, and before you know it, you’ll be taking out the delivered items that you ordered on the phone earlier, and placing them in their correct place in the store.

The art style is attractive too, bright and colourful, with a wide range of different products on the shelves.

And thankfully the music is calming and chilled, and thankfully doesn’t go full on musak which you might find in such a store.

A short but sweet storytelling experience then, that will give you a sense of satisfaction when your shift ends. And who knows, may even trigger fond memories of your own retail experiences to come flooding back.