Gacha Capsule Shop Simulator – Akihabara Review – Just One More Spin

Gacha Capsule Shop Simulator – Akihabara is a cozy shop simulation game that properly emulates the thrill of opening gachapon capsules alongside the satisfaction of building your own little business. There are a couple of little bumps and some odd visuals, but given it’s in Early Access, I see a lot of potential for this game going forward.

Credit: UGC90

Gacha Capsule Shop Simulator – Akihabara was actually the first “shop simulator” game I’ve tried since the subgenre took off a bit ago. As such, I had fresh eyes when diving in, and as someone who’s definitely spent their fair share on actual gachapon machines, this seemed like a perfect fit – and for the most part, that proved to be true. There are a few bumpy areas in the game, but it’s easy to overlook them as you get sucked into the addictive flow of running your store.

You start Gacha Capsule Shop Simulator – Akihabara with pretty much nothing but a small store and a bit of cash. With a comprehensive tutorial, you quickly get your first gacha machines, buy your first toy licenses, and give out quickly calculated change. It doesn’t take long for you to get into the basic gameplay loop of chasing cash and store improvements, and the ridiculous amount of upgrades and toy variations promises to keep you going for quite some time. Plus, you can hire help, a robot, and make other sorts of major improvements to your store, allowing for a solid amount of customization to craft your gachapon shop in whatever style you want.

Credit: UGC90

But you aren’t just selling gachapon toys in Gacha Capsule Shop Simulator – Akihabara – you can open them, too. Just like in real life, popping open these capsules in the pursuit of rare or specific objects is exciting and releases more dopamine than you might expect, especially because you can then sell them individually. The way everything feeds into the loop of selling things and growing your store is ridiculously satisfying, especially as you get to make it bigger and more visually appealing.

Even making change feels good in Gacha Capsule Shop Simulator – Akihabara.

I was also surprised at how much I enjoyed handing out change, which I was less thrilled about in my teenage retail jobs. Picking how much yen to return to your customers through different bills and coins as quickly as possible creates a weird zen state that I didn’t anticipate finding in this game, especially once your store is a bit bigger and busier, and you’ve got a line of people waiting for you to dole out change.  The way that the recommended change is presented to you on the cash register’s screen is a bit confusing when you’re in a rush, though, as I found myself tripping up on it a few times.

Credit: UGC90

There are little events that mix things up throughout the game, like K-Pop stars visiting your store and bringing in more customers or Yakuza members smashing up your machines, leading you to chase them out with a bat. Trying to keep people buying while you maintain the machines, fill them with more capsules, stay on top of the newest toy licenses, and feed the local cats for good luck can feel like you’re spinning a thousand plates, but never to the degree that it’s too overwhelming. This is partially due to the fact that, once the shop is closed, you’ve got unlimited time to get things back in order and prepare for the next game. I sort of wish there was a way to toggle some form of limit to add a bit of extra tension, but it does make for a more relaxing experience, so I’m not against this choice.

There’s even a Robot Fight Club that you can bet on in Gacha Capsule Shop Simulator – Akihabara, which seems sort of tonally strange, but it’s a nifty little side thing. You can make a bit of cash if you place your bets right, and it’s admittedly fun to go watch a couple of Boston Dynamics-esque androids awkwardly partake in a boxing match, even if it seems a bit random when paired with managing a capsule toy store.

Credit: UGC90

The visual style of Gacha Capsule Shop Simulator – Akihabara is one of the game’s less polished aspects, with most customers resembling generic anime models. A couple have clear inspirations from manga and anime, but most of them look sort of like the characters you’d see in those “How to Draw Manga Characters” books from the 2000s, not entirely fitting in with the more muted setting and objects in the game. Customers also have strange pathfinding, often grabbing an item to buy from a table, then walking to the door, then to the counter, or back to the table, then to the counter. It’s not a big gripe or anything, but it does look a little goofy to have these characters stumbling around with little navigational awareness.