Discounty Review: A Fresh Spin on Stardew Valley-style Farm Life Sims

Discounty flips the traditional narrative of farm life simulator games, repositioning players from brave farmer to the outsider trying to establish a supermarket monopoly within a small community. Parallels to Stardew Valley are evident, though this game leans towards a more uncomfortable narrative with its protagonist: a disreputable capitalist pawn. While the storytelling gets muddled at times, Discounty’s gameplay offers an addictively fun experience with the ever-present drive for efficiency and customer satisfaction.

– Discounty is a pixel farm life simulator game where you play the role of a supermarket owner attempting to monopolize a small town’s economy.
– The game intertwines narrative story telling and moment-to-moment gameplay as you manage your supermarket, interact with townsfolk, and solve town mysteries.
– Despite its enjoyable gameplay and colorful characters, Discounty struggles with a confused narrative that makes the player character’s actions feel morally wrong.

Following the success of Stardew Valley, many developers have aimed to replicate its charm in their own pixel-style farming simulation games. Discounty carves a unique space for itself, not by strapping players with the typical challenges of a rural lifestyle, but by casting them in the role popularly seen as the antagonists in such games. In Discounty, players aren’t small-time farmers in a looming corporate crosshair; instead, they take on the role of the incoming owners of a mega supermarket, disrupting an existing small-scale economy for profit. While this is an intriguing reversal of roles, the narrative execution of the game can be uncomfortable and confused at times.

The player’s character finds themselves helping out their shady, capitalistic aunt in her small harbor town of Blomkest. She has sold her struggling market to the Discounty chain, and the player’s character steps into a thriving world of trade malpractices and ruthless market dynamics. The character doesn’t have much choice but to follow their aunt’s lead, expanding the supermarket’s reach at the expense of local vendors and compelling citizens to patronize Discounty.

The character’s lack of agency against their aunt’s devious plans can be unsettling. The bulk of the game deals with the struggling community’s issues and features the character’s decision to prioritize profit over the villagers’ wellbeing. The game almost portrays the bleak reality of a powerless, overworked retail employee unable to bring any societal change, but falls short by adding the character’s capitalist intentions.

Discounty’s narrative framework feels incomplete, leaving players lingering for a comprehensive response to the ethical questions it raises. However, the moment-to-moment gameplay is enjoyable, throwing various challenges as the business expands. From keeping shelves stocked to optimizing market layout to improve footfall and efficiency, the game delivers regular rewards and personal growth milestones.

Players can also discover and address mysterious happenings in Blomkest. From purple mists covering woods to a sudden surge in the rat population, these plotlines offer brief reliefs from the monotonous business process. Engaging with the town locals is another fun aspect, though it can get tiresome with repeated dialogues.

Despite questionable moral undertones and confused narrative execution, Discounty offers engaging and gratifying gameplay that keeps players hooked. The capitalist angle introduces a fresh perspective, but the story could have been more nuanced and impactful. The protagonist’s actions lack depth and their role as a capitalist villain could have been better exploited.

Discounty has plenty of charm in its quirky setting and addictive store-management loop, but it never fully smooths out its clunky controls or uneven pacing. There is fun to be found, especially if you enjoy offbeat life sims, yet it feels more like a curious diversion than a lasting staple.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars.

Discounty is available for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X