Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗Shop Crush
Bslteam · Published by Bslteam · Official site ↗
Content notice: The game is a simulator of the shop seller, and a psychological horror about the reality check. In the shop seller part, players can sell 'bad' items like alcohol, expired milk, etc. However, the references to those projects are really soft, and no depiction of usage is shown. As for the horror part, the game has an unsettling atmosphere, and the images (Illusions) that suggest violence and killing. It looks closer to murder scenes in the Hidden Object games. No actual killing, injuries, or harm is shown, but it is implied in the narrative. Lastly, the game deals with topics of anxiety, unreliable narration, and a sense of doubt. The game does not contain any kind of nudity and does not imply it either.
Last updated 28 Sept 2026
Shop Crush is a shop-owner simulator and visual novel set in the early 2000s. Stock a wide variety of goods, haggle with shoppers, and manage your reputation. Get to know your regulars and peel back the illusions tied to each persona as you slowly uncover the horrifying truth.
Adventure, Indie, Simulation, Early Access, Casual · 2026 · More free games
Step into the role of a shopkeeper in early 2000s Shop Crush. Stock your store with diverse goods, negotiate prices, and form relationships with regular customers to manage your business while unraveling hidden truths.
About this game
Own a Mysterious Shop
Shop Crush is a hybrid Visual Novel, where you connect with customers, learn their characters, and untangle the dark, Literal Illusion puzzles about them.
Manage Clients and Reputation
Manage your Thrift Shop. Sell a hodgepodge of merch to picky customers. Set the prices, bargain with clients, and turn down suspicious offers. Order popular stock, fight off shoplifters, and manage your reputation - gain or lose it based on your choices!
Keep the Business Stable
Yes, you own a Thrift Shop! Clients visit daily to purchase their preferred products. To keep your business profitable, you must monitor your prices and the demand for your products.
In this choice-driven Visual Novel, you must balance the profitability of the offer with the reputational loss that every purchase can cause.
Find New Buyers
Connect with different customers and help them find what they want. Every customer has a unique personality, purchasing patterns, and preferences. Build relationships with your favorite customers, give them the best deals, and try to keep up with their needs, demands, and wishes.
Buy New Products and Refill the Supply
Order new stock in the catalog. Keep your shelves stocked so your buyers have what they need. Some products are popular with specific buyers but not in demand by others.
Selling common goods, like milk, will get you a safe income, while risking selling sin goods will cash you out.
Control the customer's rage to protect your shop's reputation. If your reputation is low, people will avoid your shop.
Enhance and Personalize Buyers
Level Up Your Customers to Improve Their Purchasing Power. Customers improve their Visit Frequency, Average Check, and Reputation at every level.
Select a character's skin (gender) you like, and change it whenever you want during the game. There are three skin types supported: alien, female, and male.
Customers have preferences for their favorite and least favorite goods they want to buy from you.
Explore the Literal Illusions
Zoom, rotate, and drag the hidden pictures to uncover your customers' secrets. Every buyer has a Literal Illusion Puzzle connected to their persona. Complete all the puzzles to discover the horror your shop is hiding.
Key Features and Contents
Choice-based, tense, procedurally generated core gameplay.
2D Shop Simulator and an Economy game about trading with Customers.
Atmospheric Visual Novel about insanity, doubt, and Reality Check.
Innovative puzzles based on the Literal Illusion Effect.
10 Unique Clients, each with their own tastes and shopping styles.
5 Selected locations with carefully crafted storylines.
50+ Levels to Upgrade Every Customer.
70+ Products to buy - from weird ones to essentials!
Meet the Customers!
Leslie, a Poor Customer
A poor customer who usually buys trash. Sometimes, you may get a good offer from them. You will always have a small profit if you sell them cheap stuff for a tiny margin.
Likes: Rubber Ducks, Bananas, Mushrooms.
Hates: Daily Care.
Chelsea, a Rich Customer
This customer has a preference for shiny items and may be willing to overpay for them. If you balance profit and reputation, you may succeed. If you decline to serve Chelsea, your shop's reputation will improve.
Likes: Brand Clothes, Vegan Products, Animals.
Hates: Empty Shelves.
Brinley, a Coupon Collector
A Coupon Hunter customer. Likes good deals and cheap items. Brinley guarantees you a small margin of income.
Likes: Discounted Groceries.
Hates: Full-Priced Arrivals.
Zoe, an Authentic Customer
A highly passionate customer with unique values. Zoe likes people who agree with them. If you agree, Zoe might give you generous payback regarding profits and reputation.
Likes: Obedience.
Hates: Everything that's not essential.
Casey, an Enforcer Customer
An inspector playing their own game. They might confiscate some of your items, demanding a fine. If you refuse to pay, it will save you money, but not your reputation.
Likes: High-value home essentials.
Hates: Refusal to cooperate.
Alex, a Mayor Customer
Entrepreneurs can rarely influence a mayor, though they enjoy good price talks. Negotiations are what made them mayors.
Likes: Natural Cosmetics, Healthy Food.
Hates: Mystical Objects.
Nata, a Hacker Customer
They might buy simple groceries to hide the offshore activity. Or make a fake purchase to exploit their taxes. Sometimes, they buy regular geek stuff and threaten to take down your store for fun.
Likes: Fun Stuff.
Hates: ??? ;)
Sibs, Family Customers
These sibs only look similar. They have opposite tastes and disagree with each other all day! Because of their unpredictability, they could be valuable clients for either profit or reputation gain.
Like: Fun and Parties!
Hate: Consensus and Routine.
Kaycey, an Assertive Customer
A prominent therapist and authoritative customer. They know how to manipulate sellers very well. If you refuse to serve them, they will take revenge. Aside from destroying your reputation, they will make you sell extra cheaply.
Likes: Voodoo Dolls, Talismans
Hates: You?
Mx Malkoff, a Creative Customer
Highly intelligent, careful, and delicate buyer. Claire has exquisite taste and expects things to impress them. Claire likes their favorites and is willing to sponsor them greatly. Rare to visit, though.
Likes: Violins, Cigarettes, Poetry.
Hates: Wine and everything that's banal.
Think Literal. Solve Visual.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10, 11
- Processor: Intel Core i5 or equivalent
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: gtx 550 or higher
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 500 MB available space
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10, 11
- Processor: Intel Core i5 or equivalent
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: gtx 550 or higher
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 500 MB available space
Supported Languages
*languages with full audio support
Latest news
AnnouncementsOfficial
New Trailer just dropped today
Dear players,We are happy to present to you the new Shop Crush trailer. The latest trailer showcases the shop management mechanics, client interactions, and the unique illusion mode that unveils secrets woven into the shop and its visitors.Shop Crush blends Visual novel, Shop Simulator, and Psychological Horror elements with economic strategy, where every decision matters and every customer holds their secrets.We are now sharing it on YouTube for everyone.Read full article on Community Announcements (hollowlimb)Patch NotesOfficial
Our Playtest will end August 1st. (+ New Steam Capsule Update!)
Hi, dear players!We will shut down this playtest on August 1st. Thanks to your help, we got enough feedback to consider further improvements to the game. If someone hasn't tried the game yet but is interested, they still have 1 week to join.After August 1st, we will incorporate the feedback from the recent playtest. If you still have feedback you want to include, please do so on our Steam Community.A short recap of how this playtest went: we had many more people joining than we expected, and we are also really impressed with the playtime metric. We also got useful feedback from players - we of course want more (you can't have enough feedback, I think).But that's enough to start work. As a bonus, we would like to show you the upcoming Key Art we will use in the game soon. All art assets would be updated to this new identity to better illustrate the game loop and meaning.Art made by our wonderful artist Maria. We will wait a little bit to update the game on all platforms to make sure the recommendation engine picks the game right.Read full article on Community Announcements (hollowlimb)AnnouncementsOfficial
How the Content in Shop Crush Is Made
How the Content in Shop Crush Is MadeShop Crush is a story-driven game, which means a lot of development time goes into refining the visuals, audio, and writing so everything supports a single, consistent vision.That vision, however, wasn't there from the beginning.The game has gone through several major iterations. Originally, it leaned much more into sarcasm and irony. It had a cartoony art style, and I believed the depth of the trading mechanics would carry the experience. In those early versions, the real stars of the game were the groceries themselves and the different ways customers tried to get them.But playtesting showed something unexpected.Players weren't connecting with the products - they were connecting with the people. The most memorable part of the game wasn't the trading system itself, but the relationships between the shopkeeper and the customers. That changed how I approached almost every aspect of the project.The story changed as well. While it originally relied heavily on jokes and irony, players consistently interpreted events much more literally than I expected. Instead of laughing at the world, they became invested in it. So rather than fighting that reaction, I redesigned the game around it.CharactersThe first major redesign focused on the characters.I've shared some of these redesigns before, but what I find most interesting is the process behind them.Every character was broken down to understand what role they actually played in the player's mind. We rethought their appearance, expressions, clothing, and posture to better reflect how players perceived them during gameplay.Since Shop Crush currently has only ten characters, we had the opportunity to make each of them feel distinct. Manipulative customers became more fashionable and expressive, while formal characters, like Mayor Alex, received a more reserved and professional appearance.Their alien counterparts also received significant improvements. Looking back at the earlier versions, the...Read full article on Community Announcements (hollowlimb)AnnouncementsOfficial
New trailer just dropped
Dear players,We are happy to present to you the new Shop Crush trailer. The latest trailer showcases the shop management mechanics, client interactions, and the unique illusion mode that unveils secrets woven into the shop and its visitors.Shop Crush blends Visual novel, Shop Simulator, and Psychological Horror elements with economic strategy, where every decision matters and every customer holds their secrets.We are only sharing this full trailer on the Steam Page exclusively, at the moment.Read full article on Community Announcements (hollowlimb)AnnouncementsOfficial
Playtest had started!
Hi friends!Awesome news! We had started our playtest.It will last for about a month, maybe more, depending on the demand for it. The goal of this playtest is to check the game from Chapter 1 to Chapter 3, and collect your feedback.Please write all your thoughts in the game's community hub.You can playtest Shop Crush on the game's Steam page:Read full article on Community Announcements (hollowlimb)
