Apocalypse Gaming: Virtual Shopping?
Relive the mundanity of everyday existence.
by Holly Miles
Struck by Covid-19 many of us have been held housebound, in our final days outside were you traipsing through supermarkets in hope of finding the last pack of loo roll or one more pint of milk? Has your stock-piling stress dampened your vigour? Are you ready for the dream retail experience? Then allow me to introduce you to one of the most underrated indie games of all time!
I’ll take you to Tomato Town was aptly named and created by Toronto based creatives: @davidczar, @emmamochii, @Markymark665 and @adamgryu within the space of 3 days. It enables the user to recreate the experience of being in an average supermarket with other shoppers, taking requests via phone of varying quantity and type before eventually reeling in the player to undertake an inadvisable heist!
Games such as these and the eagerly anticipated Animal Crossing: New Horizons are growing ever more popular. As people seek outlets and escapism for the mundanity of every day life, they seek comfort in the familiar patterns of the everyday, happily serving a capitalist raccoon or grabbing a box of “donuts that look like bagels” or is it “bagels that look like donuts”?. Why people find comfort in doing more of the same might well continue to be mystery but this game has certainly appealed to my senses.
Whilst only a relatively short game by a very small group of creatives it is remarkable how gripping this game is. The attention to detail of the items on the shelves and visual aesthetic of the game whilst not stunning is quaint and appeals to the simplicity of the game itself.
Some particularly enjoyable highlights of the game for me were: the super stretch arms of the main character (allowing you to grab items all the way from the other side of the store), the cute tomato hats of the employees (watch out for secret surprises involved there) and the dulcet, bored sounding tones of the people who end up phoning you. It all comes together to create such an enjoyable game that I just wish there was an extended version in which I could live out all my personal shopper dreams.
In summary, if you’re longing for the shopping experience without having to even leave the comfort of your own home, with mundane thrills aplenty then look no further that checking out this game on itch.io!
