InKonbini Is A Love Letter To Japan’s Excellent Convenience Stores Set In The ’90s

[Pelican Press 0]

InKonbini Is A Love Letter To Japan’s Excellent Convenience Stores Set In The ’90s

Newcomer developer Nagai Industries Inc. has revealed its debut game called inKonbini: One Store. Many Stories, and it’s a love letter to one of the best parts of Japan: convenience stores. No seriously, Japan’s convenience stores, whether it’s a local mom ‘n pop place, Lawson’s (best chicken), Family Mart (best desserts), or 7-Eleven (best egg salad sandos), entering one of these is a treat. 

As someone who just got back from a vacation in Japan, I’m heavily missing these stores, conveniently located everywhere throughout major cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and elsewhere. Perhaps that’s why InKonbini’s reveal trailer has me so excited to play this team’s first game; but the game itself looks great, too. 

You play as college student Makoto Hayakawa who is taking a break from her studies to help her aunt at a small-town convenience store. Nagai, which itself is based in Tokyo, describes the game as a “meditative narrative adventure/simulation game” where, while playing, you’ll discover the joy and wonder hidden behind the daily routine of a konbini worker as you engage in “meaningful conversations with your customers and see how the stories intertwine in a beautifully rendered early 1990s setting.” 

Check out the inKonbini: One Store. Many Stories reveal trailer for yourself below: 

As you can see in the trailer above, players will explore their store, pick up clues from interactions with their environment, stock soft drinks, bento boxes, sandwiches, and more, all while talking to customers throughout the day. Nagai says players will find rhythm in the mundane activities of a convenience store shift, like shelving and cleaning “to discover new meaning in ordinary things.” 

“Study your customers’ purchasing habits and use your knowledge of the store’s assortment to surprise them with new flavor options,” Nagai’s

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for the game reads. “Change their ordinary routine in choice-driven dialogues and see how you can impact their lives.

“Focusing on day-to-day adventures of a convenience store clerk, it’s an accessible and relaxing game tailored to the tastes of players who find pleasure in light-hearted stories and dialogue interaction with funny and relatable characters.” 

Here are some additional screenshots of the game: 

 

As someone who loves both Japan’s convenience stories and narrative-driven adventure games, inKonbini is a game I’m looking forward to playing one day. For now, there is no release date but you can wishlist the game on

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. It’s due out on PC, Mac, and “consoles,” although Nagai has not specified which consoles. 

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