Who hasn’t dreamed of running their own business? Being one’s own boss, setting personal hours, and raking in that sweet payday, dance like sugarplum fairies on Christmas Eve in our heads. There are plenty of Sim style games out there that put you in the bosses’ chair, along with the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. But sometimes, you just want to kick back, create something cute and let the cash flow in. Sticky Business from Spellgarden Games allows you to do just that.

Cozy and comfy, Sticky Business, after a short tutorial, gives you the keys to your very own creation studio, with plenty of upgrades to ensure your sticker designs are fun, flawless masterpieces. With everything from animals to clever sayings, the limits are only that of your imagination. Special events, Halloween and Christmas so far, have released additional assets for holiday themed designs.

A DLC, Plan with Me, was added December 2023, adding more assets for your stickery goodness, including days of the week, travel, inspirational saying and more. Additionally, players can send their customers extra goodies, like journals, highlighters, and an array of candies to satisfy that sweet tooth.

As an extra perk, you can save your designs to your PC and print off physical copies.

Stories to Tell, Stickers to Make

Interwoven into the fabric of Sticky Business are your customers’ stories. Through emails received each morning, customers can ask for specific designs along with selecting from your already created inventory. However, special clients come to you on their own journey. Through their emails, you get to know them and their struggles and triumphs.

One such storyline is told through three different client’s eyes: a teen, his widower father, and the man who comes into their lives at the right time. Using stickers as their love language, with special requested designs you happily provide, a tale of heartbreak, understanding and healing is told.

Therein lies the hidden charm of Sticky Business. While letting creativity flow is always wonderfully relaxing, there is something even more satisfying about helping people along their path. Stories of longing, love, and loneliness weave in with stories of acceptance, change and just a sprinkle of whimsical wackiness. Just ask the mysterious visitor. (IYKYK)

Health, heart and music

Some stories deal with mental health issues, dementia, depression and imposter syndrome. While you can’t solve their problems, making specific stickers, or in one case, a health tracker, can help the client move on. I want to point out that none of the issues or problems your clients are dealing with are made light of. Each story is given care and dignity, showing the heart of the development team.

Adding to the coziness of the game, lo-fi music accompanies you each day as you move through each section. Each area has its own song, it’s easy to get lost in the vibes while going about your business.

A tricky, sticky business

As many good points as Sticky Business has, I would be remiss to ignore its flaws. Because the client stories are such a powerful way to move ahead time, waiting for the next bit of their tale to come along can feel monotonous.

Each day, you receive orders, sometimes too many to pack in a single day. There is little time to create, as that takes up a significant amount of the day. So, it becomes a tiresome chore of packing, reprinting, and mailing off packages, without any feedback from the clients. Other times there’s only a couple of orders for the day, leaving too much time unspent.

Perhaps it’s just me, but it feels unbalanced. It can take a long while to accumulate hearts, which are used to purchase new assets from the design store. Gold is much easier to come by but can only be used to buy extra goodies and sticker store slots. I’d skipped days to get to the next part of the story, or to obtain hearts to buy more assets.

The Plan with Me DLC adds idea of journaling, and unfortunately there is no option to design a custom journal. There’s potential here for more to design, not just journals, but calendars, book covers… the options are endless. Customer feedback would also be a nice touch, to make the experience feel more interactive, especially since the characters are already communicating with you.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Sticky Business is a fun and relaxing way to spend some time. Creating unique stickers and learning about your client stories gives one a sense of purpose and hope. If the developers decided to add more substance in the future, I do believe it would be an unforgettable game.

Our Score: Good!

Stick Business is available on PC through Steam, Itch.i.o. and GOG for $9.99 USD. NeverMore Niche received a free review key generously provided by Assemble Entertainment.