Blep Games delivers a treat for literary nerds with their debut game Bookshop Simulator. This sweet and immersive stock ‘em up has its first demo available for Steam Next Fest: June 2025, so I tried my hand at running the cozy independent bookstore of my dreams. Here’s where it delighted, where it fell flat, and where it left me eager for what comes next.

Once Upon a Time…

Like all new businesses, you start with a small property, a modest amount of money, and a dream. The game walks you through your first day, giving you money, unlocks, and other rewards for each new goal you achieve.

Your first task is to buy licenses, which allow you to purchase new book titles, furniture, and more. You start small with just a few titles—which are charming twists on all the classics you know and love. The Great Gatsby flips on itself to become The Bad Batsby, while the Michael Crichton’s iconic t-rex skull of Jurassic Park sits on the cover of Cretaceous Park by Michael Frighton.

I also saw customers with a cash register in their thought bubble, which I assume meant they thought service was slow. However, I never noticed anyone leave the store because of slow service the way they did because of bad pricing.

This Business is Lonely

For the most part, running your bookshop is straightforward. As time goes on, you’ll find yourself split between time at the register, restocking books, and purchasing more customizations and upgrades as you try to grow your store.

But there were points when that simplicity felt bare and unintuitive. With very few text or dialogue boxes after the brief tutorial, I was left fiddling with the in-game tablet, trying to figure out how certain things worked.

For example, I hired my first employee a few days in, then spent the first half of her first day wondering where she was. The answer? Standing outside by the curb, waiting for me to walk up, click on her, and assign her to a task. It’s a good thing customers didn’t seem to mind slow service, because I spent a few in-game hours trying to figure that out.

Meet Your Fellow Book Nerds

Speaking of customers, the game delivers a diverse cast of NPCs. Their designs are beautiful and charming, and the wide variety of hairstyles and outfits makes everyone who steps foot in your store feel unique.

Unfortunately, that’s where the interest ends. Customers roam around the shop in complete and utter silence. Even when they’re unsatisfied with their experience, they maintain a blank stare that leaves gameplay feeling hollow. It’s a detail that feels particularly impactful in this sim; anyone who’s stepped foot in an independent bookstore knows that they’re way more personal than that. The demo does promise improved NPCs coming soon, so perhaps facial expressions, vocal reactions, more thought bubbles, or other tweaks are on the way to make interactions feel less monotonous.

Stock Intriguing Tales

One thing that did break up the monotony was the promise of rare and mythical books. You’ll find them as surprises in boxes of used books. Some are simply special editions that go for a much higher price than their normal counterparts.

Others, however, are strange, glowing texts that give you unique abilities and perks for your shop. The one I found gave me a discount when purchasing books and furniture, which was a huge help during those early days. The collector in me is already itching to find more of them.

Did I Mention the Cat?

A shop cat makes everything better, and the feline friends in Bookshop Simulator are no exception. You can adopt a cat (or three, if you’re me), and set them up with food, a bed and more, to make them feel at home in your shop. They’ll wander around, delighting you and your customers as the day goes on.

There are points when the cat falls flat the same way the customers do. It will walk around, stretch, and look curiously at shelves and walls, but it makes no sound and doesn’t interact with food bowls or other items. I was also heartbroken to find that there was no option to pet it. So, although the cats add charm to the shop, there’s definitely room for more.

The Story’s Just Beginning

Despite the letdowns I found in the demo, Bookshop Simulator has what all good simulator games should: the constant drive to do just one more thing. There’s always another book to restock, another license to buy, another piece of décor to try out. Each book you sell gets you closer to more space, more furniture, and more ways to customize and expand, which means there’s always something to work toward. Even after reaching the demo’s 10-level cap, I kept playing simply because I was always so close to reaching the next milestone—whether that goal was presented by the game or by my own ideas.

And there’s even more in store. In addition to improved NPCs, the demo promises custom books and a café on the horizon. That’s in addition to the book titles, furniture, customization options, and more that’s locked behind the demo’s level cap. All in all, Bookshop Simulator feels like a blank slate: generic for now, but with the potential for something more. And that potential makes me eager to see how the game—and my own store—can grow from here.

Bookshop Simulator’s demo is available now as part of Steam’s June Next Fest.