Cat Worshipping Simulator 2023!

Mineko’s Market is truly a treasure to behold. This game is such a delight to play with tons of engaging activities to partake in as well as interesting characters to build relationships with while also just being a total blast to play.

Mineko’s Night Market is a unique experience. From the opening credits until the fantastic ending, this game truly shines through its characters and the relationships made throughout.

The game takes place on the island of Mt Fugu. The environments are rich and full of life and areas to explore. The changing of the seasons throughout the game really helps to keep the experience fresh and engaging.

MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99

In Mineko’s Night Market, players take on the role of Mineko who just moved to the village with her father. Mineko’s goal is to help revitalize the village and bring it back from economic hardship. Players will do so by making and selling crafts as well as opening other shops throughout the village.

Players will do a variety of quests for the villagers to gain materials they need to craft supplies necessary to sell the crafted items.

Along the way, Mineko will investigate the mysterious Nikko, a cat who is worshipped by the locals. The investigation takes quite a few surprising turns as players gather information needed to solve this mystery.

However, along the way players will encounter “agents” who are also in the village to investigate Nikko. They will capture cats that they can rescue, and YES you can pet them!

The true stars of the show in Mineko’s Night Market are its characters and world building. The game did a great job of setting up relationships that I truly cared about and ones I wanted to protect and explore further. The more I played the game, the more I cared for the villagers and wanted to help them out of the awful situations they found themselves in.

The fun here is found in the exploration of the village and the side quests that come along with that exploration. Players will do things such as gather resources and fish. The more materials gathered; the more players can barter at the market on Saturdays. The game makes bartering fun and engaging and not just a mundane task.

This would not normally be a game that I would pick up and play but getting the opportunity to review it, I couldn’t turn it down. I put my personal preferences aside and had an absolute blast with this game.

However, there are drawbacks and things I wish were a little more fleshed out and a little different. For starters, though there are some great characters here, there aren’t enough of them in the world to get attached to. I would have loved to see the world expanded and more of these fantastic characters added.

Also, though the game is fun, I did catch myself getting a little bored during the later parts of the game. I believe that was due to the fact that I was doing most of the same types of quests throughout the game. It needs more diversity in its quests.

Every game has its negatives and none of the negatives mentioned in this review should keep you from trying this game out. It’s an absolute delight and a ton of fun to be had. If you’re like me and stuck in your gaming ways, step out of your comfort zone a little and fire this game up. You won’t be disappointed, especially since the game is on Game Pass.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.