Merchant 64 might look at first blush like a pleasant, easygoing game—a charming, Nintendo 64-style world where you play as an ambitious young merchant. Don’t let the bright colors and cartoonish aesthetic fool you, though. Beneath its retro aesthetics pulses a tough, occasionally cruel experience that reminds you just how difficult the road to success is.
Merchant 64
Play as a ragtag kid attempting to make it big trading wisely. You begin modestly, scouring around, purchasing items at one location to sell somewhere else depending on prices and demand. With sufficient profit you can invest in better equipment, provide higher quality products, and reach new towns. The gameplay itself is quite simple, but the path to wealth definitely isn’t.
You begin in Acornville with not much more than 20 coins to your name. Everything costs around $1 and sells for $2—if you’re lucky. The interface is a bit clunky to begin with, and you’ll have to learn quickly. Interacting with NPCs is dangerous: most interactions auto-transaction without asking, so you can spend precious coins on trash you didn’t need.
Opening up new areas like Beechtown ($100), Cashewberg ($600), and Merchantland ($6,000) is a slog. The advancement is satisfying, yet the process is slow and often frustrating—especially when you’re on the verge of opening up a new area, only for it to be postponed by a bad deal or robbery.
Capitalism, But Cute and Cruel
Underneath the adorable exterior, Merchant 64 presents a fairly scathing critique of capitalism. You’re fighting onward through all of this, struggling with tough decisions, and being cheated, outright. You cannot even purchase a real bed for most of the game. Wish to see yourself sleeping in the streets? Best break out the pepper; individuals will rob you. Even in the forest is trash, indicating precisely how wasteful and opportunist this mock society is.
You’ll get to know the handful of residents of the towns, especially those who’ve stolen from you as you slept. It lends the otherwise fanciful experience an odd, almost personal touch. Nevertheless, there’s something satisfying about finally having enough to pay for an inn or unlock the next big town.
A Short but Memorable Experience
Merchant 64 won’t survive more than a few hours, but those few hours will stay with you. It’s part retro nostalgia trip, part survival simulator, and part capitalist satire—all presented in a low-poly, pixelated package. Although gameplay does slow on the occasional moment and the mechanics can be somewhat rough around the edges, the game’s charm and humour win through.
When you can finally afford a safe bed each night, the world of Merchant 64 feels a little less threatening—but no less strange and memorable.
Merchant 64 is available now on PC.