Merchant 64: Wholesome Capitalism
Real-world worries with a nostalgic look
2025 isn't even halfway done and we've already seen a ton of big releases. There's a whole lot more coming out for the rest of the year, not to mention new hardware. Even with bigger studios that can afford staff to pump out game after game, it's worth championing the smaller developers too. Merchant 64 (a "teeny tiny adventure" as it's subtitled) is a solo effort from developer SuitNTie. It's a wholesome game from a wholesome developer, but it happens to be about money... you know, all that icky commerce and capitalism. Still, Merchant 64 makes inflation and the cost of living crisis feel like a whimsical phase, akin to rainbows and sunny days.
The game puts you in the shoes of a traveling merchant, who starts as a humble street peddler with a few dollars in his knapsack and some junk items he picked up on the road. Our hero begins his career as the town's serial recycler, turning junk into cash flow. It's a bit like that one episode from The Simpsons where Mr. Burns uses spare change from recycling bottles to rebuild his wealth.
Peddling junk can only get you so far, and fairly soon you'll want to make some smart upgrades, like a backpack that can carry better quality stuff, and eventually, some real goods that actually have enduring market value. In the meantime, nothing is free; travelling to a new town will cost money, and you'll need some coin to find a place to lodge for the night too. You could just sleep on the street for free but expect a few goods and dollars missing in the morning. Yes, cost of living, unemployment, and theft are bitter realities in this seemingly wholesome game world.
The early parts of the game can get a little grindy, and you'll definitely want to farm for junk in the wilderness early on and collect enough to get an inn pass and travel to the next town. From there, you'll want to acquire that new backpack to make your trading prospects more lucrative. Meanwhile, prices are fluctuating, and the various townsfolk are dealing with their own financial woes, whether it's getting rid of their possessions or looking for a good deal on the streets.
This may be a teeny tiny adventure built around a simple buy and sell gameplay objective, but there is a lot of substance here. The gameplay progression can be non-linear if you are smart about how you make money, and there are multiple endings to encourage multiple playthroughs. A run can take as few as four hours to complete, but honestly, you can take your time with it. Even early on, the grind to build that initial wealth can feel cathartic and almost meditative.
As the "64" in the title suggests, the presentation and aesthetics are straight out of the Nintendo 64 era. It looks clean and crisp, and you'll definitely want to turn on the scanline filters to get this best visual vibe. It's a charming game where the colors really pop, and the character models look cute. It might seem simple and minimalist, but there's some attention to detail here. Whether it's the pre-rendered overworld map or NPCs getting up to some antics in the foreground, this feels like a game from an era gone by, and it probably would have been a popular game back in 1996 too. It shares many visual and artistic similarities with the infamous N64 launch title, Quest 64, which has now become a cult classic in its own right for all the wrong reasons.
The experience is a fun little solo developed effort, and it's priced accordingly too. It feels like a simple concept, but it's executed with a lot of heart, and it has some interesting things to discover. It may not measure up to the many cozy shop simulators out there, but Merchant 64 makes you work hard for the money. The best part is the asking price is among the lowest you'll find on Steam or any other DRM-free platform.
Merchant 64 is a charming game that executes a simple and novel idea with charm. It achieves what it sets out to do and gives players a reason to sit back and relax, effectively delivering its charming N64-style presentation and cathartic gameplay loop. As far as solo-developed projects go, this one has legs and perhaps the potential to become a bigger adventure with a follow-up game.
