Mineko's Night Market presents an adorable blend of crafting, stealth, and silliness in an artistically-inspired world, but it's sometimes brought down by bugs and overly-simple mechanics. Night Market is the debut title from developer Meowza Games and is being published by Humble Games. Despite some moments of tedium, the game does an excellent job of cultivating a cozy and inviting environment, and while the story it tells isn't a complex one, it's still an experience that will be worthwhile for many players.

At its core, Mineko's Night Market is a relaxing game first and foremost. Many elements contribute to this, ranging from smart quality of life improvements like unlimited inventory to the absence of tool switching to the overall difficulty level. In many ways, there's plenty of inspiration from games like Wytchwood, presenting a crafting-based storyline with some stealth and puzzle elements. Mineko's Night Market is quite easy in almost all areas of gameplay, but whether that's a problem depends on player preference. However, there's still a good amount of work to be done, and progression still feels satisfying even when it's easily gained.

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The Story Of Mineko's Night Market

Mineko's Night Market opens with the titular protagonist and her father arriving at their new home on the small, Japanese-inspired island of Mt. Fugu. Old folktales about a giant magical cat named Nikko have begun resurfacing lately, with sightings of the mythical creature on the rise. In response to this, Mt. Fugu has become overrun with mysterious agents who claim to be investigating the feline, and imprisoning other island cats in the process. Mineko quickly gets wrapped up in an investigation with her new friend Bobo to help Nikko and discover the agents' true purpose.The story is simple but creative, and incredibly entertaining dialogue keeps things interesting.

The World Of Mt. Fugu

The world of Mineko's Night Market is highly stylized in a beautiful way, with an aesthetic reminiscent of hand-painted cutouts, and this combined with the game's relaxing soundtrack makes the island a delightful place to explore. As players buy new tools they'll be able to access new areas and in turn new kinds of resources - wood from The Dark Woods, and fish from The Docks, as some examples. Every area must be cleared of agents and have all cats freed before Mineko can proceed, with each new location serving as increasingly elaborate stealth puzzles as she progresses across the map.

The passage of time is unique in Mineko's Night Market, with time moving forward whenever Mineko takes the bus to and from a location. This means that players must prioritize each day which locale would serve them the best as they can only visit one; it also means that there's no rush when Mineko is going about her daily tasks, which makes things much more laid back. There's plenty to do in Mineko's village as well - there are museums to be filled out and resident requests to fulfill that will satisfyingly evolve the look of the area over time.

Collecting Resources & Crafting

Collecting resources in Mineko's Night Market is one of the most simplistic parts of the game. Each resource has its own small minigame, but most boil down to lining up a meter within a green area. Fishing is incredibly easy as well - there's no reeling mechanic, just tapping a button after the fish bites, which is signaled very clearly in the animation. However, one could argue that in a game designed to be relaxing something like fishing doesn't need to be complex; while a harder minigame might detract from that sense of calm, these activities do feel a bit tedious sometimes because of their simplicity.

Considering how many games include crafting now, it's important for a title to set itself apart when it comes to making things, which is something Mineko's Night Market certainly succeeds in. Over time, Mineko will acquire a myriad of tools to make crafts, beginning with more simple mediums like flower arranging and paper folding and eventually progressing to things like pottery and jewelry making. The minigame for each type of craft is different, and are largely more fun than those for material collection. Mineko can make a range of objects, from more traditional Japanese-inspired crafts to sillier pieces, and it's always fun getting a new recipe.

The Weekly Night Market

The main purpose of these crafts is to be used in what's arguably the star of the game: the titular Night Market. Every Saturday, Mineko can put all the things she's made out on display, haggling with residents to make the most profit possible. In order to appeal to the widest customer base possible, it's important for the display to include a varied stock, presenting a fun challenge every week trying to anticipate shoppers' desires. There's great joy to be derived from making pieces of art and designing the ideal display each week, and the game does a good job of making the event feel communal.

The Night Market will level up over time based on Mineko's weekly profits, with each earned rank unlocking new vendors for the event. Selling food, figurines, clothing, and more, this is also where players will find many of the specific items requested by villagers, making checking stalls' stock each week feel like it has more purpose. Each week also features an event like a children's play or cat race, though each one just gets sort of reskinned each season - a summer lantern collecting game becoming a stuffed ghost hunt in fall, for example. Despite this repetition, there are often entertaining moments, particularly during the plays.

Mineko's Night Market Bugs

Mineko's Night Market doesn't have any gamebreaking bugs, but there are a handful of issues that do affect gameplay. Some animations, particularly of things being built in town, cause a large amount of lag, and there were several occasions of stuttering and overly-long load times. Only one issue actually affected progress: most weeks the Night Market profit summary would only log the money from one sale, making it take much longer to level up. There were a few other inconsequential visual issues like a bush blinking different colors and Mineko's window not showing the right time of day outside, but nothing too disruptive.

Final Thoughts & Review Score

This title's gorgeous visuals, great sense of humor, and creative crafting make it much easier to overlook the areas in which it falls short. The game weaves a delightful tale full of feline-centric magical realism that's truly delightful, and it's possibly one of the best releases for cat lovers since Stray. Despite its flaws, Mineko's Night Market is perfect for any player looking for a creative and relaxing world to get lost in.

Source: Nintendo of America/YouTube

Mineko's Night Market releases September 26 for Nintendo Switch and PC/Mac via Steam, and will arrive for PlayStation consoles and Xbox One on October 26. Screen Rant was provided with a Steam code for the purpose of this review.