The night begins like any other. I check notes left by the day shift workers informing me of products that have to be moved to the sale section or reordered from our supplier. I venture out into the store, making sure cans of dog food and bottles of beer face the right way. I rotate milk cartons so that a different side of each is facing out, their images together making a cow. I flip the store’s sign to “open” and in walks my first customer. Neither of us knows it yet, but I’m about to change his life over the course of my week working at this small-town konbini.
Such is a day — er, night — in the life of Makoto.
She’s the star of Inkonbini, a cozy slice-of-life game from Nagai Industries. She runs a konbini (Japanese convenience store) alone on the night shift, but she’s never lonely. In many ways, the konbini is just a backdrop to host Inkonbini’s cast of regulars. The game is as much about getting to know them as it is anything else. After a week of working at the konbini, you’ll help them overcome the problems dragging them down, and maybe you’ll find peace for yourself too along the way.
