Review: Sticky Business is a game that will stick with you

I’ll be totally transparent, I’ve always wanted to have my own sticker business. Unfortunately, I’m not that great at drawing and I don’t have the mental fortitude to try to put myself out there and get sales.

So, being able to play this little game where I get to make my own little stickers, position them on the sheets, and package orders has filled a sticker business void in my heart. 

Sticky Business gameplay and the story that never was

If you’re looking for a lot of story in your games, Sticky Business is going to disappoint. It’s not about the trials and tribulations of being a small business owner, it’s about the business itself. It’s for people like me who always wanted to run a sticker shop.

As someone who has never had a sticker business, but has watched countless studio vlogs of people who do have these businesses, this felt pretty faithful. You open up your creator, make a little sticker you like, and then you make a sticker sheet to print. Like with most printing jobs, you want to maximize space, so twisting the stickers around to try and fit as many on a page as possible was an interesting little detail.

After you’ve picked your finish, you’re ready to go! Your sticker is in your shop and ready to be bought by the masses. Or, controlled masses, anyway. In my experience, I never got more than 6 orders in one day. Because of it, I often felt a little pigeonholed in being able to build up funds to upgrade things. 

Not only can you upgrade colors and foil finishes for stickers, but you can upgrade slots in your store, buy different paper for packaging, and purchase different fillers to cushion your products.

There are two ways to earn money here, the first is through coins that you get from selling your stickers. The second is in hearts which you get from your stickers being bought over and over again. Each time a component is sold, it levels up. Each level-up offers additional hearts.

You can also get more hearts by adding candy into the packages for your customers, but that candy is something you have to buy with coins. You’ll want to buy with care because sometimes you’ll run out of stickers and need to print more to fill orders.

Some things can only be unlocked with coins, like upgrading slots in your store or foil finishes, while sticker components are purely bought with hearts. 

Sticky Business really shines in the sticker creation portion. It’s arguably my favorite part and gave me the most joy.

I don’t play on Twitch, but I did find it interesting to learn that there is a Twitch integration in Sticky Business that lets viewers become customers in the game and order from your shop. So, that seems like a really fun community aspect if you’re looking for a game to stream on Twitch.

The art is incredibly cute, but you can leave the music.

The music was alright, but there was only one track that played over and over again. So, I had to mute it after some time. Honestly, I feel like that’s fine because this isn’t the sort of game that benefits or suffers from having music on or off.

The art is where this game really shines. The cartoony, pixelated style is exceptionally charming and I love all of the components that you can build your stickers from. I never felt like I had to struggle to find something creative to make in the stickers, even when I had limited options.

Also, can we talk about the fact that I was able to make a little mug sticker with the word cozy on it to represent Comfy Cozy Gaming? (Oh and, of course, the goblin with the d20 is a very close second favorite.)

If you’re looking for cozy, you’ve found it!

The coziness level is off the charts, but it’s the interest that may cause some waning. If you’re looking for more action or adventure to be cozy with, this isn’t the game for you. But, if you’re looking for a fun little experience to chill out with, you’ll really enjoy Sticky Business.

I chose the relaxed time limit option as opposed to choosing a normal time limit, so I never felt rushed to get through the day. I was able to just create little stickers that I was jazzed about and was able to keep chugging along to the next task. 

Cons: It’s a stretch, but there’s a few things…

The game delivers exactly what it promises: the controls are fine and the art is cute. However, I’d call this more of an experience rather than a game.

There’s no story and the days are fairly repetitive. The whole goal, it seems, is merely to get your achievements, because there’s no other reward in this game. As I mentioned, I never got more than 6 orders in a day, so growth felt a bit stalled.

I think the game lasts as long as it does because of having to constantly start a new day to build up funds for the next item to unlock. 

Verdict: Should you stick it into your collection?

Sticky Business is for every person who wants to run their own sticker empire over on Etsy. It’s for people who love messing around on Canva (or similar programs) to create new and interesting things. It’s for people who love collecting achievements.

It is not for people that need stimulus. This is a very chill, very relaxed game. I really enjoyed playing it and I got so excited every time I made a sticker that I felt represented something special to me.

As someone who loves collecting achievements, I’ll keep playing to try and grab them all despite the game feeling a little repetitive. You can, also, save your designs to your computer for personal use, but they are not commercially licensed. So, please don’t use any creations you make in Sticky Business for commercial use.

If you’re interested in playing Sticky Business, you can find it over on Steam.