PC Gamer noted that the demo for the single-player shop management simulation Deep Space Pawn: Probably Stolen entered the platform's top 100 most-played games during the Steam Next Fest, reaching 34,230 concurrent players. PC Gamer pointed out that with over 8,000 demos featured in this event, such performance is particularly notable for a title centered around managing inventory while sitting behind a counter.
The author experienced the demo in September, describing the atmosphere of Deep Space Pawn: Probably Stolen as running a corner store in a dystopian sci-fi world: players are in a rundown shop on a space station, selling food, drinks, weapons, and cybernetics to a diverse array of customers, some of whom are quite suspicious. At night, you can go out to scavenge for scrap, adding valuable items to your inventory; as equipment unlocks, players can craft items, smelt metal into ingots, and even run a rat breeding operation to sell meat.
The game also allows players to purchase rare goods from professional vendors, identify counterfeits using a magnifying glass, or sell fakes to wealthy customers lacking discernment. Story choices involve an underground resistance movement; players can report wanted individuals for bounties or remain silent. The author believes its systems have some depth without requiring players to be hardcore simulation fans.
The full version of Deep Space Pawn: Probably Stolen is scheduled for release on October 28, with the high online player count of the demo providing a clear indicator of pre-launch hype.
Steam Game Description:
Deep Space Pawn: Probably Stolen is a cyberpunk shop management simulation set within a dystopian space station. Craft, trade, and smuggle goods of questionable origin, navigating between various factions; see how many lines you're willing to cross to make a living. Earn enough profit to buy out the shop entirely before rising rent pushes you into a desperate situation.
Reported by PC Gamer:
I played the demo in September and really enjoyed it, as it made me feel like I was running a corner store in Judge Dredd or Cyberpunk 2077. You sit behind the counter of a dingy shop on a space station, selling Everythinggj from food and drinks to weapons and cybernetic implants to a cast of interesting, quirky, and sometimes suspicious customers.
The game also incorporates elements from the Fallout series: at night, you can scavenge through junk piles for scrap and trash, hoping to find something valuable. You can also engage in crafting, such as smelting metal into ingots once you have the appropriate equipment. Since this is a brutal future world, you can even start a rat farm and sell rat meat.
You can visit other specialty stores to buy hard-to-find items for personal use or resale. The game even has hints of Papers, Please, presenting moral dilemmas: an underground organization is fighting against a cyber-dystopia, and you can choose to help or hinder them, depending on whether you want to hand over revolutionaries to the police for hefty bounties or stay silent when you spot someone on the police's wanted list.
Don't worry, you don't need to be a hardcore simulation game enthusiast to enjoy running a shop in Deep Space Pawn: Probably Stolen. However, the game does offer considerable depth: you can use a magnifying glass (similar to the one in Unpacking) to inspect items for signs of counterfeits, and you can even sell these fakes to wealthy fools who can't tell the difference between real and fake implants.
