Candy Shop Simulator launched on 9th September 2025, developed by Games Incubator and published by Games Incubator alongside PlayWay S.A. It promises players the chance to run their own candy store, from baking and decorating treats to managing staff, stocking shelves, and exploring the town around you. On paper, it’s another cosy simulator in the growing library from PlayWay’s publishing stable, but does it rise to the occasion or fall flat like an undercooked sponge?
Managing Your Candy Empire
Candy Shop Simulator starts with a simple idea: run your own sweet shop. You bake treats, stock shelves, hire staff, and decorate the store however you like. On paper, it ticks all the simulator boxes. In practice, the pieces don’t always fit together smoothly.
The game sets a loose goal: “be successful.” It never defines what that means, which leaves progression without much direction. Even as you expand the shop and unlock new recipes, the lack of structure makes progress feel flat.
You earn experience by selling goods. Each level milestone unlocks new recipes, products, discounts, and delivery options. The system works, but it feels mechanical rather than exciting. Levelling up happens quickly, but every unlock comes with a price tag. Since the shop doesn’t bring in much cash, you often can’t afford the upgrades you’ve earned.
Creative Confections
The mini-games steal the spotlight. They break up the grind of shopkeeping and make the core tasks fun. Mixing a cake feels hands-on: add ingredients to a bowl, rotate the camera to stir, bake the sponge, then decorate it. Watching the cake rise and putting the finishing touches on it delivers the exact satisfaction a simulator should.
Customisation adds to the fun. You can smother cakes in icing, sprinkle on chocolate chunks, or top them with fruit. Placing toppings feels smooth and satisfying, but using icing tools feels awkward, like sketching with Microsoft Paint. Messy at first, but with practice you might create something worth showing off.
You repeat the same process with lollipops, cookies, and layered cakes. The tools give you space to get creative, but the designs don’t change how much money you earn. Artistic players will enjoy experimenting, but the game doesn’t reward your effort.
Life Outside the Shop
You’re not just confined to your little (expandable) candy store either, you can head out and explore the wider town. There’s a lot of empty space, which feels like it was thrown together, but it does have its uses. Later on you’ll make deliveries, and there are shops where you can buy ingredients, along with hairdressers and clothing stores for customising your character.
Most ingredients need to be bought either in person or through your in-game smartphone for delivery. Early on you can forage for berries to save money, though they take a long time to respawn.
Scattered around the town are 100 collectibles in the form of giant glowing lollipops. They’re hidden all over, and collecting them all gives you a welcome injection of cash, which really helps when money feels tight.
Sugar-Coated or Rough Around the Edges?
First impressions of Candy Shop Simulator are surprisingly strong. The opening looks clean and polished, and before you even chat to the NPC who introduces you to shopkeeping, you might find yourself thinking, “this is actually a really pretty game.”
The character creator adds to that charm. It’s a little basic, but there’s enough variety to put together a good-looking shopkeeper, and the character models and animations hold up nicely once you’re in the game.
Things start to dip when it comes to interacting with NPCs. The UI during conversations feels clunky, almost like an afterthought, and it pulls you out of the experience a bit. This is also true when performing any of the main tasks, when preparing a mixture for cakes there’s a visual icon showing you what to do but it’s usually hanging off the top of your screen.
On the positive side, everything you can control in your shop looks great. There’s plenty of furniture and decorative items to play with, which makes it fun to build a sweet little store that feels like your own.
The town outside your shop is a bit more hit and miss. From a distance, it looks quaint and welcoming, but once you get closer the cracks start to show. Buildings, signs, and props often look off-scale, and worse, many objects float above the ground: fences, walls, even random props just hanging there. It really breaks the immersion and makes the world feel unfinished.
Final Thoughts
Candy Shop Simulator has some sweet ideas, but it doesn’t always deliver on them. The mini-games are easily the best part, letting you mix, bake, and decorate in a way that feels hands-on and rewarding. There’s real charm in customising your cakes and building your shop, even if the icing tools feel clunky and your designs don’t affect much beyond how they look.
One neat touch is the ability to switch between first and third person. It doesn’t change much in terms of gameplay, but it’s a small addition I genuinely appreciated. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is limited. A handful of tracks loop back to back, which suits the setting well enough but isn’t particularly memorable. Occasionally, the music even stutters when switching tracks, which breaks the mood a little.
Outside of that, the cracks start to show. Progression is vague, levelling feels mechanical, and the constant money squeeze makes it hard to enjoy unlocking new content. Exploring the town is fun at first, but its emptiness and floating objects ruin immersion and make it feel unfinished rather than alive.
Still, there’s enjoyment to be found if you’re into simulator games and don’t mind a bit of jank. Mixing ingredients, waiting for your sponge to rise, and decorating your creations has a cosy charm. But for every sweet moment, there’s a sour one that reminds you this game needed a bit more polish.
5/10
It’s a sugar rush in short bursts, but it quickly wears off.