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Supermarket Times embodies a unique and quiet bovril-fueled brand of anarchyCare for a can of “Savage man child” energy drink?
Care for a can of “Savage man child” energy drink?
Image credit:Rabbit Hole Games
Image credit:Rabbit Hole Games
I once went back to a gathering after a friend-of-a-friend’s metal gig that I distinctly remember not because of either the party or the show, but because we drunkenly went to a big Tesco afterwards to get snacks. I also distinctly remember making a not-completely serious but also somewhat true statement at the party about how that Tesco trip was the most fun I’d had in months, after which one of the metal men sneered at me. I felt self conscious at the time, but I’ve since grown comfortable enough with myself to realise that the metal man was a joyless fool, and going to big supermarkets is at least as fun as going to average metal gigs. There is nothing a drop D power chord can evoke in me that compares to the feeling of blurrily espying a chocolate trifle in the reduced to clear section. So I wish to bring your attention toSupermarket Times.
Supermarket Times is anadventure gameabout a normal supermarket, which is to say it is about a temple of joy stuffed with previously-unknown but suddenly essential shit trinkets, down every aisle of which shuffles a notable weirdo. None of these weirdos are weirder than you, however: an unnamed human who goes to the supermarket purely to talk to every stranger there, steal a gun, buy ciggies for some teenagers, boot a rat to death, then spend thousands of pounds on Ray Bans and lentils. Game-wise, there’s a touch ofVirtual Springfieldabout it. You find objects and complete a shopping list of tasks, all while indulging in some British high street anthropology (distinct from High Street Bear Grylls-ing, which is where you inexplicably drink your own piss while in easy walking distance of a cold Rubicon).
Image credit:Rabbit Hole Games
So, I don’t cover small, strange games I don’t like. And this is criticism I’d make of like, myself as a person too, so I do it with love and understanding. But I do find that a lot of zine-type indie projects and what have you possess, alongside whatever earnestness and iconoclasms and creativity, an aching desire for coolness. But I genuinely believe Supermarket Times has absolutely no interest in being cool - in the sense of being clued into something vital and somewhat secret, or just being chic or dangerous - in any way. It is simple, earnest, oddball art, and it made me laugh a lot, even when I was shaking my head in a “why have you done this” kind of way. It is, as the kids say, how I’m tryna be. I won’t recommend it, because it doesn’t need that. You’ll like it when you see it, or you won’t. You can find it on Steamhere.
