Brew it, sell it, and you cannot stop.
Not a story you only read. A shop you cannot close. You brew shady potions from squid ink and kelp, carry them across nations, and sell them to 24-plus inhuman customers, each sale unlocking a drawn-to-order scene of them using what they bought. One player just wrote: an infinite loop is kind of scary, isn't it. Loved in Japan at 99 percent, but it has no English yet, so the West cannot play it.
Published 2026-06-14
01First, the one feeling
- You mix water, kelp, and squid ink into a potion of uncertain effect, and a strange animal-eared customer steps up to buy.
- When the sale lands well, a drawn-to-order vignette opens: that exact customer, actually using your potion, with their own small story. You want to see the next one.
- So you brew again, sell again, save up, buy new materials, and brew again, until you notice you have stopped wanting to put it down.
02Who this is for (and who it is not)
For you
- You love Recettear-style shop-sim loops where you craft, price, and sell, and the next sale always pulls you back in
- You want a warm collection-hook: 24-plus inhuman customers, each with a hand-drawn vignette of using what they bought
- You want a Japanese solo-dev gem the West cannot play yet, buried under only 2 English reviews
Not for you
- You need an English-first release right now (no English yet, the wall is language only)
- You want twitch action or deep combat (this is a gentle craft-and-sell loop built on character vignettes; note it had a Japanese launch news writeup but no English-market coverage)
03The roots of this taste
99% positiveonly 77 reviewsno English support yet — yet almost no one has found it
Ika Sumi Potion Buried gem
A Japanese solo dev's potion-crafting shop ADV: brew potions from squid ink and the sea, sell them to 24-plus animal-eared and inhuman customers, and unlock a drawn-to-order vignette of each one actually using what they bought. Very Positive in Japan at 77 reviews and 99 percent, but with no English support, the West cannot read it yet (only 2 English reviews).
Give it your first passRecettear: An Item Shop's Tale The origin
The origin of the item-shop sim: a Japanese doujin game (the first ever on Steam) where you craft and stock items, then read each customer and sell to keep the money moving. This gem keeps that brew-sell-restock spine, but bends the taste from beating capitalism into the warmth of inhuman customers and a drawn vignette of each one using what they bought.
Give it your first pass04Make this gem shine
If it speaks to you, check it on Steam and give it your first pass. Your push is what makes a buried gem shine.
You gave it your pass. The gem just caught the light.
05The bloodline of this taste
- Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale Root
- Ika Sumi Potion You are here
- Read-and-build games another taste