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When Sticky Business launched, one of the things I wanted most was more parts to make stickers either via free updates for DLC. Well, we’ve seen that! The first one, Plan with Me, felt more practical. After all, it was about planners and scrapbooking sorts of things. Meanwhile, the Camp Zinnias DLC feels a bit more practical and versatile, due to the number of animals, plants, and landscaping additions it brings to Sticky Business.

The premise behind Camp Zinnias is that players are now preparing summer camp stickers for customers. While that means more obvious things like merit badge-inspired iconography, there are also items, animals, plants, natural objects, and other elements that are all tied to those kinds of great outdoors adventures. This also means a whole new sticker category, indicated by a tent. In total, there are 104 sticker parts and 10 new customers who will make certain general requests involving those elements and discuss camp life when they do.

So I’m obsessed with these new parts. The execution means they transcend the whole camping theme. All of the new animals, birds, and fish are creatures that could pair well with any of the existing items in the game. The new outdoors elements and badges also go so well with the things in the base game too. This is truly the type of pack you dream about. It might seem like it’d be too focused or niche. However, once you get into it, you find all of these ways to make the elements work with existing pieces. 

This also means the new customer objectives seem really manageable. In some situations, I might have felt forced to clutter up my virtual shop and waste my time on designs I didn’t really want to make to advance. Due to the range of elements in this add-on, that never came up. It’s a nonissue. Whatever requests people might have feel really easy to work with and make your own. 

The Camp Zinnias Sticky Business DLC is really handled so well. Spellgarden Games packed it full of a lot of parts that are so practical and fun. The design and execution makes it easy to find a way to make them work for you. There’s a lot to it. Especially considering the low price. If you wanted more natural or animal elements for your design, I think it is worth your time.

Sticky Business and its Camp Zinnias DLC are available on the Nintendo Switch and PC.

The post Sticky Business Camp Zinnias DLC Opens Up More Scenic Options appeared first on Siliconera.

When you get a game that involves small, intricate movements or adjustments, you may find yourself wishing for a mouse to ensure everything looks the way you want. Likewise, ones with a creative element might beg for a means of saving those items in other ways. Sticky Business, originally a PC exclusive involving creating stickers, fit the bill perfectly, yet even so it ends up being a delight on the Nintendo Switch.

As a quick refresher, Sticky Business is about running a digital storefront that makes stickers. You design all your works of art. You prepare and ship orders. You can even adjust your shop to alter what merchandise is available or slightly change its appearance. As you level up designs and place orders, you get money and hearts. These can be used to increase the design elements you can use, types of sticker paper available, amount of items you can stick, included bonuses for packages, color palettes, and so on. 

Sticky Business is a very relaxed affair. There are very few penalties for mes orders. Usually, you’ll just miss a shipment or need to sell more of the stickers you already have to progress. My concern coming into it on the Switch is how involved the process can be. While there are light shop management elements, that mainly comes down to ensuring all of the day’s orders are fulfilled. The bulk of the experience comes down to making stickers, and I was worried the Switch lacking some of a PC’s finer controls could prove an issue with the Sticky Business port. Especially as I’m someone who 95% of the time uses the system in handheld mode.

It turned out to be a baseless concern. Yes, it can be a bit difficult sometimes to perfectly align some images using only the Joy-Cons. However, this Switch port nails the controls. You use the directional buttons to switch between areas in your hub, the sticker creator, the printer portion, and the shipping section. This makes it easy to switch between sticker elements, placing items on paper to ensure you’re getting the most stickers for your money, and going through different parts of the packing process. Considering how many tabs there are, I’d even say it’s a time saver compared to the PC release.

There are some niceties from the PC version of Sticky Business that made making stickers easier that are absent in the Switch version. For example, it’s much more difficult to line up stickers exactly. The option to quickly copy an element you placed in the field, then have an identical one to arrange, is absent. The frequent use of hotkeys to swap between elements and areas also meant I would unintentionally switch to an entirely different segment of the sticker creator as I got accustomed to things. Even once I was familiar, I still found myself making the error occasionally. But also, the PC version had a lovely option that made it easy to save your creations to show or perhaps even actually make later, and that’s absent here.

Still, considering everything, Sticky Business really is just as lovely on the Switch as it is on PCs and is an inviting creative outlet for piecing together virtual stickers. There are some sacrifices that needed to be made, of course. But it’s incredibly easy to put together elaborate creations. You don’t need a mouse. The shortcuts make sense. Plus, it’s fantastic in handheld mode. I absolutely recommend it for if you have 15 minutes and want to design something adorable.

Sticky Business is available for the PC on Steam and Nintendo Switch.

The post It’s Easy Making Stickers in Sticky Business on the Switch appeared first on Siliconera.

I keep coming back to Sticky Business. I want to experiment with the restrictions to see what designs I can create. It’s like one of those virtual paper doll creators I enjoyed in high school, only with a little bit of a simulation surrounding it. It is a little light on the actual “game” elements, but it’s very good at establishing a cozy, creative vibe.

In Sticky Business, you start with a blank slate. After naming your storefront, something that really doesn’t come up after that, you are plopped into a creator. You can use the “parts,” divided into categories, to make a sticker. There are a handful of sizing options, occasionally you’ll be able to change the color (if you paid for the extra color), you name it, and then you choose if it is a plain one or printed on a special kind of paper. This takes up a certain amount of the “day,” if you are playing on a timed mode. Once you have stickers, you pay coins to print them after placing them on sheets. Orders come in, you fill them, and you ship them out. The downside is, it also doesn’t really explain what some “game” like elements mean. Parts used in the stickers you sell earn experience, but I didn’t really see how that influenced anything.

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There isn't any real "to-do" list. Once you come to the shop for the day, the first order of business is to basically pack any orders that came in. You can add extras like shredded paper grass, decorative tissue paper, or candy, with candy adding a percent increase to the money you earn from that order. You need to head to the mailbox after the whole lot is done. It might be worth printing more of certain stickers you are selling, if your stock is low. Maybe then you upgrade your offerings by increasing space for sticker designs, getting new sticker options, getting new colors, or picking up more sticker backings for the printer. If you run out of things to do or the day ends, you head to bed and wait for it all to start again. You never have any obligation.

There are some optional requests, if you pay attention. Some customers will tell you about their lives and situations when you place orders, but you don't have to listen. However, even though sometimes some would request I make stickers with a particular subject like rats, they would then… go on to not buy ones with those designs. (To be fair, one who requested a boba tea sticker and another with a "derpy face" did go on to buy that and advance their "storylines.") But this is largely a situation where there's no risk and all reward. In Sticky Business you will always earn hearts to acquire new sticker elements or money to expand your options and print more stickers. People will buy your stickers, regardless of the designs.

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Now, I realize that might sound a bit harsh. However, this in no way means Sticky Business is bad. I feel it’s more like an outlet than anything. The number of available designs is rather limited. (For example, there are no humans to use in your sticker designs at all, with a lil’ goblin being the only real humanoid figure.) I’d have loved if I could have changed the primary color in all stickers, rather than only some offering the ability to select a different one. But what is there is still pretty ample, and it affords a lit of creativity if you’re willing to play around with elements and styles.

For example, because the color palette is a bit limited, you can work with that to adjust the way elements flow together. As such, I was able to give the goblin the frog part as a face, put a bowl in its hands, and make a lil’ soup gremlin. (It is a very popular design.) The green of the potion liquid, tentacle, and frog head are all so similar that I made an iguana lounging. It’s an incredibly delightful game to play when you feel inspired and like you need to take a minute to breathe, play around with the limited selection, and perhaps come up with something special.

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Likewise, the freedom also means you can turn this into a profitable “factory.” The smaller the sticker, the more on the page. Which means the more money you can make from a single sheet. In turn, that means lower costs and more orders. Including a lot of different elements means if someone is keeping track of elements like animals or magic, those are represented.

As such, Sticky Business is genuinely a perfect outlet. While the sticker part options are a bit restricted and I hope DLC or updates add to the library, it’s such a relaxing time sink. I had so much fun setting things up just so, knowing that no matter how it looked my virtual customers would love it. It’s quite a relaxing and validating experience.

Anyways, look at my stickers!

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Sticky Business will come to the PC via Steam on July 17, 2023.

The post Review: Sticky Business Is a Pleasant Creative Outlet appeared first on Siliconera.