inKONBINI Lets You Spend Summer Days Behind the Register

inKONBINI: One store. Many Stories transports you to a small-town convenience store during a peaceful Japanese summer in the early 1990s. Makoto Hayakawa, a college student on a break from school, walks into her aunt’s shop and realizes that the routine of working there is far more intriguing than simply stacking shelves. Every time you set the shelves exactly right, the bell above the door rings, and a customer walks in, you get a little further into a world where regular hours reveal all sorts of surprising connections.

As the days pass, the pace slows, with you replenishing shelves with all of the traditional snacks and drinks of the time, tidying up the display so it catches the light just right, and taking orders for the regulars who keep coming in searching for the same thing. Nothing is hard or time-consuming, but there’s a calm satisfaction in getting it all done, and you find yourself falling into a routine that seems very fulfilling on its own.

People begin to arrive throughout the day, including a regular who orders the same drink every afternoon, and you can always expect a brief conversation with them, although another customer may stay a little longer, and you must determine how to respond. Your choices are important; one polite word or question might reveal a completely other side of their tale, revealing how their life continues after they leave the business. As you see them over and over, you get a sense of how your own summer is intertwined with theirs.

Exploring the shop is also an important feature of the game; players can roam through every inch of the single-level shop, looking for all the nooks and crannies behind the counters and in the back of the shelves for all the little notes and lost goods that get left behind. Each of these minor findings reveals a bit more about the shop’s history. You have a landline phone on the wall that you can use to contact your aunt for advice, to solve an issue, or to simply speak with a customer you’ve become friendly with. Each call feels like you’re reaching out to an entire world beyond the shop that continues to exist, just out of sight.

The day is broken up by little surprises that keep things interesting, such as the old gachapon machine in the corner, which is simply waiting for coins. You flip the handle and get a capsule with a small toy inside; it’s a small item, but it’s enough to pique your interest and keep you going after a long morning at work. On April 30, 2026, inKONBINI will be available on the Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox consoles, and PC via Steam.