This Merchant Life - Early Access Watcher -
3Disclosure: This game copy was bought by the reviewer.
Tired of a unfulfilling life, a humble entrepreneur decides to invest in a couple of horses and strike it rich as a trader. Peregrine has been rocked with hardships, making the reliable transition of goods critical to escape the ravaging wolves, pillaging bandits and swift market fluctuations. It is a dog eat dog world, but with some careful thinking it might be possible to become the wealthiest merchant in the land. Just don't forget to hire some bodyguards.
Starting with a small cart, the player quickly examine towns for below average prices to buy low, sell high in other areas. Quests in the form of transporting goods, donations and battles help raise reputation while side-events and town exploration can provide experience needed to gain skills. The higher the overall merchant rank, the more areas that can be visited, which can take some time. It is possible to go broke, but the only failure-state I know of is when the merchant's life is reduced to zero. The UI is easy enough to traverse, but I do have an issue with the world map not zooming out. Outside of this, I only found one other major bug preventing the purchase of bodyguards which is detrimental given how often battles can occur. Overall, it is a pleasant little economic game that just needs more content to stand out (aside from the needed bug squashing). Personally though, I found it a bit boring.