While occasionally certain titles can just become inundated with conflicting mechanics and convoluted stories, sometimes a game just makes sense, and that’s very much the case for the upcoming Goblin’s Shop, from Taiwanese indie developer Firestoke. In the titular trading post, a goblin with an unhappy history with humans is determined to take revenge – through kitting up themselves and their monstrous allies for genocidal raiding parties. Yes, the premise is somewhat dark, but the colorful pixel art exterior gives Goblin’s Shop a degree of levity, as the action and role-playing elements combine for what could be a neat little mobile adventure. For anyone wanting to betray humankind and ally with a nefarious cast of creatures, Goblin’s Shop is set to release onto both the App Store and the Google Play store on September 17th.

The way Goblin’s Shop stands out is through its interesting amalgam of gameplay mechanics, and it truly emphasises its action RPG genre label. The first half of the game consists of catering to the day-to-day needs of the eponymous Goblin shop – by upgrading the store’s capabilities, and through selling your clientele various weapons and armor, you are able to create a sizeable army of monstrous creatures with a surprising amount of true RPG depth. The second portion of Goblin’s Shop involves venturing into the wild, slaying the cruel humans in your wake, and collecting items and materials scattered in the overworld. Both of these elements combine to create the ultimate goal of capturing the humans’ castle, and the synergy between these two mechanics reminds me of games such as Fallout Shelter (Free), and some of Kairosoft’s better efforts. Goblin’s Shop possesses all of the qualities I’d expect of a good mobile game, and so September 17th can’t come quick enough. Until then, be sure to head to our Goblin’s Shop forum thread for more information and discussion on this immersive upcoming action RPG.