Ship, Inc. Review: A Buggy But Addictive Packaging Simulator
Ever wondered what would happen if the most mundane part of an Amazon warehouse job was turned into a surprisingly addictive, cozy, and aesthetically pleasing video game, but it also came with a free, invisible wrist brace because you're gonna fucking need it? Welcome to Ship, Inc., the game that has perfected the art of the zen-like grind.
The Dopamine Hit of a Perfect Package
I'm not going to lie, the main gameplay loop here is like crack for anyone with an organized bone in their body. You get an order. You play a little game of real-life Tetris trying to cram a plutonium rod and a toy car into the smallest possible box. You slap some tape on it, stick on the right labels, and ship it. It's simple. It's satisfying. The "Chill Mode" lets you do this for hours without any pressure, making it the perfect game to play while you listen to a podcast and slowly lose feeling in your clicking hand. It's therapeutic in a weird, late-stage capitalist sort of way.
My Kingdom for a 'Buy Max' Button
That beautiful, zen-like trance is frequently shattered by some truly baffling quality-of-life omissions. The worst offender? The supply store. You need to restock your shipping boxes. You need 35 of them. You have to click the 'buy' button 35 individual times. It's a testament to the game's addictive core that I actually sat there and did it instead of immediately uninstalling and throwing my PC into a river. It's a small, mind-numbing design choice that becomes a massive, repetitive annoyance every single time you need to resupply your burgeoning shipping empire.
Bugs in the Box
This game feels like it's still got some packing peanuts loose in its code. The experience is plagued by bugs that range from hilarious to soul-crushing. I've had precious items phase through the bottom of a sealed box like a ghost, earning me a penalty for an incomplete order that wasn't my damn fault. Worse, I had my entire save file wiped after a crash, erasing hours of progress in an instant. These aren't just minor quirks; they're game-breaking issues that make investing your time feel like a gamble.
A Cozy Loop, But Still a Loop
As fun and addictive as the loop is, it's still just a loop. There's no real story to uncover or grand objective to reach beyond "get more money to buy more stuff." After a few hours, the repetition starts to set in. You realize you're just packing slightly different combinations of the same items over and over again. The grind for the late-game achievements is immense and feels designed purely to pad out the playtime. It's a great way to kill an afternoon, but it's not a game that's going to keep you engaged for weeks on end.
The Verdict
Look, Ship, Inc. knows exactly what it is: a simple, cozy, and dangerously addictive simulator about packing boxes. It does that one thing incredibly well. But it's also a technical mess at times, with game-breaking bugs that can ruin your day, and it's hampered by some mind-numbing QoL issues. If you're looking for the perfect, low-stakes game to chill out with for a weekend and you're willing to gamble on your save file surviving, this is it. It's a beautifully designed Skinner box, but sometimes the pellet dispenser is broken.
Score: 6.0/10 - Addictive as hell, but too buggy to fully recommend.
We at NLM received a key for this game for free, this however didn't impact our review in any way.