From the studio behind the unexpectedly viral hit Amigo: Kebab Simulator, developer and publisher Pigeon-G (also known as Pigeon Games S.L.) returns with something much more ambitious. Bazar Simulator: The Wan Story, which first launched on PC via Steam on 5 September 2025 and arrived on PlayStation 5 on 2 April 2026, seeks to blend traditional shop management gameplay with a narrative-driven crime drama set in the fictional Boquerón City.
It’s an unusual combination: part retail simulator, part open-world misadventure, and part crime thriller. And although it doesn’t always balance these elements perfectly, it is rarely dull.
At the heart of it all is Wan, a young man tasked with managing his uncle’s failing bazaar while becoming increasingly involved in the city’s criminal underworld.
A Bazaar Built on Routine—and Pressure
At its core, Bazar Simulator: The Wan Story starts as a straightforward management experience. Players are tasked with decorating, stocking, and expanding a small shop. You arrange furniture, personalise interiors, organise shelves, and keep customers happy.
These systems are simple, yet surprisingly tactile. There is a quiet pleasure in arranging goods efficiently, upgrading your store layout, and gradually transforming a cramped, dusty space into a thriving commercial hub.
The initial stages of the game focus heavily on this rhythm. You buy stock, sell stock, and reinvest profits. It is familiar simulation territory, but it is executed with enough clarity and responsiveness to keep it engaging.
However, it doesn’t take long before the game begins to expand well beyond the confines of the bazaar.
Boquerón City: A Second Game Entirely
Once the game opens up, Bazar Simulator: The Wan Story reveals its second identity: a semi-open-world urban adventure filled with scooters, side activities, and increasingly questionable moral decisions.
Boquerón City is where the game shifts tone dramatically. You can ride scooters, customise them, steal them for quick cash, and explore districts that feel loosely connected but are densely packed with side interactions. You can change your appearance, unlock weapons, collect hidden music tracks, and interact with various factions operating within the city’s criminal ecosystem.
This is where the game begins to feel most distinct—and most uneven.
On one hand, the freedom is refreshing. You are no longer just a shopkeeper; you are an active participant in a chaotic urban ecosystem where survival depends on both commerce and opportunism.
On the other hand, the transition between calm shop management and erratic open-world crime activity can feel jarring. The tone oscillates between grounded simulation and exaggerated street-level absurdity, sometimes within minutes of each other.
Wan’s Story: Crime, Family, and Contradiction
Narratively, the game follows Wan as he becomes entangled with various mafia factions while simultaneously managing his uncle’s bazaar. The story involves espionage, secret meetings, and a gradually unfolding family mystery centred around his uncle, Wang Long.
There is an attempt here to weave humour, drama, and intrigue into a cohesive narrative. Sometimes, it works well. The absurdity of running a small shop while also engaging in shady backroom dealings creates a unique tonal identity that feels almost satirical.
However, the writing does not always stay consistent. Some story beats lean heavily into comedy, while others try to convey genuine emotional weight. The result is a narrative that is often entertaining but occasionally uneven in tone and pace.
Nevertheless, there is a charm in its ambition. It aims to be more than a simulator, and this ambition is clearly evident in how often it pushes players into unexpected narrative scenarios.
Gameplay Identity Crisis or Bold Hybrid Design?
The most intriguing aspect of Bazar Simulator: The Wan Story is also its most divisive: its identity as a hybrid genre experiment.
On one side, you have structured shop management mechanics. On the other, open-world exploration, light combat, stealth elements, and vehicle theft mechanics. These systems are not merely adjacent—they are interconnected.
Working for mafias, for instance, directly influences your business progression. Success in criminal missions can open up better shop opportunities, while neglecting your bazaar can restrict your resources for outside activities.
This interdependence is ambitious and, at times, effective. It fosters a sense that every action—legal or not—contributes to your overall progress.
However, it also causes tension. Neither system feels entirely developed on its own. The simulation side lacks long-term economic complexity, while the open-world mechanics can seem somewhat lightweight compared to dedicated action-adventure titles.
Presentation and World Design
Visually, Boquerón City is lively but not overly detailed. It emphasizes readability and functionality over realism, fitting the game’s hybrid style. The bazaar interiors, in particular, are well-designed spaces that clearly convey layout and progression.
Character models and animations are adequate, though they can sometimes appear stiff during narrative cutscenes. Scooter traversal, however, is surprisingly fun, providing a sense of speed and freedom that nicely contrasts with the slower pace of shop management.
Sound design focuses heavily on ambience and street noise, reinforcing the urban atmosphere. The music collection as a mechanic adds a layer of personalisation, encouraging exploration beyond main objectives.
The Legacy of a Viral Idea
It’s impossible to discuss Bazar Simulator: The Wan Story without recognising its lineage. The game clearly builds upon the unexpected popularity of Amigo: Kebab Simulator, also from Pigeon-G, which attracted attention for its unconventional humour and simulation mechanics.
Where that earlier title focused mainly on comedic simplicity, Wan’s Story seeks to expand into narrative depth and systemic complexity. It is, in many ways, an evolution—yet also a departure.
That ambition is commendable, even if the execution sometimes struggles to balance its conflicting identities.
Where It Works—and Where It Doesn’t
The game’s greatest strength is its variety. There is always something happening, whether it is organising stock, chasing story missions, or navigating chaotic city encounters. It rarely becomes monotonous.
However, this variety sometimes sacrifices cohesion. Systems seem to compete for attention rather than support each other. The result is a game that remains interesting, but not always consistently polished.
Bugs and minor inconsistencies occasionally disrupt immersion, although they are not frequent enough to define the overall experience.
Final Verdict
Bazar Simulator: The Wan Story is an ambitious blend of shop management simulation and narrative-driven open-world chaos. Its strength comes from its variety, humour, and willingness to push genre boundaries.
However, its inconsistent tone, shallow mechanics, and occasional lack of cohesion prevent it from fully reaching its potential.
It is chaotic, ambitious, and often entertaining—sometimes all at once.
