At the end of a long workday, I don’t know about you, but I want to kick back and murder fools by pelting them with a never-ending stream of gummy bears, crackers, ice cream, and whatever else I can find at a convenience store.
Not satisfied with that? How about nuking your foes with microwave radiation, refrigerators loaded with goodies falling from the sky, and other inconceivable fun nonsense? Funsense?
Even your mother gets in on the act by delivering food that falls from the sky like a scene from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The military, police, and other public servants refuse to be shown up by your mama, so naturally, they join the festivities with bombastic aplomb.
I had some preconceived notions about what Mini Mart Survivors would be before I started playing it. I’ve played similar survivors style action roguelites, such as Beatdown City Survivors, where there was a clear sense of why you were killing your foes. They were zombies, deranged animals, monsters, and other unsavory creatures. In other words, it just felt appropriate.
In Mini Mart Survivors, that line is somewhat blurred, especially in the beginning. Like, why am I dropping a refrigerator on some old lady with a shopping bag over her shoulder? As you progress through the level, the enemies begin to take on a more criminal appearance, so things start to make a little more sense. However, early in a run, it feels strange to be taking out some common ass folk who look like they’re just stopping by for a gallon of milk.
As it turns out, there’s a bit of social satire behind all this madness. According to Geek Haus, the idea for Mini Mart Survivors came from imagining what it would be like to work the overnight shift at a convenience store. If you’ve ever stepped foot in one of those late at night, you know that these workers are dealing with an endless parade of strange customers. The developers took that concept and ran with it by turning those late-night encounters into increasingly ridiculous waves of enemies. Yeah, ridiculous is one way to phrase it.
There’s also some dark humor surrounding the realities of unemployment, debt, and the absurdity of returning to a dangerous job simply because you need the money. Can anyone relate? Suddenly, the game’s premise starts to make a little more sense.
I wasn’t expecting to spend a good chunk of my day testing a Steam Next Fest demo so extensively, but that’s just how things went.
I first tried playing the demo through DroidDeck on my AYN Thor. Things started off well, with the game running above 110 FPS, but once some weather effects kicked in, performance took a nosedive into the mid-teens.
I had a relatively flawless experience playing on the Steam Deck, although the text was way too small for my liking. On my gaming rig, however, the game ran great, and I noticed a lot more detail than I had on either handheld.
My gaming preferences have shifted more toward handhelds lately, but if I continue playing Mini Mart Survivors, it looks like my PC will be getting a lot more attention.
Mini Mart Survivors is part of the October Steam Next Fest, running from October 19–26, 2026, so there’s still time to jump into the demo and see what all this convenience store chaos is about. The full game is scheduled to release on November 9, 2026, for PC via Steam.
| GAMEPLAY | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Single-player action roguelite with survivors-style combat. |
| Combat | Survive waves of hostile customers using everyday convenience store products as weapons. |
| Weapons | Attack enemies with cup noodles, snacks, coffee, hot dogs, and other everyday items. |
| Weapon Evolutions | Upgrade weapons to their maximum level and combine them with matching passive items to unlock more powerful forms. |
| Character Leveling | Collect Soul Flames dropped by defeated enemies to level up and select new weapons or upgrades during each run. |
| Boss Battles | Face a final boss after ten minutes of combat. Runs may last longer depending on the encounter. |
| PROGRESSION | |
| Permanent Upgrades | Spend wages earned between shifts on training and selected starting equipment. |
| Debt Repayment | Use the office ATM to repay your debt while balancing repayments against character upgrades. |
| Story & Secrets | Investigate boss notes, office records, and the previous clerk’s belongings to uncover the mysteries surrounding SHIFT24. |
| Multiple Endings | The full game features different endings influenced by discovered clues and debt repayments. |
| LOCATIONS & CONTENT | |
| Locations | Six SHIFT24 convenience store branches around the world, each featuring different customers, bosses, and environmental challenges. |
| Environmental Hazards | Battle through tornadoes, blizzards, sandstorms, floods, and other disasters. |
| Demo Content | Explore the Seoul branch and experience combat, weapon evolutions, permanent upgrades, and debt repayment. |
Image credit: Mini Mart Survivors – developed and published by Geek Haus.
| Developer Disclosure | Geek Haus reports using AI for scenario proofreading, coding assistance, and asset refinement during the development of Mini Mart Survivors. |
| Human Oversight | All content was reviewed and approved by the development team. |
| Steam Store | Official game listing, release information, and system requirements. |
| Steam Demo | Download the free demo and explore its gameplay features. |
| Official Website | Gameplay details, locations, weapon upgrades, and progression systems. |
| Press Kit | Official artwork, screenshots, trailers, and developer information. |