Digimon Story Time Stranger
Digimon Story Time Stranger
Game
Game2020
Merchant of the Skies
Developer Coldwild Games
Merchant of the Skies is a 2020 simulation video game developed by Coldwild Games, who published it along with AbsoDev. It blends elements of tycoon games and economic simulation. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
192 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 8, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
86
LovedLoved
159 positive · 25 negative
95% range 81–91%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 159 | 25 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
8 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
1,967 of 2,287 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 192 · most liked first- Playtime: 10,5 hours - Played: 2025 - Expectation: Slightly positive based on the Steam screenshots. Intro MotS is an extremely basic trading sim. You travel between cities buying/selling goods to gather the capital to get a better ship and eventually buy production locations. There are also some story elements. The Good - Very easy to get in to. - Nice, clean graphical style. - The skill give a nice sense of progression at first. - The supernatural elements, like giant talking animals,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My Playtime: 11.6h (100% achievement, finished the campaign) Grindy Achievement(s): No. Optional Achievement(s): Yes (~3 achievements). Difficult Achievement(s): No. Intro In Merchant of the Skies, you play as a trader who is traveling around with a flying ship, buying items for a cheap price in a region and selling them for a high price in another. It's similar to Frontier, albeit with fancier graphics and more features. Pros: - Sellable items and their estimated price are listed in the game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Neutral rating – the game looks cute and polished, but it's a bit too barebones and grindy in terms of gameplay. The good: ➕ Nice pixel graphics, the Majestic Carrot is adorable :) ➕ The game is pretty easy once you figure out the basics. ➕ Time only passes while your ship is moving (or you're holding down the time skip button), so time-related stress is almost completely absent. Mixed: 〰 Trading is easy, but oddly barebones. The core activity is to sail around on your airship and transport…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm not one to write reviews but this game is extremely special to me. I can't recommend it enough to anyone with a hunger for addictive indies. The closest game I could find to this is East Trade Tycoon and it just barely scratched the itch this game gave me. I ended booting up Merchant of The Skies again after an hour or two... Most of the reason I'm writing this is to thank the developers for making such a genuinely cozy and unique experience. My younger brother passed away suddenly in 2023…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A static mess of a world that's one grey blur navigated by a sub-par UI. The economy is meant to be a leading role, both in gameplay and narrative, but it is completely static. Prices don't fluctuate, supply and demand does not exist, every city will pay their own, same price from start to end. The game becomes less about being a merchant, carefully watching prices and investing, and more being a busboy. You fly little rounds that just endlessly generate wealth over and over. Cities and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I kind of like this game but at the same time not really. It is chill and nice but controls on steam deck are tedious, it gets grindy, and repetitive. I played on steam deck. The pros: + the game looks fantastic, the aesthetic fits the theme and the game perfectly + core gameplay it's easy to learn, exploration feels slightly rewarding and resource/fuel management is nice in the early game The mixed: ● some missions are interesting but most of them are repetitive ● the early game can feel…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ehh.. was alright. Managing inventories and the caravan system was underwhelming. I found myself hating inventory/supply management.. but overall a cute game with a few hours of gameplay. Overall, 6/10.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Holy balls, this game was addicting. I finished it in two days. It's good; it's simple. More money, more quests. You don’t want to stop. The last couple of hours dragged a bit, doing everything to finish the game. But I’d definitely play a sequel, if they were to ever make one.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game. The colors are very soft, not bright. Good for the eyes. Wich is good for people sensitive to light like myself. The camera doesnt move too much/too fast, it's in a good pacing. THe market fluctuations and the randomization of the islands are very good. I loved the game. Thank you for making it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Infuriating. Nothing seems to be explained very well and you're kind of just in the dark regarding so many factors. Feels like the devs got used to understanding all of the mechanics they didnt think ahead that anyone coming into the game would be unfamiliar. Messages skipping past so quickly that you have no idea what it just said you unlocked, other messages covering your screen for way too long. One could argue that the game is about finding out details overtime and through trails and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do you have any source for that claim regarding MOP and The Escapist? Just bringing up that quote isn't a magical "I am right" button. I tried their free trials 4 times. Twice I encountered game breaking bugs (required a restart and switching servers respectively). Let's ignore that for now. I will start with the good things. The planet to space transition was pretty cool, not going to lie. The cities were also detailed and looked nice (the first time you take the train in one of the…
unlabelledView post →meh. There are some great ideas in this but it falls short in every aspect. - Story: It has one. Will you remember it? no - Airships: Normal ships, nothing fancy that says I'm in an airship If you change them to normal ships, nothing would change - Trading: fun in the first hour. Then you will find out, the price won't change and when you have some building, money is pointless. Most things are pointless and only make you spend more time with the game. I played 10 hours, It had content for 5.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Solid. Could do with a few QoL features, a bit tedious. Charming though.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Grinding in the Skies Borderline between recommend and not recommend. The art style is on point, it's a non-violent game with a vibrant world, it plays great on steam deck. But it's a slog too. It's a constant fight with your inventory management, the clunky controls and the flawed warehouse systems. The gameplay itself isn't hard, but figuring it out is, since the game does a poor job at onboarding. The difficulty barrier comes from figuring the game out, the early map exploration, and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's pretty okay! It follows through on the premise of being mainly about trading, traveling, keeping an eye on prices, etc. It's not a bad game but I do feel the scope is a bit limited, too much of it becomes busywork before you really 'finish' it. Overall it's solid.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wouldn't call it an unpleasant game, but it's a very short, casual game that is more merchant-themed rather than a trading game. It's basically a story driven fetch quest. The map is bigger than it needs to be since you don't really have a use for most of the islands if you are aiming to just finish the story line. And there isn't much to do after it anyway. Apart from buy low sell high (the prices are fixed per place, btw), you can also build production and automated caravans. Caravan…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Built up a trade empire in a cute, relaxing, light hearted setting. It was a fun time sink, a little light on content.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a lovely, peaceful game that lets you explore and trade in a fantasy world with flying ships. Some mechanics aren't explained that well and there is some jankiness, but that doesn't keep you from enjoying the (relatively easy) game. The atmosphere is lovely and you can tell that a lot of heart went into making this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short little game where you play as a merchant and make money. Chill and enjoyable.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a very fun game for about 12 hours of playtime. I have played through it several times, and usually restart after I get all the supply chains set up. I love the relaxed play style. There is a risk of bankruptcy, especially early in the game, and this makes careful planning more important. If there's one thing I wish were different, it's that I wish there were a way to mod the game. I want more. I want bigger, more complex supply chains. I want more quests. I want the risk of bankruptcy…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very fun game that despite seeming to have 0 replay ability ive played start to finish 3 times, not particularly long but high very quality.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Way shorter than I expected and way more grind than I expected, enjoyable small game for kids for a few hours. Overall okay.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →37th game finished this year! Merchant of the Skies is a fun, casual trading/economic/just vibe around game. Wanted something short I could finish on my laptop and here it is, and I've only started it yesterday! I'm glad it's short and not too complicated, otherwise my life would be done lmao
unlabelledView post →Fun and relaxing game. I like that the days progress via movement so I don't have to rush to make decisions. Overall, I've put a lot of hours into the game and I thoroughly enjoy it, but it does suffer from issues that would be nice to be addressed. Not sure I would recommend this game because it feels incomplete. First, the controls aren't the best. A zoom out function would be nice. They were very thorough with options to move items OUT of your storage, but kind of lazy with putting items…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lovely chill game that's easy to play and easy to optimise after a few hours of exploring and trading. (Got 100% achievement score in 10 hours) For what the game is and aims the be, its a short but solid experience with a very fitting soundtrack. 8/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's charming! The mechanics are simple enough to grasp, and the late game is complex enough to really sink your teeth into. Doesn't overstay its welcome, but provides options for people who like to sandbox, when the story is over. I enjoyed.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I also have this game on nintendo switch (paid for it twice I like it so well) but the controls are much better on pc.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A solid game without drawbacks, but nothing extraordinary. Can help kill your time for a couple of days but no more.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Chill game. One grievance though. The lack of fuel mechanics is bad. Takes 10% of your current cash. At the start of the game exploration is big part, and you never know if you reach destination, and if you will not, you will get towed to closest explored recharge station. A bit disruptive.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty solid bundle. Got some wishlisted games and a few hidden indies I have never heard of before. Especially interested in checking out Roadwarden and Merchant of the Skies.
unlabelledView post →Need a new mobile game. Not getting sucked back into Vampire Survivors. Crash Dive 2 was great but I'm played out on it. Trying to get into Merchant of the Skies but meh. Terraria is too fiddly for mobile.
unlabelledView post →This isn't *normally* my cup of tea. And the first hour or so is tough - you're light on resources, low on cash. But as you cautiously explore the map, begin trading, the game really hits its stride. It's lighthearted, easy to pick up and with a relatively short run time of 10 hours to 100%. The magic hit me when I unlocked Caravans, enabling you to buy additional ships and issue them on routes to maximise your production and trade. At the finish mark, I had about 4 caravan routes - most of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i just wanted to say thanks for a truly amazing wonderful game!!!! i usually play things like Dune or Starfield basically really BIG games, but im SOOO in love with this title! its an absolute gem and whether you play on your computer OR your phone ....cause you can do both!!! this game shines as a truly great game and probably will go down as a classic, not even joking it has everything it needs to go down as one youll always remember and think of fondly.....saying to yourself "Ghosh i wish…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I spent almost 200 hours on this game, so addictive, but wish for a sequel and QOL update.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Decent game. If you set up farms early on, it takes away a lot of the late-stage grinding.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i went bankrupt twice and lost
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A fine game at its core, but quickly got old. I had maybe 4 hours before it became a slog. Once you reach the point where you're not struggling for money it seems to just devolve into grinding
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →25. Merchant of the Skies This one flew under a lot of radars. I think this is one of the best little merchant trading games. It throws new mechanics at you well into the late game and keeps pushing you build up higher where a lot of trading games taper. store.steampowered.com/app/1040070/...
unlabelledView post →Great little game! Its very addictive once you get into the flow of it. Its a good mixture of exploration and resource management. The game is not very long but allows for optimisation and automation. Well worth a play to kill a few hours and relax!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have given it the thumbs down, but truly this game's greatest crime is not being Sid Meier's Pirates! It's a decent clone and a fun theme. The randomness of the resources and distribution can feel like a real slog and the progression is kinda slow. I found myself just being a little bit annoyed. This feels like someone put a lot of their effort into this game. It just didn't land for me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I enjoy trade in games quite a lot and this one delivers. Nice aesthetic, fun music and characters. My favourite mechanic is probably the bank - nothing like watching the interest on your investment for a single day equal 10 times your weekly expenses heh.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Small-scale trade management game with a subtle fantasy theme in the background. The compact world lets you reach the trade-dominating endgame quicker, but boredom and the lack of exploration will sadly arrive just as fast. While there are much bigger and better games that do the same, it's still a fun introduction to the genre for newcomers or players with limited time. 6.4/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Straightforward and very pretty, I can definitely recommend this game. It's not huge, but it doesn't need to be. I about 100%'d and felt satisfied with it. There is a complex building mode which is a nice reward for building up your successful trade organization. There's a lot of odd and fun stuff to discover throughout the game as well.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wholesome relaxing game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For Rp. 130.999,00 (Or Rp 78.599,00 when discount) / 14,99$ (Or 8,99$ when discount) i can't recommend this game. You just need to spend 10 hours in game to have all achievement. Bad UI. No Dynamic Price. If u have the most expensive ship you can't complete "earn 4 inn loyalty" even with optimal crew and full upgrade speed and module. You need to buy ship that provide more speed (Fretta or Orembai) but have lower inventory size. And you need to search island that sell that ship. But because…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cool game, you get and process resources and supply islands with your ship. You must manage your fuel and funds to expand on the market. In the late game you can set up supply chains but that is a chore and it's easier to do it yourself just to complete the main quest objective. Achievements are easy to complete. Overall is a fun game, but some economy and building aspects make it less enjoyable, also the controls sucks until you get the hand of it. 7.5/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is feels unfinished. UI and general art style makes it hard to tell things apart. I wish the Islands were more distinct and wish they had more to them than just the goods. Makes them indistinguishable. I feel the buildings not all having unique icons that makes them easy to tell apart is a bit of an oversight. Game is unbalanced and you end up with too much money too quick. Game starts off with a hard quest to make glass bottles. by the time you grind up to be able to make those the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The grandpa-core review of this game is the one to look at, and they're right on all aspects except the amount you're allowed to just do what you want to do. I did want to do the main storyline, and I was a bit frustrated that I had to go back and do so many supplylines to get past this one part. But I still recommend.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really fun and engaging short game. There are two island you need to visit that have storms and a bright flashing light. would loved to have seen a way to turn the flashing off in the settings as an accessibility feature.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Horizon's Gate is this with a tactics RPG on it, and is one of my favorite indies. Merchant of the Skies is this with a floating island theme, which I enjoy.
unlabelledView post →The tutorial covers only the surface level of things and just drops you into the game that's very shallow, simplistic but its very boring and repetitive. You buy things and sell products from different islands while managing quests/tasks, slowly expanding stock, ships, island & production. But its just not fun at all and honestly gets boring fast. Doesn't help that there's just one primary looping music track and while the pixel art is nice, nothing memorable about the world. If I'm compelled…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Completed the game in 2 days 8.2 hours in total, was a good experience. didn't really do the caravan stuff because by the time i finished the quest needed to unlock it i was almost done with everything
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Berry casual game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I didn't expect much but it sucked me in for first 5 hours, then it got boring and repetitive. You gain control of small aircraft that will travel between islands doing very small errands (quests) and trying to make a small coin gain by buying cheap materials on one island and selling them for higher gain on another. There's also a small story about "restoring" this and that as well as discovering RNG map. Pros: + Several aircrafts + Flipping resources + Simple quests helping to discover map…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I loved what I played of this and will eventually return to play more. It's pretty. It's not too stressful. And I found things generally easy to understand. This style of game is not something I play often so I would say it's beginner friendly.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game. There's lots of interesting quests, although you can get stuck in the grind of transporting resources for profit.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A decent and simple resource management game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →BUY LOW SELL HIGH METHOD
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was honestly a nice little unexpected gem. It is a solid little trade simulator, a lot of the early game is just learning simple things like buy low sell high, getting new ships, and finding out where the best deals are. The late game has some more complexity, but nothing that will have you rubbing your forehead with frustration. There are small interesting quests, some basic but solid caravan mechanics, and a sweet cozy vibe that stays the entire time. Now, the game does have some…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Float about in your airship questing, trading, and managing. Lovely little game. Somehow ended up spending nearly 20 hours on it...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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