Cash or skin.
Running a small shop that sells a variety of wares is never an easy task, even in the best of times. But when you have a debt hanging over you that if you don't pay, it is your flesh on the line. This is where we find ourselves with Fortune Seller, a gothic rogue-like where you are the shopkeeper trying to pay off your debt.
Like most shops, the primary way you make money is through your customers, but your shop is a bit different. You know what people want before they do, as your shop is a bit more on the mystic side. You use this to your advantage to rake in the most profit from each sale you make. To start, you have a variety of items at your disposal, each with a different size and trait. The bigger the item, the more it is worth, but this comes at a cost of being harder to fit into a customer’s bag.
Since the more you can fit in their bag, the more the sale will be worth. So, making sure there is no additional space left in their bag is critical. The trait of the item also matters, as not only do they get more expensive as you sell more from the same minor arcana, but there is space that matches those minor arcana in your customer’s bag. This can either increase the profit from that item or get rid of it altogether.
Minor arcana are the four groups that most "regular" items fall into. They are Heirloom, Alchemical, Antique, and Organic. There are also anomalous and junk items; junk items have no effect on minor arcanas. while the anomalous effect applies to all minor arcana, but only takes the bonus of the largest one.
This makes watching where you place these items crucial to making sure you get the most profit. But these are not the only things that you have to make up the profit needed to survive. There are two more cards at your disposal, quite literally, as a matter of fact. These are the spell and tarot cards that you can buy on your runs.
Spell cards can give you a small edge by giving your items a boost and effects that can enhance neighbouring items. These effects can give you an advantage by multiplying the value of items or give you extra items for the minor arcana. This makes spell cards a very helpful tool that you can use.
Now, tarot cards are definitely more powerful than spell cards, as their effects are certainly more potent. They affect your fill bar and score more directly, making them very useful, but that's not all. During your run, you can upgrade them to make them more powerful during that run. The main thing to remember is the bigger your fill bar, the more your final total is multiplied. So the better you build your tarot deck to fill it, the bigger the multiplier.
As you keep trying to complete a run, you will unlock more cards for you to use. Making future runs have a better chance of succeeding, but there is still one more thing you can use: contracts. Contracts can do a variety of things that can help you win, from lowering the debt amount to giving you more customers. But every advantage that contracts give comes with a disadvantage.
Knowing this, you’ll want to weigh your choices very carefully when you choose to sign your next contract. Now, if you can find the right balance, you will have a chance to save your skin, but it still won’t be easy. The debt increases at a fast pace, so don't get complacent. Doing so could be your downfall and lead to your end. Now I have tried to make it to the end of this calm and visually appealing experience, but like in Balatro, I find myself falling short each time. That said, I learn with each failure. And each time I learn, I feel I can go farther, which keeps me coming back. So yeah, there is an addictive quality here that shouldn’t be understated.
The visuals of Fortune seller are gothic, almost steampunky, giving a dark, mystical vibe to the environment. The audio also as deep tones to it, giving it an almost ethereal vibe. This helps build an atmosphere of magic and mystery, with dark tones that help the world feel alive
Though, like Balatro, I am not a fan of relying so much on RNG and hoping to get certain cards to build my deck. But at the same time, I understand that it is part of the challenge to overcome. Even with that, I still had a good time playing and building up in each run. With all that said, Fortune Seller is a fresh take on the rogue-like style experience. With puzzles and space management elements at play, there is a good time to be had here. Just be prepared for when things in the shop start to go south.
Developer - Kiwik.
Publisher - Kiwik.
Released - April 6th, 2026.
Available On - PC
Rated - (N/A) - No Descriptors.
Platform Reviewed - PC
Review Access - A review code for Fortune Seller was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Kelvin is a big fan of survival crafting, simulator, base management, and RPG's. From 7 Days to Die to Deep Rock Galactic. When not trying to survive the post apocalypse you will find me fighting in the field for democracy in Helldivers 2.