EasyGameStation announced via Twitter publish an updated version of the 2007 roguelite item shop dungeon crawler, Recipe is on its way. Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale in HD version will be released sometime in 2025 on PC.
But don’t get your hopes up too high. It feels less like a remaster and more like a reissue. At least if the screenshots attached to the tweet are any indication. I mean, really Recipe it wasn’t technically HD at launch. It ran at a maximum resolution of 1280×960, so it was not a widescreen display and was usually kept in a window. Screenshots are at least widescreen resolution. It’s difficult to say whether they reach 1920×1080 resolution because the attached photos are formatted at a web-friendly 1200×675 resolution. I will say that it’s secure to assume that the game will at least reach Full HD resolution.
Regardless, the objects and textures in the photos are still not that clear. I know this may sound a bit picky, but the geometry hasn’t changed either, so fixing the fuzz wouldn’t be that challenging. I’m just saying it looks the same. It may be that the development is a bit early and everything will be replaced, but let’s manage expectations here. Possibly first edition framework Recipe it was just antiquated and needed a refresh, and I would agree. I think it’s difficult to pass this change without rebooting as “HD”.
Anyway, if you’re not familiar, Recettear: The Tale of the Item Shop is a 2007 doujin game that gained fame in the West thanks to its 2010 translation. You play as Recette, who inherited huge debts from her father after his disappearance. The fairy Tear appears to repay the debt, which causes Recette to reopen her father’s shop, giving it a name that is a combination of her and Tear’s names: Recettear. It was supposed to be a play on words referring to the word Racketeer, but personally I think it’s too much of an abuse.
The game is great though. You hire adventurers to explore dungeons and find loot that you can sell in your shop. Dungeons are randomly generated and provide a risk/reward energetic as you search for better loot. As you progress, you gain access to different adventurers with different skills that you can employ to change the situation.
I used to play this a lot. And honestly, a modernized update would probably be enough to make me play it again, even if the graphics look mostly the same.
Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale in HD version will be released sometime in 2025. At least the Japanese version will. There is no word on localization in English, but given the current situation, it will probably happen.
