Every now and then, a game with little to no fanfare pre-launch gets blessed by the algorithm and surges in popularity. Probably Stolen is the latest recipient of this; after being released on Oct. 28, it’s continued to climb in popularity, peaking at 174,382 concurrent players on Nov. 4, according to SteamDB.
The debut game from indie studio Questing Goose, Probably Stolen is what you get if you mix the aesthetics and vibes of Cyberpunk 2077 with the gameplay systems of Papers, Please, with a little inventory management thrown in for good measure. You are the proprietor of a market stall in a dystopian space station, and you have one goal: turn the biggest profit you can.
There’s just one caveat: most of your trading is going to come via illicit goods. “You’re a former scavenger who secured a storefront thanks to a generous loan and questionable timing,” reads the Steam page. “Now rent is rising, factions are watching, and most of your best margins live in legal gray zones.”
You can choose “which kind of trouble you’re willing to monetize,” from being a gunsmith or chemist to a farmer, water merchant, or fence. Each option brings its own problems though, such as addiction, inspections, extra hurdles to jump through such as machinery and permits. The list goes on. As your ethically dubious operation grows, so does your portfolio, and you can start running multiple businesses simultaneously. But you better make sure you don’t miss a rent payment.
Reviews on Steam are currently aggregating to “overwhelmingly positive,” and some of the anecdotes from players’ time in the game are the best case of exactly why Probably Stolen is so popular. “Hid my storage chest with my most expencive [sic] stuff in the trashcan during a surprise popo-inspection and forgot to take it out. Garbage collector becomes richest man over nigh,” reads one review. “I am a humble water dealer,” another starts. “Times were tough… so I put opium in the water to increase sales. It worked.”
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Multiple reviews also praise its “just one more round” effect, and argue that it has raised the bar for the genre. Others say it stands out amongst the deluge of low-effort games Steam has been flooded with recently. There are few complaints, mostly around the late-game, claiming the gameplay doesn’t evolve much, but it sounds like players won’t reach that for dozens of hours, at which point the $17.99 price will have likely been more than worth it.