PAWN SHOP

The video begins with the player character, Markiplier, starting a late-night shift at a pawn shop. He expresses confusion about why a pawn shop needs to be open all night and notes the extremely dark and desolate surroundings. Upon entering, he observes an unusual display of items, including a pre-blooded axe, questioning the store's security. He meets Dan, the daytime employee, who is overly cheerful for someone leaving a night shift. Dan provides a brief, unsettling warning about the "Cinderfall Killer," a person in a yellow shirt who supposedly targets night shift workers on their first day, before quickly dismissing it as a joke and leaving. Markiplier is left alone to start his shift, instructed to go to the counter and wait for customers. Finding the initial waiting period uneventful, he is prompted to sweep the floor and prepare the shop for the morning. He notes the painfully slow movement speed of his character and discovers that the back door is broken and padlocked without a key, raising concerns about security. Eventually, a customer arrives, wishing to pawn a VHS player. The customer mentions DVDs are taking over, placing the setting in the early 2000s. Markiplier decides to accept the item for $60 after testing it, which he finds to be a good price. After the transaction, he notices the haphazard arrangement of items in the shop, including guns and ammunition left openly accessible. Confused about the store's budget, Markiplier calls Dan for clarification. Dan explains that the shop is not in good financial standing, and the owner has set a daily limit on spending for new items. It's the employee's responsibility to price items correctly to ensure profit, accepting only those with good resale value. Dan reiterates that $60 for a VHS player isn't bad for now, but DVDs will soon replace them. Feeling hungry, Markiplier considers getting something from a vending machine but decides to take money from the register, rationalizing that no one will know, despite the business failing. He then encounters an old man who wants to buy a guitar for his grandson. Markiplier sells it for $20, questioning if that's the correct price. He also notes that the old man, like the previous customer, fails to close the door on his way out. Markiplier attempts to clean the shop's windows, still hearing strange noises and feeling increasingly uneasy. The power then goes out, a common horror game trope, forcing him to go outside to the back wall to fix the power box. While doing so, he is startled by Dan, who reveals he was behind all the pranks, including the "Cinderfall Killer" joke and the power outages. Markiplier, frustrated, tells Dan to leave and threatens to call the police. Dan finally leaves, again without closing the door. A new customer arrives, wanting to pawn a video camera. Markiplier offers $70 for it, accepting the transaction. He again asks the customer to close the door, which this time the customer complies with. Shortly after, the power goes out again. Markiplier calls the police, explaining the situation with Dan. An officer arrives, searches the surrounding forest, but finds no one, concluding that whoever was bothering Markiplier has left. Another customer approaches, attempting to pawn a handsaw that can cut through solid metal. The customer asks for $50, but Markiplier, remembering the budget limit, can only offer $10. The customer counters with $30, but Markiplier refuses, stating he cannot spend more than $20 that night. The customer becomes agitated, accusing Markiplier of lacking resourcefulness and threatening him before leaving the door open. As his shift nears its end, Markiplier tidies the shelves, wishing he had been able to acquire the handsaw. He starts to feel sleepy, but someone approaches. It turns out to be the "Cinderfall Killer," the true antagonist, who reveals he was the one Markiplier called the police on. The killer mocks Markiplier's assumption that it was Dan and gives him five seconds to escape. Unable to open the locked back door and without the handsaw to cut the padlock, Markiplier dies. The player is then presented with an opportunity to replay for a "good ending." To achieve this, Markiplier deduces he must refuse the VHS player in the first encounter, deeming it too old and damaged with no resale value. Later, when the handsaw customer arrives, he accepts the saw, placing it near the back door. In the good ending scenario, when the killer appears, Markiplier uses the handsaw to cut the padlock on the back door and escapes, successfully reaching a bus to leave. In a post-game analysis, Markiplier criticizes the game's design, particularly the slow walking speed of the character and NPCs, which he believes serves only to pad game time without building tension. He also points out the meaninglessness of tasks like cleaning windows and sweeping floors, as they were not requested by his boss and contribute nothing to the horror or gameplay. He suggests that while horror games can use slow pacing to build tension, in this case, it only makes the game painful, especially during replays. He further critiques the pawn shop setting, noting that the game fails to incorporate realistic pawn shop mechanics, such as researching item prices or a secure inventory system. He argues that a true pawn shop game should focus on the "pawn" aspect, integrating it with the horror elements, rather than generic time-wasting tasks. He emphasizes the importance of world-building and logical design for a game titled "Pawn Shop."