Publisher Silver Lining Interactive and its newly revealed in-house development label Silver Bullet have announced Mr Trippy, a simulation game about running an ice cream business that doubles as a front for dealing drugs, coming to PC via Steam. No release date has been set.
Players are tasked with balancing two very different jobs. Out front, the ice cream van has to look entirely above board, requiring them to actually dish out treats to keep up appearances. Behind this respectable facade lies the real source of income: a second menu of goods sold exclusively to those who know what to ask for. The catch is that the streets are crawling with cops and plainclothes agents. Every action impacts a Heat Meter, meaning the player must memorize how the authorities move and read each order carefully. A single mistake is all it takes to go from working the counter to sitting in a jail cell.

Selling is only half the battle, as the game heavily focuses on scaling the entire operation. Profits flow directly back into the van, allowing players to transform a rusted-out wreck into a highly efficient, customized mobile enterprise. Expanding into new districts introduces fresh customers with increasingly unusual demands, unlocking new recipes while spreading the brand’s influence across the city. However, all that illicit cash cannot simply be written off as ice cream revenue. To reinvest safely, players must wash their earnings through legitimate storefronts, cleaning the money while staying one step ahead of the tax authorities.

According to a press release, the game’s unusual premise originated from a simple office joke. Dan Fraser, producer at Silver Lining Interactive and creative lead on Mr Trippy, explained that an ice cream truck had stopped outside their building, prompting a colleague named Luke to suggest, “an ice cream man sim, but drugs?” The studio immediately took the concept and ran with it. Mr Trippy serves as the debut release for Silver Bullet, a UK label that initially began as a developer incubator program. It has since evolved into a full in-house intellectual property arm for Silver Lining Interactive, and the studio has confirmed that additional original projects are already in the works.

Mr Trippy is available to wishlist now on Steam.