ReStory

ReStory: Electronic Repairs is a cosy, job simulator that definitely will appeal to some. You run a small electronics repair shop in mid-2000s Tokyo, buy broken gadgets, take them apart, clean their components, replace damaged parts, and sell them on. And it's precisely that simplicity why ReStory works as well as it does... at least for a while.

Mandragora's newest indie instalment has an immediately appealing premise built around the nostalgia of Y2K-era technology. Phones, portable music players, cameras, and game consoles are lovingly cleaned and repaired, while the shop itself gradually becomes a charming little slice of time back to a period when technology still felt tactile. The repair process in itself is the game's strongest feature. Each job begins with an object that needs to be dismantled carefully, component-by-component in order to get it back to working order. Screws are removed, covers lifted, parts cleaned, and broken components replaced before everything can be put back together and shipped to the customers.

There is a genuine sense of progression in here too. As you repair more consoles and products for customers, you can buy licences and upgrades in order to expand your business and reputation. From Eggotchi's to Pokia phones (see what they did there), you are the central hub for all of Tokyo's technology that needs a little TLC. The online hub in which you order parts and accept customers' requests is a great feature and it becomes addictive quickly. You will find yourself wanting to accept more and more orders in order to make as much money as possible so you can expand the roster of products you can repair.

The nostalgia in the game is also handled with considerable charm. ReStory's mid-2000s Tokyo setting is colourful and deliberately cosy, filled with era-appropriate technology and visual details. The soundtrack complements this, despite it being slightly uninspired and a little repetitive at times. Playing your own soundtracks over this is definitely how I would intend you to approach this game in order to make it more enjoyable.

Unfortunately, this is where ReStory begins to reveal its limitations. The branching narrative also promises consequences for your decisions, giving the otherwise repetitive routine a sense of purpose and story. However, this does fall flat at some points. Some characters and situations are charming, while others feel overly simplistic or tonally inconsistent. You do have a choice of dialogue options when interacting with customers, however, these are usually limited to one or two different lines at most. It's clear there is a larger focus on the repair aspect of this game, rather than the actual story or plot behind each device. That is ultimately ReStory's biggest problem: it's a lovely collection of ideas that do not always develop as far as they could.

The atmosphere is excellent and cosy and the tactile repair mechanics are genuinely satisfying, but once the novelty of taking apart your first handful of gadgets wears off, the game has to rely on its broader systems to maintain momentum, and those systems are not quite strong enough. A much more advanced and engaging roster of characters with a more diverse and in depth narrative would have elevated this game greatly from a simple restoring game to a genuinely interesting cosy simulator.

There is absolutely an audience for ReStory. If you have fond memories of flip phones, portable music players, old consoles, and the strange plastic technology of the early 2000s, the nostalgia here is potent and combined with the job simulator-esque gameplay, it makes for a nice little game to pick up when you are looking for some relaxing fun with a simple and short plot with more of a focus on satisfying repairs. ReStory is not quite the definitive repair simulator it could have been. It's a pleasant, visually attractive, and occasionally engrossing project that understands the appeal of tinkering, but its repetitive structure and relatively shallow dialogue and narrative hold it back.