For the past few years, I have worked full-time as a device repairer – someone who takes apart and fixes a whole range of gadgets. It can be an intricate and frustrating job, although for the most part it’s actually quite enjoyable. And oddly enough, the ReStory playtest captures a fairly accurate slice of my day-to-day job. The thrill of opening up a new device, the satisfaction of a job well done, and yes, the pain of having to deal with an annoying customer or two.
A day in the life of a repairer
The first day as a new electronics repair shop owner starts off in a familiar way. Clearing out the workstation and preparing for the day ahead. It isn’t long until the first customer comes along with a gadget that needs repairing. This quickly snowballs into repairing Nokia 3310, Sony PSP, and Tomagochi lookalikes. And thanks to a partnership with Atari, this selection of gadgets include genuine Atari consoles and peripherals. Extra, extra cool!
When working on a device, each part can be taken apart, cleaned and then placed on the handy anti-static mat. Broken parts can then also be swapped out with items scavenged from other similar devices. One early example of this is someone presenting two broken Atari 2600 joysticks. They task the player with salvaging working parts from each to make one fixed joystick. Much like in actual repair shops, salvaging and keeping usable parts is a worthwhile practise.
Fixing broken things
After a while, a cosy game loop starts to appear. Customers drop their stuff off; that stuff gets pulled apart piece by piece, cleaned, fixed, and then put back together. Maybe something needs soldering, and perhaps something needs repainting. The depth and detail of each item as it is dismantled is excellent. As in real life, some repair work is simply replacing a broken part with a new one. Extra parts can be ordered online, and requests can also be accepted there.
I did find several bugs whilst playing. After a quick discussion with a friend who played the ReStory playtest on their pc, these bugs seemed to be Steam Deck-specific. Even though I changed some of the control settings to emulate mouse movements, I couldn’t interact with the customers as they appeared on my screen. They were meant to be clickable to move their dialogue along but I had to refer back to the touchscreen multiple times. Similarly, sometimes I struggled to interact with whatever device I was repairing. The mouse curser would change, but as I tried clicking, it wouldn’t work. I also noticed that the framerate fell dramatically whilst trying to dismantle any kind of phone. Other than that, I didn’t find any other kind of bug.
Nostalgia as a vibe
As ReStory is set in the mid-2000’s Tokyo, there is a heavy nostalgic vibe running through the game. This is purposeful. According to Evgeny Kisterev, the Studio Director at Mandragora:
“ReStory is my nostalgia for a time when we shared polyphonic ringtones via infrared ports and rewound cassette tapes with a pencil. When every device felt unique. Now we just hold these screens in our hands, and they all look the same. Japanese companies always amazed me with their influence on global technology, which made 2000s Tokyo the perfect setting. I can’t wait to share this nostalgic feeling with players and discover how many other grown-up kids remember that era fondly!”
This nostalgic feeling, combined with the chill atmosphere, makes this game extremely appealing to me. It highlights, celebrates, and promotes the refurbishment of both modern and retro technology. I enjoyed my time with the ReStory playtest and can’t wait for the whole game to release in 2026. I have already wishlisted it on Steam. You should too if this sounds like your cup of tea!
Check out the launch trailer below!
