ReStory is a burst of nostalgic joy for cozy game lovers

ReStory: Chill Electronics Repair is a game that does exactly what it promises in its name. It’s an electronics repair simulator, and it’s incredibly chill, with a cute narrative to follow and a soft, cozy world to get lost in.

Folks who love cozy games and cleaning sims will have an absolute blast with ReStory; it’s infinitely rewarding and soothing to play through, with soft aesthetics and plenty of nostalgic treasures to uncover and restore. Here’s Kyusai’s full ReStory review, completed on PC.

The ideal cozy game

In ReStory: Chill Electronics Repair, you manage a small electronics repair store in mid-2000s Tokyo, tinkering with old tech and toys while chatting with customers and keeping your store tidy.

Customers will walk up to your counter with their games consoles or mobile phones in hand and ask you to clean or fix them, while telling you snippets about their life.

There’s a narrative to follow in the game as you play, but the cleaning and repair mechanics take center stage. The characters are well-written, though, with my favorite being the upstairs neighbour who communicates with you exclusively through post-it notes in the bucket, and you’ll learn more about them as you progress.

Speaking of progression, you’ll be able to enhance your toolkit and repair skills, picking up licenses to work on new types of technology and trinkets, along with purchasing new parts and old items to fix and flip for a profit.

Flipping items was a highlight of ReStory for me. There’s an online marketplace where you can pick up old, broken pieces of tech for a chunk of change; these can be cleaned and picked apart for spare parts, but they can also be returned to a working state and sold for a profit.

Said profit can then be spent on parts for customers, licenses, new tools, and even shop decorations to enhance your store’s coziness level, meaning it’s worth taking on the side projects and balancing your time to maximize your profits.

The actual act of cleaning and repairing tech is deeply meditative in ReStory. I sat down for my initial review session and intended to just film an hour of footage for the Kyusai YouTube channel while I got used to the mechanics – then I realized after a while that I’d been playing for a couple of hours without thinking.

When an item lands on your workbench, you’ll need to disassemble it piece by piece, removing screws and buttons to get into the guts. You’ll then need to clean pieces by removing dust and grime, then, if needed, replace any broken parts with working pieces, before reassembling it and presenting it to the customer.

It’s not a challenging gameplay loop by any means, but I liked this – it felt intentionally soothing. Late-game projects were more complex, in that they had more parts and screws, but they didn’t feel challenging or frustrating.

Simple premise, brilliant execution

Cleaning sims aren’t anything new in the cozy gaming niche by any means, but ReStory is an example of the gameplay style at its best. If you like games like PowerWash Simulator 2, you’ll find it infinitely satisfying.

Something I particularly enjoyed was how intentional every piece of gameplay felt. Removing screws involved clicking and holding to unscrew it, placing said screw in a jar lid on the work desk with a pleasant clinking noise.

Reading customer reviews involved downloading a new piece of software on the recommendation of your bucket-wielding upstairs neighbour, after choosing your desired internet speed. I adored the FakeOs set-up with the computer; the emails, download bars, and mildly suspicious online markets felt realistic and grounded.

The internet speed was an interesting element, as different tiers of quality require you to pay different amounts. There’s a bill mechanic in ReStory – it’s a survival horror game, apparently – meaning you’ll need to pay rent and internet bills while playing.

The combination of having to pay bills, deal with stacking emails, and make small talk with awkward customers made ReStory feel unbelievably immersive. If, like me, you’ve worked retail, there’ll be some painfully and hilariously relatable moments in your playthrough, largely all tying back to the fact that some customers are just oddballs.

The art style in ReStory is a real highlight, too. The aesthetic is soft and calls back to the mid 2000s era nicely, with each piece of tech paying homage to an iconic piece of gaming or tech.

To my knowledge, the projects appeared to be decently realistic in their make-up, as well. I used to disassemble and reassemble old phones for fun as a child – yes, I have an autism diagnosis, how did you know? – and was incredibly happy to see that the phone models came apart as I expected while playing.

The sound effects and music are delightful, too. This is a game I’d recommend playing with headphones, as the soundscape is charmingly cozy.

Performance-wise, I have no major notes for ReStory. I did encounter a few graphical flickers while turning the camera every now and then, but I was playing on the highest graphics setting with a subpar PC, so that’s likely an error on my part. There were no bugs, crashes, or quirks to note.

If you’re a cozy gaming lover who enjoys soothing gameplay, retro aesthetics, and intricate cleaning mechanics, ReStory: Chill Electronics Repair will be right up your alley. While I imagine the cleaning sim aspect may not be for everyone, I found it infinitely satisfying to play through.

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