A quiet place amidst an ocean of problems
Japan, early 2000s, Akihabara (Akiba) district. A misfortune befell the old electronics repair master. A young and daring protagonist took his place. His hands are golden, but other talents will also be useful for solving the problems that have piled up.
The yakuza immediately approach the master to demand protection money and involve him in shady schemes. A flashlight-wielding policeman hunts the yakuza, extracting information from the master. At the same time, ordinary people come, but they also have enough secrets.
Soulless corporations invaded Akiba to demolish cozy shops and build shopping malls. Their thugs and agents sow panic, buy up land, and wage information wars. The yakuza and interested parties are trying to preserve Akihabara as a place of historical heritage. And only the master's decisions will help one of the sides win.
The characters leave items whose repair advances the plot. In most cases, these are everyday things, but there are exceptions. One client will ask to repair a laptop to access sensitive information. The funniest thing is that the repair process involves replacing the hard drive. Apparently, the data transfer happened off-screen.
A cozy little workshop
The game's events are limited to the size of the workshop. The master works there from morning till night. You can continue working after closing, but no courier comes at night — without him, you won't be able to receive new parts and orders, or deliver finished orders.
Earned money can be spent on paying ridiculously sized bills or buying licenses. With a license, you can repair new and more advanced types of equipment, but they also cost a lot.
Money is needed to buy new tools, such as brushes, screwdrivers, soldering irons. With the rest, you can buy decorations and figurines — they make the workplace cozier and more unique.
The charm of old things
The Master receives authentic electronics from the early 2000s for repair. The names are changed, but you can easily recognize "Tamagotchi", flip phones, game consoles. You'll even have to repair TVs, flashlights, and watches.
Each item can be viewed from different angles to admire the detail. Parts are unscrewed and removed layer by layer until nothing is left. All dirt and dust must be cleaned with a brush, and broken components must be discarded. In the end, you need to reassemble everything and enjoy the sight of the renewed item.
Replacement parts can be bought directly or you can hope to find what you need in the local version of a loot box — by buying an old item for a pittance at a flea market. But the sellers there are unscrupulous, and most of the parts in their goods cannot be used.
Over time, the master will acquire new tools. He will learn to solder circuit boards, glue stickers, and paint cases — according to his taste or the client's wishes. The most fun part is updating the software in electronics: you literally have to bang on the keyboard, imagining yourself as a cool hacker in the process.
Disassembling and assembling equipment is very convenient. Individual parts are clearly visible and highlighted, and a special button illuminates the screws. But problems can arise with cleaning: progress stops at 99%, and you have to rotate the part for a long time in search of the last speck of dust. There are also problems with laptops — during disassembly, the game starts to lag. Or maybe my computer was just shocked that it had to render the insides of a fellow PCB.
Having gained experience, you can test yourself in Akiba competitions. You need to choose an item and assemble it for speed. The task is complicated by the lack of hints and punishment for mistakes: just one wrong part choice and you have to start the assembly again.
Diagnosis
In ReStory: Chill Electronics Repair, it's pleasant to tinker with old things and enjoy it. The idea works because every element in the game is made conscientiously. Whether it's unscrewing a screw, distributing, or cleaning parts — all of this is relaxing and enjoyable. And older people, albeit virtually, will be able to hold things they used in their youth.
The game's plot is mostly for filler, but it's strange. I was happy to help a girl or repair a toy for a grandfather's grandson. But it becomes a little unsettling when, in a relaxing game, your small shop becomes the center of showdowns between various factions. Instead, I would just like to help people and observe their happy reactions — then it would be a real Chill Electronic Repair.