Computer Repair Shop - Review
If you have ever heard of Cheesecake Dev before then you are most likely aware of the janky simulator games they produce. I am not throwing shade at them as they have actually carved out a relatively successful niche for themselves and I am a big fan of games like Internet Café Simulator 2 and Streamer Life Simulator, there is just something relaxing about playing games that don’t amount to much more than busywork. The latest release from Cheesecake Dev “Computer Repair Shop” is now here and thanks to Cheesecake Dev we were blessed with a key to check it out.
Even though I have played quite a few of Cheesecake Devs other titles I wasn’t quite prepared for the fever dream aesthetic that I was stepping into when I booted up Computer Repair Shop, most of the game is set in shady cyberpunk-like back alleys that remind me of some of the areas you would see if you were in Japan, there are some very weird people walking around these streets, some of them close to nightmare fuel. There isn’t much of a tutorial in Computer Repair shop, you basically wake up head to your shop and start fixing computers that customers bring in, once you have fixed the first few you are left to your own devices, thankfully you have a handy tablet that will provide you with information on how to fix most of the problems you will encounter when fixing the PCs that customers bring in to your shop.
The computers that customers drop off all come with a handy post it note stuck to the side explaining exactly what the customer wants which will range from overclocking, broken hardware, and app installation all the way through to virus removal. You fix these problems by using your handy USB stick full of apps that will remove viruses, create keys to validate operating systems and even install keyloggers onto customers PCs if you are that way inclined, your bank balance will certainly thank you if you are because you will then be able to hack their bank accounts and steal their money. You can also order parts for your customers PCs via your handy tablet, before doing this though make sure that you take the failing component out and run it through your shops repair tool first as this will save you a lot of money, I spent the first few hours ordering new parts for every customer because I didn’t realise the repair machine existed, don’t be like me.
The basic gameplay loop is that customers drop off computers, you attempt to fix them and then you send them back to the customer all the while listening to the maddening, psycho, meowing cat that seems to invade your shop and spend every waking moment there, be sure to also keep an ear out for customers dropping off PCs because if you leave them at the front of the shop then they will end up being stolen by a big man in tights that looks like he is a reject from WWE and the customers will then bill you for their loss. Whilst repairing PCs is fun after a few hours it does become very monotonous and this is because there isn’t much else to do or work toward, the game would be infinitely more interesting if it gave you something to work towards like the ability to upgrade your shop and equipment but unfortunately this doesn’t exist, you can hire a security guard to stop the WWE reject from stealing customers PCs and you get skill points to help you do things like repair computer parts quicker but that’s really it, there is no way to customise the look of your shop at all.
There is also a very annoying mechanic that forces you to go back to your room and sleep after a certain amount of time every day, this mechanic really serves no purpose except to annoy you and make you pay $50 to the hostel manager every time you are forced to sleep, it is a really puzzling design decision and really serves no place in a game that isn’t a survival game. There are distractions where you can spend your hard-earned money such as a dance club or you can even buy and upgrade a robot to participate in robot battles but even these become boring after a while as there is no way to control your robot at all and you simply watch the battles rather than actually participate in them. There is also a backrooms styled horror component to the game where you can wander around and try and take pictures of the entities that inhabit the maze-like corridors of the area, but I never seen much point to this other than the cash you get in return, it all becomes boring and monotonous very quickly.
Graphically the game is adequate but unfortunately suffers from constant frame hitching where suddenly the game will freeze and you will be staring up at the ceiling instead of straight ahead, this becomes very annoying. Audio is sparse apart from the psycho meowing cat and other ambient sounds, but it does its job for the most part.
Computer repair shop is a really bizarre experience and is engaging for at least a couple of hours but ultimately seems like a bunch of half baked completely unrelated ideas stuck together by sticky tape and chewing gum, I can’t help but think if Cheesecake Dev concentrated more on the computer repairing part of the game and allowed for customisation of your repair shop and had a more varied compliment of repair scenarios that they would have a solid hit on their hands, it really is very puzzling why the devs decided to tack on the half baked backrooms and robot wars component of the game rather than concentrate on the PC repair component. As it stands Computer Repair Shop is fun for a couple of hours, but I really doubt that you will return to it after that unless the devs expand the current content in the game.
The Score
4.0
Review code provided by Cheesecake Dev
The Pros
PC repairing is fun for a couple of hours.
Graphics are interesting and unlike anything else I have seen.
The Cons
Gameplay loop gets very boring after a few hours.
No customisation options for your shop
Game feels like a bunch of half-baked unrelated ideas stuck together
