Welcome restorers! Today’s journey with ReStory brings us back to the nostalgic mid-2000s era. This was a time when cell phone screens were smaller than their physical keyboards, game consoles required a gentle smack to work, and the internet sounded like a robot gargling gravel. If you’ve been itching to bottle that specific nostalgic vibe—without the hassle of actually trying to find a replacement battery for your old PSP— then come with us to a little repair shop in Japan.
Developed by Mandragora (the folks behind I Am Future), ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs is a narrative-driven shop management simulator. If you enjoy cozy shop sims where you get to tinker or clean, like Trash Goblin or Undusted, then you’ll want to check this game out. Instead of magical totems or broken teacups, you’ll be restoring Y2K memorabilia, such as the old Nokia brick phones, Tamagotchis, and more.
Run a quaint electronics repair shop in mid-2000s Tokyo. Grow your business by carefully restoring iconic video game consoles, cell phones, music players, and other nostalgic devices. Talk to customers, hear their stories, and see how your decisions impact both their lives and your shop.
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs is out sometime this year. Here’s everything to expect.
Tinker Town
In ReStory, you run a small electronics shop in Tokyo during the Y2K era. The premise is simple: customers walk in, drop off their broken tech, and you fix it. But the execution is where things get satisfyingly granular.
This isn’t a “point and click to restore” situation. When a customer hands you a dusty Motorola flip phone or a Tamagotchi that refuses to hatch, you’ll need to put on your repair hat or, more likely, gloves and safety goggles and use your trusty toolset to take everything apart.
The gameplay feels like a nice balance of complex and streamlined. You’ll lay the device on your work mat, carefully remove the screws, pop open the casing, and clean the grime off the circuit boards. You’ll identify which part is fried, then either source a replacement from your inventory or—and this is my favourite part—hop onto your clunky, dial-up-era computer to surf the web for spare parts.
It’s a satisfying little loop. You fix a device, make some yen, and then inevitably spring for the “blazing fast” 1MB internet speed upgrade to hunt for better parts.
Branching Narratives and Nostalgia
The narrative layer in ReStory is what elevates it above a simple “fix things” simulator. Customers aren’t just ATMs with legs; they have branching storylines. During my time with the demo, I encountered a few decisions that genuinely made me pause. Do you report a disturbing find inside a former gangster’s phone, or do you mind your own business to keep the shop safe? Do you help a lovestruck student craft the perfect text message to his crush?
The way you interact with customers can change their lives forever, leading to one of several endings. It gives the act of repair a weight that goes beyond just replacing a capacitor.
And then, there’s the nostalgia. Working on officially licensed Atari consoles (yes, officially licensed) alongside PSPs and chunky cell phones hit me right in my childhood. The game was created with a tangible love for the urban Japanese aesthetic of the time, and it shows. Fix a variety of nostalgic devices inspired by iconic game consoles, handhelds, phones, cameras, music players, and home appliances.
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs
It’s going to be very hard for me not to recommend this game once it fully releases. I loved taking apart these electronics I grew up with, and I found the aesthetic and vibe enchanting. If you’re a restorer at heart—someone who enjoys the tactile satisfaction of cleaning a circuit board and the narrative weight of helping a stranger—this is one to keep on your radar.
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs is slated for a 2026 release and you can wishlist it right now. Can’t wait? The developers have a Steam Playtest live right now. It’s only open for a limited time, so if you want to get your hands on it early, just head to the Steam store page, hit “Request Access,” and dive in. Just be prepared to lose an afternoon to fixing flip phones.
