The Outlast Trials
The Outlast Trials
Game
Game2026
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs
Developer Mandragora
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs is a job simulation game developed by Mandragora and published by tinyBuild. Set in mid-2000s Japan, the game has the player operate an electronics repair shop and repair devices brought in by customers. It was released for Windows and macOS on 6 August 2026. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
837 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
88
LovedLoved
604 positive · 80 negative
95% range 86–91%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 604 | 80 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 55 | 10 | 66 |
| Mastodon * | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 8 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
6,334 of 6,695 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
87% recommend · 299 yes, 45 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 344 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (10,952 of 11,507 positive).
Players find the game a relaxing and nostalgic electronics repair simulator. [1][2][3] Some reviewers note the game becomes repetitive over time. [4][5][6] Several players express concerns about undisclosed generative AI in the game's art. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
I hate that so many games lately rely on or use AI. I only found this out a bit too late to get a refund for this game which I was suspicious at first, but gave the benefit of the doubt considering I understand everyone has a different art style (shame on me for not going with my gut instincts). After you all denied that AI was used, it was later stated that outsourced assets were indeed created with the use of …
- [10]
Game is good. I do this sort of work for a living so there's bias there but it says something that I can play a game thats very similar to my actual work and still find it enjoyable. If you like to tinker this will scratch the itch. Most of the items you fix share very similar if not identical layouts to their homage they are paid to. The Xbox is very much the same as cracking open a real OG Xbox. So for those that …
- [1]
Use to take my electronics apart when I was younger out of curiosity and later to clean them when I got older. From my Nokia, Razor, PSP, PS1, SNES, and N64. This game is such a flash back to those times having these devices. Such a gem of a game. Mega relaxing and well worth every penny.
- [11]
Done in 7 hours, and by far this is the best realization of the concept first introduced in Assemble with Care, only this time with a really good and long story and thorough repair implementations. What I loved about ReStory is that it just felt right. It's not punishing or too hasty, yet it has a bit of a challenge. Surprisingly, the devices and repairs are complex enough to be somewhat faithful (former PSP/Xbox …
- [2]
Fun little early 2000s electronics repair game. I grew up in the 90s and started repairing my own equipment in the mid 90s. To this day, I am IT professional who does Hardware repair and custom CNC machine builds. The device layouts are accurate replicas of the devices they mimic. The PMP is laid out, screws and all, exactly like the PSP, just a little more simplified. Such a great cozy game. I highly recommend it …
Summarised from 34 of the 477 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs sits at 88% positive across 684 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
ReStory received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic. OpenCritic reported that 92% of critics recommended the game. The game recouped its development budget within 12 hours of release and sold 300,000 copies during its first week. Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 837 · most liked firstI hate that so many games lately rely on or use AI. I only found this out a bit too late to get a refund for this game which I was suspicious at first, but gave the benefit of the doubt considering I understand everyone has a different art style (shame on me for not going with my gut instincts). After you all denied that AI was used, it was later stated that outsourced assets were indeed created with the use of genAI. If you can't care enough to put time and energy into something you're…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't want to not recommend this game just because I have carpal tunnel. But I think the next fix the dev should implement is an accessibility option so you don't have to hold down the mouse button constantly while cleaning or doing repairs. The way the controls are currently implemented makes me unable to play for longer than 15 minutes at a time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The dev has gone on record as the game having no AI. There is no doubt in my mind this is not 100% true. The Japanese art has tons of mistakes that a human artist or Japanese artist would catch. I think I can explain so that you can see for yourself and decide. 1. Upper left: In "Game Center", "Game" is written twice. Vertically as "ゲーム" then horizontally as "ゲム". Even if a human artist didn't understand Japanese, why did they write it horizontally AND vertically, AND THEN misspell only one of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ReStory - Release Date Trailer (Aug 6) www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJl2... store.steampowered.com/app/3812600/... '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.'
neutral · AI labelView post →I read the privacy policy, and maybe most of you will be ok selling it out. What concerns the heck out of me is how much they're asking to potentially collect through an ambiguous policy. My IP address, hardware, even my gameplay being recorded? If I'm wrong I'll gladly change the review, but this looks plain spyware or spyware adjacent. Do better.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Undisclosed genAI in a ton of the Steam assets, wallpapers, etc. Paperclips clipping through folders, sidewalks floating off the ground, spiral binding on notebooks that are also regular folding notebooks in the opposite direction. If you're going to use genAI, disclose it so people can make conscious decisions about it. Regardless of your opinion on genAI, failure to disclose it is fraud. It is possible these assets were outsourced and the devs did not know, but until this is either…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Solid game but needs AI disclosure There are some blatant AI art smells like garbled signage, illogical object placement and missing fingers. The dev has denied using AI, but has locked threads questioning this and hasn't credited a single artist with any online presence/portfolio. My issue isn't so much the usage of AI art itself - that's another can of worms - but rather their unwillingness to disclose it. It's a shame because the gameplay has been satisfying in the time I've played it (and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Made the mistake to not check reviews and other info in depth about this game in the mighty era we live in. The game has undisclosed usage of generative AI for some of its assets. Realized way too late after purchase to refund; found out once I opened the community tab to solve an issue I had in the game. Dissapointing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is good. I do this sort of work for a living so there's bias there but it says something that I can play a game thats very similar to my actual work and still find it enjoyable. If you like to tinker this will scratch the itch. Most of the items you fix share very similar if not identical layouts to their homage they are paid to. The Xbox is very much the same as cracking open a real OG Xbox. So for those that have IRL experience with these devices its fun in that regard. I did find some…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is pretty much as expected from the description, but I thought the gameplay would involve more trial and error. At the moment, it feels like the character already knows what the problem is before you even open something up. For example, if you take out a light bulb, the character immediately throws it in the bin, whereas I’d like to be able to test whether it still works before deciding it’s faulty. I think having more experimentation and uncertainty would make the gameplay feel more…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While the gameplay loop is pleasant, the developers used generative AI assets in both advertising and edited genAI assets in-game, and did not disclose that usage anywhere, in fact as of writing this they still have not updated the description with a generative AI usage disclaimer. They also proceeded to use the "some unnamed company we outsourced to is to blame, we're not working with them anymore" excuse sadly becoming increasingly used by devs caught lying about genAI use. This is a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Going to do a small apology, I didn't know. @tinybuildgames.bsky.social sent me a game key for ReStory by Mandragora the other day. I streamed it. It has since come to my attention they are using undisclosed generative AI in their work. The image included is a Steam wallpaper.
negative · AI labelView post →Disappointed to learn (and to analyze for myself) that the game seems to use AI generated images for several 2D assets. At least, that's what I've noticed after half an hour; a lot of the characters, aside from the bucket I think, have this strange smudging/artifact-ing in ways that don't make sense in the slightest. The girl in the main store page and library images, for example: there's a different amount of eyelashes on each eye, the money she's grasping seems to blend strangely on the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Demo was good, main game is too hectic and it appears to be collecting weird data. Never trust games that scrape data, even if they claim it's for improving the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun game, but AI use bothers me and discussion in the forums has me solidly convinced that, at least for promotional material, it has been used without being disclosed. If that doesn't bother you fine, go wild, but I think people have a right to be aware.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I enjoyed the first couple hours, but it becomes clear quickly that the gameplay loop is limited and repetitive. Doing the same devices over and over to make money to unlock more interesting projects was not fun for me. Maybe I would enjoy it more if the game were just the devices and time trials for each one without all the story and money time wasting around it. I also remain confused about the level, if any, of AI used in the game itself. But I'm starting to think it sorta doesn't matter…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Watched a few vids about this game when people were playing the demo, thought it sounded like a fun relaxed game. Read a few reviews saying you can blast through the story, but I wanted to take my time. I played it and ignored an item on my to-do list. This let me just continue to repair at my own leisure without progressing the story. I was able to upgrade tools, my shop, and introduce new options without running out of game. I dont know.if it exists, but I would appreciate a game mode that is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I do think the game is playable, but it's only really fun for the kind of person that barely understands actual restoration or repair. I understand making a game simple for accessibility and ease of play, but this is basically just a bunch of Lego pieces with a dirty or dusty texture on them that you've got to scrub off. Some of these parts will arbitrarily be marked "Broken" - sometimes without any visual indication of damage whatsoever - for the sake of you having to source a new part for no…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Undisclosed AI usage. EDIT: The response claims there is no AI in the game, but they just had an update (1.0.009r) where they admitted to having AI in their game from a third party and they are 'removing' it. So they are lying. The assets, trailer, and steam banner all used GenAI.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I HIGHLY recommend trying ReStory! Such a super neat game about taking apart and fixing little gadgets for people! I'm super excited for the full game :D store.steampowered.com/app/3812600/...
positive · AI labelView post →I came here to enjoy a cool game and somehow ended up developing a deep, irrational hatred for repairing Polaroids. Would recommend.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game overall, concept is nice, cozy. But damn, AI usage.. I had a weird feeling about the art of the characters, and proceeded to check every bit of official art I could find, and (with the help of artists friends) managed to find some clues leading my to think generative ai has been used. Concept arts varies a lot from one to another, one of the characters has 4 fingers (still doing this error in 2026..). i'm not saying the whole art is ai gen, nor the research or else, but there is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Use to take my electronics apart when I was younger out of curiosity and later to clean them when I got older. From my Nokia, Razor, PSP, PS1, SNES, and N64. This game is such a flash back to those times having these devices. Such a gem of a game. Mega relaxing and well worth every penny.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I enjoy most things about this game, it has a lot going in the right direction! I love the sound effects, artwork, game cycle, and retro additions. The only hang-ups occur with how cleaning items only require 90% completion before PING ALL DONE. It grabs my satisfaction and slaps it. 90% satisfied from cleaning and 10% slapped. The other hiccup is that time has no pause when I'm creating my masterpiece artworks... it forces my hand to purely add quick, ugly little sad-faces as my da vinci.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Chill vibes, cute and funny story and characters, enjoyable gameplay. It's not super detailed and "realistic" to the point of being too difficult, but also not mindless and tedious like many other games in the same genre, I'd say it's sitting at a nice sweet spot. The visuals are also very nicely done, immersive and cute. This is one of the best "job simulator" and "slice of life" games! However, I'll have to give a negative on principle. The developers apparently refuse to acknowledge the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun little early 2000s electronics repair game. I grew up in the 90s and started repairing my own equipment in the mid 90s. To this day, I am IT professional who does Hardware repair and custom CNC machine builds. The device layouts are accurate replicas of the devices they mimic. The PMP is laid out, screws and all, exactly like the PSP, just a little more simplified. Such a great cozy game. I highly recommend it if you like dismantling and repairing stuff.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Had I known that it uses AI I wouldn't have bought it. Shameful that it's not disclosed. Edit: The developer response is laughable considering it was confirmed AI was used for something related to the game (Apparently, through a third party artist, who they apparently trusted to not use AI, and still pushed it into their assets before checking (apparently).), which begs the question what else isn't being disclosed (still). Edit (again): Don’t read their privacy policy if you enjoy having a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Could use additional music tracks, but the joy of repairing tech from my childhood is a relaxing and pleasant time. I cannot reccomend this game enough you were lucky enough to be alive during that time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Developers didn't disclose their use of AI in the 2d "artwork" for the game, and continue to lie about it with incredibly dubious proof to the contrary.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →GenAI assets. It's a shame. Devs claim they're "careful" not to collaborate with GenAI-users, but unfortunately, a closer inspection of the game's assets will reveal dozens of GenAI artifacts. It was so apparent I had to put the game down after an hour. Started off with doubt, but the more assets I had the displeasure of looking at, the clearer the picture became. I suggest playing Trash Goblin, Librarian, Leaf it Alone, Strange Horticulture for anybody looking to spend a relaxing time with the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →undisclosed ai usage and devs are gaslighting people into believing they arent using ai and scrapes a CRAZY amount of data that a "chill restoration cozy" game should NEVER need. devs are so so scummy. im stealing haruhi and kiyoko and making them my own ocs they dont deserve this Edit: Don't listen to the devs. The "concept art" shown has fully rendered things as well as the key art not matching up with the ingame character (lighter hair and different eye color in the key art). Also, they did…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very addictive game maybe my true calling is repairing electronics
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Done in 7 hours, and by far this is the best realization of the concept first introduced in Assemble with Care, only this time with a really good and long story and thorough repair implementations. What I loved about ReStory is that it just felt right. It's not punishing or too hasty, yet it has a bit of a challenge. Surprisingly, the devices and repairs are complex enough to be somewhat faithful (former PSP/Xbox repair guy here), hectic, and fun. You're clearly progressing and getting the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →(Update) I refunded it. This whole absurd utilization thing along with constant lies about ai usage seemed sketchy. Also the amount of brain-dead meat riders in my comments were fun lol. Mfs think a game that wants 2-4 core cpus with 1 gb storage has any right to heat up ryzen 9950x3d to 95 degrees + blaming it on me xd Steam trolls never fail to amaze me (Old Review) Loving the game so far but it heats up my pc like crazy. Also 100% gpu utilization combined with high heat in an indie game…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →tl; dr Fun cozy simulator game with nice soundtrack and objectively appealing art style. Worth to buy in full price. (+) + I used to work as a repair shop guy, therefore I am very much biased + That being said, the game is fun; the game managed to capture the fun part of being a repairman + You can play this game with only one hand (mouse only), I reckon I can play this game at work lol + Regional pricing is affordable! I thought it's gonna be 20 USD converted to IDR, turns out there's…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →surrounding the creation of the in game art assets. Why do I need to join the ReStory Discord to seek transparency? Why is it a member of the publishing team acknowledging the issue below? Will we receive an update on this investigation or disclosure of the alleged AI use in the trailer on - 4/5
neutral · AI labelView post →of this game. I accepted this partnership believing in the word of the development team of ReStory. That said, I wish to terminate this partnership immediately. With this game now on sale, it is absolutely unacceptable for the development team to continue this lack of transparency - 3/5
negative · AI labelView post →This game is a mixed bag for me. In short, gameplay is entertaining, but that's about it. The game will constantly insult the intelligence of the player in ways that are very subtle. Get the demo first or wait for the game to be heavily discounted. - Right off the bat, the art is clearly AI generated and edited afterwards. Not sure why this is not just disclosed, but it's there. I won't describe the details in this review, as many other reviews have extensively talked about this. But I am…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very addictive game, it's playable in the steam deck but the controls for moving around the store can be a little clunky, hopefully and official mode for the Deck releases son.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Generally what is here is a cute Y2K device restoration game where you help characters along the way and manage a store which is pretty addictive. I did find the game getting a bit repetitive towards the end though and the story in some aspects left a bit to be desired. After some research the devs were careless in their outsourcing and had some gen-AI art on some aspects of the game/marketing. And after that trust-loss its hard to feel fully happy about the art direction. The devs have…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ReStory: Chill Electronic Repairs is out now! 🎮🔧 Like fixing things? Then may I recommend this game. 🤔 It has very relaxing music and you can take your time repairing the broken items for Customers and more! Give it a try, it's a really chill game and there is a Demo too! ☺️
positive · AI labelView post →Before I talk about the game itself, I *really* need to address the elephant in the room. Now, I will be completely honest and admit that I unfortunately did not have the eye for detail a lot of other people do that led to the current controversy surrounding the game. I had already played the demo and bought the game day 1 before I found out, and by the time I did it was way too late to refund it. It's a tough pill to swallow. This game has a pretty basic, but fun gameplay loop and I have…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was released with game breaking story progression bugs, after 10 hours of gameplay I can not progress the story anymore. Looking at other bug reports in the discord server and other steam reviews, this appears to be a common issue. I do not recommend playing this game until the developers fix it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Awesome game. Bug free and the restoring is pretty fun. F*ck the laptop, tho lol.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finished the history. For someone who loooooves the idea of Akiba, this is just pleasure. Chill, cool and interesting gameplay. Can be repetitive.. but, in this case I think it is necessary for the inmersion. The only bad thing I can say about the game, it would be better if there is an option or mode to put the name of the NPCs when they talk with you. As someone who struggles to remember names, I was lost in the history and I do not know who is who.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Slay the Princess Perfect with the gameplay and key art. ReStory Fun pun, comes with a subtitle on Steam: 'chill electronics repairs'. Note that it makes the game easier to find but isn't in the actual name, key art, etc!
neutral · AI labelView post →polished game, but it hurts physically to play. I might change this if some features to reduce carpal tunnel/RSI ae implemented. I like the game well enough but its constant dragging around. Some things I would do: hotkey to jump to cleaning tools, tab to cycle through them button you hold to clean even if its slower tab to cycle through parts, cycle through screws hotkey to prep order for pickup hotkey to pull orders and parts out of the box keys to rotate keys to bring up and pin the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I used to work at a video-game refurbishment center (I can boast that I was the only employee who could fix a sticky eject button on a PS1). There's something truly satisfying about taking apart electronics, cleaning them, the odd fix, and then reassembling them. It's like a glorious puzzle. This game delivers on that same feeling of calm and accomplishment (without the shoulder pain from scrubbing a yellowed case or the fumes from the soldering iron). I played the demo for weeks and I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If only I was this masterful at fixing things IRL Game: ReStory: Chill Electronic Repairs Platform: PC
positive · AI labelView post →Fun game highly recommend. as of writing this review i played over 10 hours. Amazing devices to assemble and disassemble. with i had the possibility to do this IRL too.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It’s a good game, and I mostly enjoyed my time with it. The gameplay loop is engaging for the first few hours, but towards the “end” of the game you’ll probably start avoiding certain repairs and skipping most of the online requests unless you’re trying to pop an achievement. Otherwise, the novelty starts to wear a bit thin as you progress. Some of the achievements were fun and novel to get, but the 365-day achievement literally becomes: End day > stamp book > next day loads > end day >…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am full of anxious excitement, I have a lot I need to get done, but today will be busy! Gunna smoke a J, clean the house, blast music in my ears, then do some self-care, get my T shot, then finish up some work and relax with my little Restory game for the evening. :3 I feel like myself today. 🎶
positive · AI labelView post →10/10 Awesome chill game. EDIT: Finished in about 7hrs in a single sitting. The story is interesting, but it has some wording issues (translation from another language?) that make it hard to understand at points. The gameplay is impeccable.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's hard to express how upset I am. I was so excited for this game as it ticked all the boxes for me. However... I have since found out that generative AI was used for the game art. Even worse, they brushed it off as "outsourcing an artist." As an artist myself, I am furious. Not only did they not disclose that AI was used, but they actively advertised that they didn't use AI and that the art is completely done by a human artist. Furthermore, they boldly lied and denied they had done it…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Boring + rumors about AI usage that's not admitted The dislike is more about the boring part. The game needed more tools and problems to solve. its nothing like a fix stuff game. its more like a power wash simulator. you just take dirty off.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the game that other electronics repair games wish they were. Top notch modeling and repair mechanics as well as a nice little story line with different endings depending on your dialog choices. My first playthrough lasted about 17 hours with a whole other storyline to complete. Well worth the asking price, you will not be disappointed.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gameplay loop gets stale, and gen AI was most likely used without disclosure.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You will either love this and play non-stop for 3 whole days or you'll play 2 to 3 hours and never touch this game again, both for the same reason: this game's repetitiveness, and I was almost part of the latter if not for the story this game has, which it's definitely nothing to write home about, it's just there so you can have some experience fixing some easier and cheaper devices before moving to more expensive and complex ones.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice concept, but gets a repetitive rly soon. Worst thing tho is the undisclosed use of gen AI for a majority of the 2D art, which is rly sad to see when the game would've had so much potential.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is peak, time flies and you can easily forget about the story tasks. Works very well with my adhd brain The Nony Goman can suck my ass tho 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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