The Repair House Will Break You

It’s easier to destroy than to create, but what about the middle ground: restoration? In The Repair House, you aren’t reinventing the wheel or knocking down walls. The people have chosen you, and you alone, to be their saviour and fix that rusty old meat grinder that sits next to their air fryer.

We can start all simulator reviews with a comparison to grandfathers, taking out the trash and awkwardly learning the ropes until you get it. Unlike Brewpub Simulator, there’s no faffing about, and immediately you’re repairing archaic machinery, swapping out parts, and chucking in a box so enormous it makes Amazon look like eco-minimalists.

But… The Repair House is the cahoots with all the others as the UI and menu-hopping are a little bit… poo and in need of repair. The graphics are ok, though, and if variety is the spice of life, the available items and inventory make Quantum Logic Games’ title… zesty.

The Repair House Review – PC

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, as The Repair House likes to go with old-fashioned equipment such as the blower (telephone, my American friends), and ordering inventory and decorative items from a paper-based catalogue. Ah, how Argos used to dominate the world of retail. Now look at them. Sniff.

Each day, a series of clientele will ask you to fix their stuff. As mentioned, the variety of items is excellent. In your first hour on the job, you’ll repair oil lamps to retro consoles, vintage toys to gumball machines. Accepting assignments is optional, but two points matter: money (duh), as you have to pay your rent, and the time factor, as each job has a deadline, and there’s a delay in shipping parts.

Depending on how much storage you have in your workshop, you can take on multiple jobs and switch back and forth when you have the parts in stock. It’s confusing what needs replacing when there’s so much going on, but there’s an objectives toggle to remind you, detailing what part needs replacing. Head to the catalogue, order the part to be shipped and pay extra for overnight delivery.

Skip To The End

Skipping a day advances deliveries and new orders, but you’ll encounter hefty penalties if you ignore rent day. Far too hefty, as I missed my first rent day, and an excessive amount of money was added the following month, making it impossible to achieve early on – even when taking on so many jobs.

This can be problematic with the enjoyment factor as you start smashing through, taking on multiple jobs so you can pay a one-off overnight delivery fee to save money. Additionally, every piece of junk you scrap can be recycled for a bit of cash. But it’s not all doom and gloom as completing a job on time pays the bills and unlocks new gear such as the paint station, media blaster, and washer.

New tools and equipment add variety to the gameplay, but dismantling the same thing repeatedly will wear you down, even if there are bouts of satisfaction in problem-solving. You’ll become familiar with the items and know precisely what you need to disassemble and replace without any faffing. It’s easy to do so, as it’s like most simulators in that you click on a screw to undo it and whatnot.

These Four Walls

As you progress in The Repair House, you’ll unlock a world map granting flea markets access to buy up junk and then flip for a profit. Alas, the payoff is so minuscule you have to grind these projects to break even. Still, there are some cool things to work on, and without a client giving you the task, you have to tinker and work out what to fix.

Customisation might brighten up your workspace as you can paint the walls, change the floors, and decorate the place with endless supplies of plants and retro signage. But it doesn’t add any value to the gameplay. You’d be better off saving your money to make rent next month. The Repair House is a good idea but it can quickly get monotonous.

Verdict

While happy to grind away for marginal gains, I found that The Repair House’s monetary reward is far too harsh to appreciate all that tinkering and customisation. Restoring an arcade cabinet is cool, but with a lack of direction, awards or… yikes – fun, in its current state, it was too much of a grind to enjoy properly.