Uncle Chop’s rocket shop can be peaceful until everything blows up

I have a strange relationship with Uncle Chop’s rocket shop. When I’m not facing a nuclear reactor that threatens to destroy me instantly, I find roguelikes strangely relaxing. After all, it’s a missile repair simulator with a troubleshooting manual for every situation right in the palm of your hand. But if you run into certain situations, choosing one mode over another, or encountering a moment on your Switch where it suddenly stops recognizing the controller, it can feel unbearable.

Wilbur woke up in Uncle Chop’s rocket shop about what is said to be a planet in outer space with Uncle Chop’s official base there. Droose, who runs the diner where customers wait, is the one who wakes Wilbur from some cold sleep. Your first business order? Dispose of the body of the person who once did your job, pry the missile repair manual from their death grip. From there, you start doing odd jobs you can’t afford to do to make rent and hope not to die.

You will definitely die. Probably a lot. But I guess you know that going into this review, given the nature of the genre.

Uncle Chop’s rocket shop There are two modes, called Frenzy and Focus. Frantic is a timed mode where, for example, you have eight minutes and need to get as much done as possible. While I could manage that in about three days, the nature of the game and the number of missions you get, as well as trying to play it with a controller, made me a bit frustrated. If someone has been playing for a while, knows all the situations you might encounter, and doesn’t regularly check the manual, I can see it being possible. But even though I was comfortable, I still felt like Focus was the preferred choice. It’s a job that allows you to do three jobs per day, regardless of time, and is a great way to get familiar with the game and relieve some of the stress you’ll feel when certain situations arise. certain repair situations.

Regardless of which mode you choose, a typical day in Uncle Chop’s rocket shop tend to go the same way. Wilbur woke up. You clock in at the restaurant, then go to the phone booth. Jobs will appear and you choose one. The job order is printed and you will speak briefly with the rocket pilot. Then, you need to evaluate each area that needs repair. During the first two days, you will usually only have to refuel and change the oil. Any repairs may be due to your own problem when you know how not to overfill the box. Finally, you will need to flash cartridges and complete levels for amusement devices, handle maintenance of miniature planets for respiratory systems, handle VR elements, and handle particle reactors cause that I mentioned above. All of these step-by-step processes also include using tools to open or close hatches, stopping by the store to pick up items, or using machines to make parts. When you complete a job, you’ll be paid and rewarded based on how you performed and whether you completed each task, and you can receive Omen Tokens that allow you to purchase privileges to carry over to additional runs.

It’s the repair process that sometimes gets in your way. Part of this can be attributed to proper manual use. Overall it’s quite useful and covers everything you need to know. But there will be times when you need to parse information in certain ways to make sure you’re doing things like making the right portion of pancakes or entering a security system override correctly. (I found the pancake and nuclear reactor parts particularly challenging!) There’s a lot to deal with. Timing can be high even when you are playing in Focused Error Correction mode. It’s a lot.

The other problem is that sometimes the Switch version of Uncle Chop’s rocket shop seems to just… stop registering input? It will also happen at the strangest times. I can remove one fuel canister, no problem, but then when I press X to go back to the tab and start taking out the second canister, I can’t move. If I’m playing with a docked system, I actually need to stand up and use the touchscreen in handheld mode for it to work. (As a result, I only play the unlocked version to avoid that problem.) It doesn’t happen often, but when I try to fix it like crazy it’s the worst when it happens. But then there are also some fixes where even when the controls work perfectly, it still feels like they’re better suited to touchscreen or mouse controls.

At least the general idea, user interface and layout mean that recognizing and taking possible actions is easy in Uncle Chop’s rocket shop. This is a very well designed game in terms of appearance. Items are clearly identifiable and the steps you need to take during the repair process are clearly visible. The manual is a faithful recreation of them. Not to mention, all of this is combined with a truly wonderful atmosphere that matches the bleak, unsettling, otherworldly nature of everything. It feels right when you play, matching your gameplay without being distracting when you really need to concentrate.

I would even say that it was the presentation and the concept that really attracted me Uncle Chop’s rocket shop even when I have problems with certain repairs or Crazy Repair mode. Droose and Kyle are both great characters. I like the commentary from the cat at the station and the pilots coming to make repairs. Uncle Chop is really an asshole, which even makes me struggle to make ends meet and keep raising the prices.

Uncle Chop’s rocket shop There’s a lot that goes into it, but I think much of your enjoyment will be based on how or where you play it. It’s fun on Switch but I noticed some technical issues. Crazy repair is one much to deal with, especially if you’re playing with a controller. However, Focused Fixing is amazing. Most everything is detailed in the manual, but nuclear explosions will completely ruin your day.

Uncle Chop’s rocket shop available on Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X and PC.

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