Retro Rewind Reviews

Addictive yes, but too grindy for my taste. That feeling of grind probably comes from the fact that my gameplay loop doesn't change no matter how many new things I unlock. The game tells me to decorate and keep my store stocked to attract more customers, yet even in the 3rd season I can for the life of me not tell a difference. I am still running outside every 1-2 minutes to give away flyers because most people just walk past. And now I am reading that income is hardcapped, and triggered recidulously early. Cheap ass move to stretch gametime, this is an instant downvote from me. The game doesn't even have a 2nd year coded. It loops. The same freaking movie gets re-released. Seriously? You're not EA anymore. What are you offering for this steep price? You're 1/3rd of a full-price JRPG, but serve me one endlessly re-skinned minigame of buy&sell at pre-determined values? The only thing that changed after expanding and decorating is the amount of movies that end up at my return desk, making days take even longer as I sort through them before and after opening/closing my shop. And setting an employee to manage the check out just means I have even more time to run around forcing people to look at my flyer, instead of... uhm... looking at movies more in a game that took such great care to add many different titles, but I'm just permanently on the street, you know? Part of me now wants to install the auto-flyer and the uncap-purchase mods on nexxusmods, but... then what's the point, honestly? So I can afk and earn a little more ingame money to decorate something that's already lost me? I think this game has the lowest ceiling of all shop keeper games I've played so far, and that's really really embarassing for something with overhelmingly positive reviews. But perhaps this mindless grind is exactly what people need these days. I won't judge. Just... don't pick up this one if you're looking for actual engagement.

Another job/busy simulator game. This is a small thumbs up: I dig the idea, the gameplay loop is somewhat relaxing and lots of effort was put into it. It suffers the problem of this genre: The game is too easy and the way it tricks you into thinking otherwise is a progression system that unlocks items and other game mechanics by reputation. The progression system doubles as an early game tutorial that doesn't go away until you hit the max level. Sometimes you unlock more genres. I have massive problems with this concepts but at least it doesn't cost money with so many other games of this genre I've played. You unlock other things with levels, like offering snacks. Some of them you have to make yourself and it's awful, you don't sell enough of it to justify doing so, nor can you disable this after having unlocked it. What felt really bad for me: Sometimes you get broken returns and until half way through the game progression you cannot repair bad VCRs, you are instructed to throw them out. Especially in the beginning you need the money, but no, Literally you need a screwdriver and scissors to fix it. It both doesn't feel like I am fixing it, just cutting tape in the middle seemingly makes it a perfect condition VHS again and the game doesn't track any more meaningful ways like it would in reality, like tapes wearing out eventually, or getting moldy, snapping in half. All it does it to charge 20$ for the customer, because it's always their fault. Plus, you don't have any meaningful way to decide on what to do if they complain about the fee, nor does it seem to have any consequence but the immediate one where either the customer pays up or throws their current purchase on the floor without paying. You can hire employees, but maximum of 2 (and they're hardlocked to levels) and it has another common problem of the genre: Your employees are worse at their job as you and will only do one thing. Handle reservation calls? Nope. Hand out or receive VCRs? Nope. Your employee wants to go home being sick? You do their job today (or reload the game). No way hiring a temporary replacement or more staff.. Overall this game is what I expected and it has a soul while providing a moderately short amount of dopamine hook.

I quite enjoyed the first few hours of the game, until I realised that was it. You can make the shop bigger, hire employees, sell a greater variety of stuff, but nothing really changes. Even the amount of money you make per day doesn't really change. It's a simple and not very stressful game, but it really needs some depth, some random events and more ways to personalise your shop. If it was on sale for less than a fiver, I'd maybe recommend it, but not for £15!

Back in 2006, I was the manager of a Blockbuster. When I play this game... wow. I’ve seen so many videos on YouTube of people saying that rewinding movies and processing returns in the system is a “tip,” but for me, it was just a normal task lol. I can tell who actually worked in a video store and who didn’t. It was a different world, a different time. Families used to come in and pick out their movies for the weekend, and we had to keep that popcorn smell going in the store all day. Our CSR training was amazing. Back to this game: it’s really accurate. When I saw the part about new releases and the number of copies you needed to get for the free display... 100% true. The rest... have fun ;)

The ‘memberberries are satisfied, great game and anxiously awaiting the updates outlined in the roadmap. Highly recommend to anyone who remembers Blockbuster with fondness

Fantastically addictive game where what you see is what you get. It is very easy to play, I got all achievements in around 35 hours (with some AFK time) and it wasn't difficult. This is the kind of game you can just jump into and you wont be needing a tutorial to figure it out. Very much recommend even if once you have got all achievements, you have pretty much seen it all and I cant see much replay value for me. That being said, I am still playing it as I want to completely fill out my video store, plus it's just a pleasant and relaxing experience overall

Super fun simulator game. Normally get pretty bored of simulator games pretty quick, but this one had me hooked. Only complaint is not being able to dive over the counter and strangle rude customers. Hoping for a baseball bat update down the road.

I've dumped more hours into this game than I thought I would. It's mindless, but in a great way. Highly highly suggest to add music videos, commercials, trailers, etc to the TV Channels. It's the chef's kiss that really teleports you back. Check Nexus Mods.

A fantastic game, being a kid of the 90s (I was born in 81) I really fell in love with the concept, very interactable and the customizations are choice. Pros - -Good environment, a naturally strong progression system of unlockables and customizations -The music is not a deterrent it really helps set the mood of a 90s vibe -Easy to grab and play experience that with proper patience it keeps your patience Cons- -Progression to level 20 feels fulfilling, but at 20 it feels somewhat like a dead end. It really hinders replayability -The AI in the employees (in particular for ones assigned to returns) feels very harsh. As the player I've had such a tendency to just take control and do the task anyway. Even if they are 'Good' or 'Great' at the tasks. -Suggestions A few things I would love to see in the future: -Video Game Rentals -A wider variety of arcade games (Air Hockey, Pinball, different arcade games let's fill the arcade with more of that wonderfully nostalgic noise!) -Further customization options, the ability to customize the player character and the work outfits! -Further expansion, maybe to create a second floor? -Child Models that are predisposed to the arcade, and the Kids/Scifi/Fantasy zones More decorations and customizations are always helpful, I loved creating my own video store. I hope to see more developments in the future!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, GIVE ME A GUN. If one more person goes unpunished after breaking **MY** movies, then gets mad when I make **THEM** pay for it and throw everything on the floor, I am going to learn how to mod a game just so I can add a gun and shoot everyone of them. Good game.