The Dark Souls of management sims
Welcome to Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop, the Dark Souls of shop management sims. This is undoubtedly one of the more unique gaming experiences you’ll have this year but as a result, Uncle Chop’s is a game you’re either going to really love, or really loathe, depending on how you view the steep difficult curve and what this game has to offer.
The story is a simple one; you arrive on a spaceport bright and early, ready to start your new job as a mechanic. The last mechanic has died, potentially through mysterious circumstances but hey, don’t you worry about that! There’s more pressing matters at hand.
Under the careful (see: nonchalant) guidance of Droose, Wilbur (you) are here to work. And damn does this game put you to work. Uncle Chop is a big space hologram figure and he’s the one overseeing everything. He tells you you have several days to make rent and when it’s due, you need to pay up.
So with an alarming threat and the last mechanic’s death still eerily hanging in the background, it’s time to dive into the crux of Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop.
This is where you get into the meat and potatoes of the gameplay. It’s also here where you’re either going to immediately be sucked into the sheer complexity and density on offer, or be turned off completely from it. But I’d highly recommend sticking it out because despite a pretty steep learning curve, this is a rewarding game that’s surprisingly satisfying to see through to the end.
Why? Well, Uncle Chop’s isn’t just a difficult management simulator, but also a Roguelites too. After your third day of work, an unlikely event occurs. You die. It doesn’t matter how you die but you die, and wind up back days prior to start the process again.
It soon becomes clear that Uncle Chop isn’t just a management sim, it’s also a game where you need to prep for the end of your life, learning with every failure and slowly clawing your way to success in the most unlikely of genre mash-ups. The management aspects are simple enough. You’re given a large (and rather daunting) manual which includes everything you need to fix up different parts of a ship.
There are strict instructions over how to change engine parts, how to refuel and even drain heat. As things get more complex and more parts need fixing, the stakes are raised higher and the risk of dying also increases too.
Each time you return, you come equipped with more knowledge over how to actually fix up the different parts so what begins as a seemingly frustrating and head-scratching endeavour, soon turns to muscle memory and second-nature. It’ll be easy to refuel several hours in without even looking at the manual, but this is also a game that requires you to take your time to understand how everything works to get the most out of it.
The modules you need to fix can be pretty creative too and understanding how to fix these, including noting the different diagrams in the manual and how it corresponds to the various buttons and gimmicks, is part of the fun to be had here.
However, some of that fun does have a way of seeping out when you realize that Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop is absolutely brutal when it comes to its tolerance level. If you make a slight mistake it could kill you, or even dock tons of money from you.
For that reason, studying the manual becomes an absolute must. However, the manual itself can be a little confusing at times, with arrows, colours and widgets all needing to be deciphered and categorized in specific ways. There are several different layers of complexity here, along with a necessity to shuffle through lots of pages to find the module you’re currently working on. This is only made more difficult by the fact that some modules are way more complicated than they need to be. You’ll find random knobs, buttons and screws that don’t need to be tampered with, while specific dials need to be moved in a certain order or way to get through to the next piece.
Visually, the game looks great. The cartoony graphics and dark humour work in tandem, while the different effects, colours and music all work really well to give this a unique flair that help it stand out next to others in this field.
I mentioned before about this being the Dark Souls of management sims and this is absolutely true for when you reach the second and third day of work. The modules here are usually designed to test your patience, skill and speed. Given how time sensitive this game is, especially given the amount you need to repair in order to get enough cash to pay rent, the game throws everything and the kitchen sink at you. Expect crashed ships, unstable modules and even a mandatory job that could result in an instant death if you get even the tiniest part wrong or incorrectly aligned.
This is particularly egregious because the game gives you the option at the start between a frantic play-through (including a time limit on each day) or a more relaxed but focused playthrough. However, both include time-sensitive modules to complete in a certain amount of time which kinda negates the need for this sort of choice early on. The trouble is, the timed mode makes things that much harder in order to hit quota and finish the jobs with enough money to pass into the next set of missions.
Furthermore, there’s also a time limit for every day, and if you accept a job with too little time to complete, you’ll be docked money for failing to do that. This makes the mode essentially a Hard Mode in a game that already has a very steep learning curve to begin with. For that reason, I’d highly recommend starting this on the more relaxed mode, at least until you’re comfortable enough with how the modules operate.
Through all of this, there is a separate section where you can take a break and make donuts but this mode has a high potential for failure so it’s not really much of a respite! However, it is a neat inclusion all the same.
For all the positives, there are some drawbacks. Playing with a controller is almost impossible in the current format, and is way too fiddly. Switching to a controller and mouse definitely makes things easier, but this also seems problematic given the game is scheduled to be released on consoles soon.
With all that being said though, the actual gameplay loop and way you fix up the modules and ships is really solid and easily the highlight of the entire game. Being able to go from a complete noob who doesn’t even understand how to fill up fuel, to fixing rebreathing modules and planning accordingly to fix multiple broken spots to avoid certain death is very satisfying.
The biggest drawback though is really with Uncle Chop’s difficulty spike. The game is in need of some rebalancing too, especially during the Timed Mode, and honestly the manual is way more complicated than it needs to be. It almost feels designed intentionally this way, just to make things that much more difficult. However, if you’re willing to put the time in, there’s a satisfying gameplay loop waiting to be discovered… if you can survive long enough to experience it!
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Verdict - 7.5/10
7.5/10