From the moment I saw the first press release about Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop I was intrigued. The concept of a mechanic-style game mixed with (from my perspective) Keep Calm and Nobody Explodes style technical puzzles along with Papers, Please style time-management and storytelling, just sounded like a blast. Now I can tell you that the developers of Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop have a really great thing going, though the Switch version has a flaw or two that need to be addressed.

In Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop, you play as Wilbur, who has settled in as the newest mechanic serving the mysterious Uncle Chop. Wilbur must make sure he makes enough money repairing ships to pay his corporate overlord, otherwise…well, he’ll end up dead like the last mechanic. It isn’t all bad though, he helps customers in a wide range of occupations such as space pirates, treasure hunters, couriers, cultists, and more.

Before we get too much deeper though, there are two ways to play Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop. The standard way gives you a time limit for each in-game day, forcing you to race against the clock as you try to do repair modules for each of your customers to try and make enough money to pay your R.E.N.T. Alternately there is a mode for people who have a hard time with time limits. This version limits you to 3 repairs a day, but also makes the repairs more difficult.

In either case, each repair requires you to reference the in-game “grimoire,” which serves as a manual that tells you how to do various repairs. It gives you details on which tools to use, how to make each repair, and gives you warnings on the delicacy of certain repair methods. There are also diagrams in the manual to give you a visual representation of how to do each repair.

There is a certain degree of Rogue-like influence here as well, considering that if you fail to meet your payment goal you are killed, only to start again with certain persistent upgrades to your station as well as the knowledge you’ve accumulated from doing repairs. I’d say the whole “knowledge” side of things takes effect more if you are playing with the time limit on, because as you do certain repairs you’ll be doing them faster.

This element of Rogue-like repetition is a good thing though. Each character/customer you help has a storyline. Some are smaller, self-contained, “anthology” storylines. Others are similar to Papers, Please in that if you follow their storyline correctly you can get a variety of endings and changes to how your story plays out.

This is where I think Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop really excites me. The replay value, hidden lore, and other secrets and storylines give the game a certain mystery, mystique, and interest. Every run is different and there’s a wealth of content. My only major complaint is that the controls are a little clunky here and there, especially when selecting tools or transferring things like fuel cells to your workstation.

Overall though, I really like Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop. It’s a fun experience and it offers two different playstyles that really make the experience worthwhile regardless of whether you can handle timed content or not. The humor and uniqueness of the game is a high bonus too. If you like any of the comparison games I’ve mentioned, Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop is definitely worth checking out, though playing on PC might fix the clunkiness of the controls.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop was provided by Kasedo Games for the purposes of this review.

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Uncle Chop's Rocket Shop

$19.99 USD

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Multiple Ways to Play
• Interesting Story and Concept
• Fun Puzzles and Gameplay
• Colorful, Entertaining Characters

Cons

• Controls are a little clunky