Uncle Chop's Rocket Shop

90%
Game Brain Score Based on 242 reviews
  • gameplay
  • humor
  • graphics
Uncle Chop's Rocket Shop Game Cover
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"Uncle Chop's Rocket Shop" is a game where players, as the mechanic Wilbur, repair procedurally-generated spaceships for clients in a remote space station. With various tools, diagnostic devices, and parts, they'll tackle a range of tasks, from simple refueling to complete overhauls. The game offers a unique experience each time, focused on the simple joys of fixing things in space.

  • PC
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

90%
Audience ScoreBased on 242 reviews
gameplay16 positive mentions
stability4 negative mentions
  • The game features a unique and engaging gameplay loop that combines puzzle-solving with a humorous narrative, reminiscent of 'Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes'.
  • The art style is charming and the writing is filled with witty humor, making the experience enjoyable and entertaining.
  • The developers are responsive to community feedback, continuously updating the game to address bugs and improve gameplay mechanics.
  • The game can be extremely punishing, with unforgiving mechanics that can lead to frustrating losses, especially with certain modules like reactors and platforming challenges.
  • Some players have reported issues with the clarity of instructions in the manual, leading to confusion and mistakes during gameplay.
  • The roguelite elements can feel repetitive, as players may find themselves stuck in early game tasks without significant progression after multiple runs.
  • gameplay63 mentions

    The gameplay is a unique blend of mechanic simulation and roguelite elements, offering a satisfying and challenging experience reminiscent of games like "Papers, Please" and "Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes." Players engage in intricate repair tasks under time constraints, with a variety of minigames and mechanics that keep the experience fresh, though some find the difficulty spikes and certain mechanics frustrating. Overall, the game is praised for its charming art style, engaging narrative, and rewarding gameplay loop, making it appealing to fans of procedural and job simulation games.

    • “I love the moment-to-moment gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay is super fun and unique, and the art style really sells the whole world they’ve built.”
    • “The roguelite nature of the game is a genius twist on the genre that leads to another entire gameplay loop around building up your shipyard and managing money and items on top of the mechanism minigames.”
    • “Imo the gameplay would have been better served with straightforward progression where you slowly buy upgrades that give you access to more jobs so that your options are constantly expanding.”
    • “As a new player jumping in, I can tell you that playing frantic fixing, which, again, is selected by default, is a terrible experience due to the rapid difficulty spike happening on day 3 and onward, essentially a brick wall resetting your run until you get good enough at fixing the plethora of new modules and mechanics thrown at you.”
    • “I really like this game, but I don't think its mechanics really play well into the roguelike style; you will more often than not get bored with the menial repairs in the beginning while waiting for the more complicated ones to appear on later days, just for the fatal ones that set you up for failure to send you far back to the beginning again.”
  • humor25 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its charm and wit, with many players finding the dialogue and narrative both hilarious and engaging. The blend of dark and quirky humor, along with a unique art style, contributes to a fun and immersive experience, although some players noted that certain jokes can become repetitive over time. Overall, the game's comedic elements are seen as a standout feature that enhances the gameplay and keeps players entertained.

    • “The dialogue is hilarious and is one of the few games that made me audibly laugh.”
    • “Very fun (and funny) narrative is used to dress up the infinite roguelite gameplay loop.”
    • “The more you play, the better it gets with tons of hidden secrets, fantastic modules/puzzles, and some hilarious writing.”
  • graphics19 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their charming and diverse art styles, which enhance the overall atmosphere and narrative depth. Players appreciate the attention to detail and the unique character designs, describing the visuals as beautiful, fun, and engaging. The combination of humor and artistic flair contributes significantly to the game's appeal, making it a standout experience.

    • “The art style and atmosphere are top notch.”
    • “Starting out, I was immediately impressed by the art style and attention to detail this game has.”
    • “The gameplay is super fun and unique, and the art style really sells the whole world they’ve built.”
    • “Some are pictographic, some are text only.”
    • “The art style is very cute, even given some of the things that happen in-game.”
    • “The art style is very flavorful and the mechanics remind me of 'Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes' where you're trying to follow instructions from a book to diagnose a widget with lots of buttons and wires.”
  • story16 mentions

    The game's story is engaging and multifaceted, blending humor, charm, and a touch of darkness, which keeps players hooked as they uncover secrets. While the narrative is complemented by a polished art style and quirky characters, some repetitive missions can detract from the overall experience. Overall, players appreciate the combination of storytelling with roguelike elements, making it a captivating adventure.

    • “The art style is great, the characters are funny, the story so far has me hooked and I can tell there are plenty of secrets to uncover.”
    • “The story is funny, cute, and slightly disturbing all in one.”
    • “Little secrets are tucked away, and the story has a surprising amount of heart.”
    • “This game honestly could have just been a neat little story game about fixing ships and it would have been fine.”
    • “Lastly, some of the repeating story repairs get very old fast; you have to put up with them just about every time you go through a run, and they will take up your time you could be spending on learning new repairs or making money to meet your quota.”
    • “Deaths reset your week and a bunch of optional missions/content, but some upgrades persist.”
  • music9 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its engaging and imaginative qualities, with a standout bluegrass soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. However, some players note that the tracks can become repetitive over time, suggesting a need for more variety. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's charm and atmosphere, despite minor complaints about volume levels during specific gameplay moments.

    • “It has captured my attention to an unhealthy degree, bringing together the time rush of 'Papers Please', the manual figure-it-out-yourself style of 'Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes', the addictive loop of the roguelike genre, a mysterious story that is fed to the player bit by bit and keeps you engaged, music that activates the imagination, and an art style and character writing so charming that you will fall in love with a coffee-burning god, an eternal shadow figure who has never forgotten, a hyper-intelligent loving benevolent cat, and Kyle.”
    • “Between its killer bluegrass soundtrack reminiscent of 'Hardspace: Shipbreaker' and 'Firefly', its unique gameplay loop, and roguelite nature (with some nice meta progression mechanics to boot), and beautiful art style, this game is an absolute gem.”
    • “Fantastic game, dark humor is spot on, yes it's tricky at first ...(ok it's hard) but if you like a challenge and fantastic art, music, and interesting challenges then this is the game for you.”
    • “My only complaint is that the music is very loud when doing the safe-cracking minigame (very minor complaint) and the dialogue writing is a little Rick and Morty-esque (which I guess you could take as a compliment).”
    • “I think the game could use a new music track or two when working, because the same song playing over and over gets old.”
    • “I think the game could use a new music track or two when working, because the same song playing over and over gets old.”
  • stability4 mentions

    The game's stability is criticized for being buggy and janky, leading to unclear penalizations that can result in frustrating experiences for players. Users feel that the lack of clear troubleshooting guidance exacerbates these issues, making it difficult to learn from mistakes. Overall, while the game has potential, its stability detracts from the learning experience.

    • “The game is buggy, janky, and generally just smacks you in the face for mistakes you didn't even know were a thing.”
    • “Great game, but I agree the penalizations are seriously unclear at times to the point of looking buggy.”
    • “That's the average reactor experience, and it's really not worth the risk because you don't have the chance to actually learn anything before it kills you, and the book doesn't give you a troubleshooting step by step or flowchart like it does for most of the other modules.”
  • grinding3 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly at the beginning of each run, where the tasks involved in repairing the ship feel monotonous and unengaging.

    • “The beginning of each run is tedious, boring, and mostly the same.”
    • “It's an interesting game about doing a lot of super tedious repair jobs to fix a ship.”
    • “The main problem with the game, though, is just how super tedious these tasks are.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its top-notch art style, characterized by a charming and tactile quality that enhances the overall experience. The Newgrounds-inspired art direction contributes significantly to the game's engaging and immersive environment.

    • “The art style and atmosphere are top-notch.”
    • “A tactile, engaging repair sim/puzzle game with a thick layer of charming atmosphere and Newgrounds art direction.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    Players express a strong sense of satisfaction in the optimization aspect of the game, highlighting the joy of independently fixing modules, discovering small efficiencies, and managing multiple repairs simultaneously to streamline their experience.

    • “There's a great sense of satisfaction to this as well: when you first fix a new module, when you fix it without using the manual, when you find small optimizations to fix it a little faster, when you start diagnosing multiple modules at once so you can make fewer trips to the workshop.”
    • “The optimization process feels tedious and often frustrating, as it requires constant backtracking and re-evaluation of previous fixes.”
    • “I found the optimization mechanics to be poorly explained, leading to confusion and wasted time trying to figure out the best approach.”
    • “Despite the potential for improvement, the optimization system is riddled with bugs that hinder progress and make the experience more cumbersome.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    Players express enthusiasm for the game's initial experience but remain uncertain about its long-term replayability and narrative depth, indicating a need for further exploration to assess its lasting appeal.

    • “I loved the demo! So far, it's a really good game with strong vibes. I can't wait to see how it holds up in terms of replayability and story.”
    • “The variety of choices and outcomes makes me want to play through the game multiple times.”
    • “Each playthrough feels fresh due to the different paths and character interactions available.”
    • “I loved the demo, but I'm concerned about how the game will hold up in terms of replayability and story.”
    • “After finishing the game, I found that there wasn't much incentive to play through it again.”
    • “The lack of varied choices and outcomes really diminishes the replayability factor.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

14hMedian play time
14hAverage play time
14-14hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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