TheRetroArcade
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Posts: 2,013
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
Be kind and rewind.
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I've played a bunch of retail job simulators, and something you can almost always count on is a bit of a slow start. Your store is empty, you have a limited budget, you have sparse inventory options, and there's a learning curve that means it takes a good half-hour, at least, until you've got your bearings.
But Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator gets rolling immediately. Order some random VHS videos from your old computer and they're delivered instantly. Plop down a couple of shelves and stock them with weird sounding movies like "A Scientist and his Sailor" and "The Dessert that Followed You Home." Open the doors and people begin strolling in immediately to rent some tapes. Within a minute or two of starting the game, you're already up and running.
And the 1990's themed video rental store sim is a welcome throwback for me because I worked in a video rental store in the '90s, which is neither as much fun nor as boring as it sounds. Yeah, I could watch movies while I worked, but my coworkers had terrible taste in films—and there honestly wasn't that much time to watch them anyway because renting movies was pretty much all people did every night in the '90s. The store was always busy.
The gameplay loop in Retro Rewind is oddly transfixing: I booted it up to take a quick look today and before I knew it 90 minutes had passed and I hadn't taken my eyes off the screen once. Every morning, empty the returns bin, scan all the tapes, rewind the ones the laziest customers didn't, and restock the shelves by hand. Order some new movies for the store if possible, especially if there are new releases you can get multiple copies of. Work the register as people check out their rentals, take their cash, count out their change, and suggest movies to people who need a bit of help deciding.
In between all that there are more returns waiting to be checked in and reshelved, people calling the store to reserve movies, flyers to hand to people outside your shop in the hopes of luring them in, and even snack and drink machines to manage so people can order food along with their films.
This is a busy, bustling, hands-on game that reminds me a bit of Schedule 1 (in part because the character have a similar cartoony look), and the day just whooshes by. Before you know it, it's closing time and you're ordering new tapes, stocking new shelves, and m...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
I've played a bunch of retail job simulators, and something you can almost always count on is a bit of a slow start. Your store is empty, you have a limited budget, you have sparse inventory options, and there's a learning curve that means it takes a good half-hour, at least, until you've got your bearings.
But Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator gets rolling immediately. Order some random VHS videos from your old computer and they're delivered instantly. Plop down a couple of shelves and stock them with weird sounding movies like "A Scientist and his Sailor" and "The Dessert that Followed You Home." Open the doors and people begin strolling in immediately to rent some tapes. Within a minute or two of starting the game, you're already up and running.
And the 1990's themed video rental store sim is a welcome throwback for me because I worked in a video rental store in the '90s, which is neither as much fun nor as boring as it sounds. Yeah, I could watch movies while I worked, but my coworkers had terrible taste in films—and there honestly wasn't that much time to watch them anyway because renting movies was pretty much all people did every night in the '90s. The store was always busy.
The gameplay loop in Retro Rewind is oddly transfixing: I booted it up to take a quick look today and before I knew it 90 minutes had passed and I hadn't taken my eyes off the screen once. Every morning, empty the returns bin, scan all the tapes, rewind the ones the laziest customers didn't, and restock the shelves by hand. Order some new movies for the store if possible, especially if there are new releases you can get multiple copies of. Work the register as people check out their rentals, take their cash, count out their change, and suggest movies to people who need a bit of help deciding.
In between all that there are more returns waiting to be checked in and reshelved, people calling the store to reserve movies, flyers to hand to people outside your shop in the hopes of luring them in, and even snack and drink machines to manage so people can order food along with their films.
This is a busy, bustling, hands-on game that reminds me a bit of Schedule 1 (in part because the character have a similar cartoony look), and the day just whooshes by. Before you know it, it's closing time and you're ordering new tapes, stocking new shelves, and m...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?