Have you ever played a restoration game and thought ‘damn I wish I didn’t have to be so perfect’? No? Well you should have. Embrace subpar work and questionable materials in Low Budget Repairs by Gray2RGB. Take all of the fun of games like House Flipper and then see just how much of a mess you can make whilst trying to make money and not spend your own. You can grab Low Budget Repairs on Steam with console release dates waiting to be announced.
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Do you think I can use water to thin this paint out?
Gameplay
Imagine House Flipper, but you only really care about getting that cheque and dipping. That idea encapsulates Low Budget Repairs. Set in Poland in the 90s, the story starts with your lovely aunt leaving you a house. It sounds wonderful, right? Well it would be if it wasn’t for the fact that the garden is full of rubbish and the two squatters who want to fight. There’s also the fact that the house hasn’t had any work done to it since it was first built. You’ll need a multitude of skills to be able to turn this run-down house into a forever home.
Gameplay includes painting, tilling, putting furniture together and more, as the ghost of one of your aunt’s old acquaintances teaches you how to make as much money for as little cost as possible. You’ll predominantly be doing jobs for customers in the nearby apartment block Low Budget Repairs emphasises that you can just do a shoddy job by making some of the elements as finicky as possible. Rotating tiles to make sure they line up can take so long that frustration will have you slapping them on the wall and hoping for the best. Whilst this is probably intentional thing, it did, at times, make the controls feel a little bit clunky.
Low Budget Repairs does include a list tasks that you need to do to get away with your shoddy craftsmanship. Originially, I thought this wasn’t going to be a big deal but it is really good at making sure you get all your money. Apparently even shoddy decorators have standards, they’re just quite low.
The Story
One of the things Low Budget Repairs does really well is the humour. It’s both in your face and can pass you by if you’re not paying attention. It’s crude and probably the sort of humour that twelve year old kids would find the peak of comedy. That being said, the story isn’t exactly Lord of the Rings but it doesn’t have to be. You don’t really need to pay attention to the world around you but it’s quite nice when you do. There are plenty of little bits to keep you engaged even outside of slapping tiles on a wall poorly.
Graphics & Audio
Low Budget Repairs visually is a lot smoother than I anticipated it being. There’s quite a bit of detail in the destruction in your house and the apartments. The music in the background is a nice little bob along for you to enjoy whilst making your repairs as well. The voice acting can seem a little off at times with the cadence of speech, but it’s not overly noticeable. Even so, the voice acting is really good, and the characters definitely feel real rather than little computer men.
Longevity
Low Budget Repairs takes around 9 hours to complete if you just focus on the story. This varies depending on how shoddy you want your work to be. The game bulks up the play time by allowing players to redo their run down house. Playing the game is super easy and you can either lock in for a few hours or just do a quick session and go about your day. I’ve been enjoying taking my time trying to line tiles up which completely goes against the point of the game but it gives you the option to do that. I also spent a lot of time cleaning out my garden only to realise I need some of that trash to save myself some money but I guess hindsight is 20:20.
Final Thoughts
After being completely underprepared for just what was waiting for me in Low Budget Repairs, this game easily establishes itself as a silly but fun simulation game. I’ve got to give Low Budget Repairs the Thumb Culture Gold Award. Aside from a couple of frustrating moments with controls, which, again, I think might be intentional, this game was super enjoyable. I’m very please to have picked this game up after having it on my wishlist for a while. Super excited to see what comes next from this dev!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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