Tinkerer's Workbench

a-mathyas 2026-10-20 16:49 ♥ 1

As you mentioned, you haven't been able to integrate any actual gameplay loops yet, so I don't have much to say on that front ; but the game is very well-polished, making it a real pleasure just to interact with the elements! The music, sound effects, and graphics are all very clean. I do feel that some of the tools —the screwdriver in particular— aren't very intuitive; it took me a while to realize that the screw would stay attached unless I clicked again. If you continue developing the game, I’ll definitely be back to check it out!

Edit : I wanted to add that it's nice to play a light-hearted game, I feel like a lot of the games made for this jam were on the darker side, so this was refreshing ;)

kristinamay 2026-10-20 17:55 ♥ 1

I appreciate a well-made game, even if the game ends up not actually being a full game! I agree with the previous reviewer, also - I was so relieved to play a chill game, I keep skipping over scary games so I don't have a heart attack, lol. I had fun taking apart the gameboy and tamagatchi which I don't know how to spell, and I replaced their boards and soldered everything. I kinda hoped that they would turn on afterwards but maybe I did something wrong. In any case, the mechanics feel really good and intuitive, and I would absolutely play a game with this as the base. Wonderful work.

jahuth 2026-10-20 18:00 ♥ 1

The interactions and the pixel art are so well made! Most of it is intuitive as well, except that to pick up the panels we use the pliers (which look like cutters), not the grab hand or alternatively tweezers. Changing tools is smooth and I became used to it quickly. The music and sounds are great! It's a nice relaxing activity!

For future extensions, you probably have lots of ideas, but one that came to my mind is that instead of just fixing the gadgets, adding some modding kits (like people sell for modding GameBoys) would allow for some more decisions/options of what to switch out and if a kit includes a page of install instructions it can guide players into more complicated operations without being overwhelming.

juanrod707 2026-10-21 03:30 ♥ 1

Love the level of polish you managed to implement. I think you made the right call to cut the game loop in favor of getting a polished sandbox. Great Job!

pooki 2026-10-23 01:52 ♥ 0

What a lovely little sandbox. Our team had this exact same idea of a old tech repair shop but we decided to pivot a bit. Disassembly of machines is still a big part of our game.

What there is is really polished and nice. I would have hoped for more but alas time is fickle. I love the crunchy pixel visuals of the game and the music is lovely. all the different tools are nice and the tear down is satisfying.

Some suggestions though you'll have a lot of ideas still in the tank: 1. The broken PCBs should somehow look broken or be testable so that they don't mix up. 2. on a successful repair the device should turn alive a play some lovely tune and party with the display, or other parts of it. 3. The ability to leave the magnifying glass somewhere and then get the soldering iron out to do some precision soldering.

Would love to see this game developed further with story and progression. Cheers!

ukulelefury 2026-10-24 03:33 ♥ 1

🙃 Does it say something about me if the first thing I did (after figuring out the REALLY cool radial menu and controls), was to try to start a fire with the soldering iron? Alas, maybe in the post jam version! 🔥🔥🔥

I REALLY like what you have though. I love all the pixel art. The sound effects are all so crunchy and good. The music is really quite excellent! ...and I really like that radial menu for some reason!

We actually made a very similar repair game! Our individual tool mechanics and repair sequence is all hooked-up, but I wish it was more like was yours is aiming toward!

jamescoburn246 2026-10-25 02:02 ♥ 0

Truly a lovely game, I hope that you can continue to work on it post-jam and release the final vision you had in mind, I'd be excited to play it!

If you do continue to work on it, it would be awesome to be able to turn the devices on and see how they work / fail to work as you fix them!

evgeniia-filonova 2026-10-26 09:11 ♥ 2

I just love this game. I really like games like Restory and similar ones. The atmosphere is incredibly cozy, and the visuals are SO SO beautiful. I just sat there, taking things apart and putting them back together... It reminded me of my childhood, when I took my Tamagotchi apart and couldn’t put it back together again, hahaha

apetrosia 2026-10-27 07:07 ♥ 1

It's have its own vibe not only old tech, but also old games. Nostalgia...