Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop | PC Review

Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop is a roguelike rocket repair simulator. Alien landscapes, foxes in tank tops, eldritch horrors, and the titular porcine overlord always asking you for rent. Being made aware of the concept of this game, I felt it would place it directly into my wheelhouse: weird, quirky, with a bit of the “ultra violence”. When I saw the game, I dove right in.

A Fox’s Work Is Never Done

As a fox with too many eyes hard up with a place to live and to work, you are tasked with various duties from the mundane to the borderline esoteric. With each task you learn the ins and outs, the good and the bad. For example, changing the oil on a customer’s rocket. You need to be careful not to overfill, or underfill, each container, need to put a filter in, check the pressure, make sure the oil is clean, and even replace the heat sink! (Whew!) Sounds simple, and for us simpletons, thank goodness there is your trusty grimoire that was bequeathed to you by the recently deceased previous employee that you have replaced.

You do what jobs you can, make some coin depending on how much the customer likes you, and then after a few days the disembodied head of Uncle Chop comes looking for his rent. Pay the rent and move on, or lack the coin and you are hilariously executed on the spot. But have no fear! Your mortal coil is returned from hell by your new bestie, a cartoonish version of Pennywise’s cousin (or a refugee from Cult of the Lamb). Now it’s time to start a new run. There is some special currency that will carry over to help you gain an edge in the next run, rinse and repeat. 

Time’s Up!

There are two modes in Uncle Chop’s: Frantic Fixing and Focused Fixing. Each version has its positives and negatives. Frantic Fixing gives you a set time limit and you must complete as many jobs with as high a quality as possible. Focused Fixing takes out the countdown time timer but replaces it with a limit to the number of jobs you can complete each day as well as increasing the base complexity of jobs. Each job can contain a single or series of tasks to complete. The more complex the job, the higher the pay. The skill in which you can complete these tasks directly results in what you are paid.

This is one of the great strengths of this game. The way the developer has boiled down the tasks of cutting wires, changing modules, and even flushing out a clogged toilet (the in-game description is far more fun, but far more adult) is nothing short of genius. I played using both controller and mouse and keyboard and I can’t really say one was better than the other – muscle memory is important to all the tasks so whatever you are more comfortable with I say go with it.

So there you are, having an epic run and making excellent time. You get to the end of your shift and have enough coin to pay your rent. Then you are murdered by an unknown assailant. Start over. These touches of story woven through your gameplay are equal parts infuriating and intriguing. Shady characters, disgruntled clients, and straight up assholes all occupy the spaceport that is Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop.

Personal Thoughts

This game is awesome; however, it is not for me. Personally I live in a weird juxtaposition where I have limited game time so therefore I want to make sure that each moment is as productive and meaningful as possible. 

The more you do, the more information is added to your trusty book. There are some seriously complex and interesting minigames inside of repairs that you will do.  This does lead to some paralysis by analysis, and was the ultimate reason why I eventually bounced off this game. The frantic fixing (timed mode) was almost immediately turned off. For anyone who dreads a ticking clock in their gameplay, I would anticipate that you will do the same. There are lots of guides and walkthroughs available, but I think if you do that you will lose the charm and overall point of this game. Being a roguelike repair game, which hinges on your muscle memory to do the repairs. By “cheating” you take away most of the agency that the developers push the player to have.

If you like puzzle games, and don’t mind learning some interesting tasks with your mouse or controller – then this is a fully recommended game. The graphics are excellent, the music is awesome, and the humor is just the right amount of crass meets clever. Truly worth the price of admission. Even though this ultimately wasn’t for me, I’m sure it’ll be right for a lot of you.

To hear me talk more about Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop, be sure to listen to the June 5, 2025 episode of The Gaming Outsider podcast.

This review is based on a PC copy of Uncle Chop’s Rocket Shop provided by Press Engine for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.