Back in the 1990s, the entertainment world was a lot different from today. There were no streaming services, at least nowhere near where I lived. You had to check the TV Guide to find the exact times that your favorite shows or movies were running. And if you missed them, they were gone forever (unless you figured out how to actually get your clunky VCR to actually tape something at the right time). There were movies in theaters, of course, but most of them closed at some point in the evening, leaving limited entertainment choices for kids like me from smaller cities and towns.
But there was one shining beacon of entertainment that you could rely on, Blockbuster video (or Erols in some parts of the country before Blockbuster bought them out). Some towns even had a local mom and pop video store. But for me and my friends, it was Blockbuster video. Even if we had nothing else to do, we could run into town and walk around the brightly lit store gazing at all the rentable entertainment choices, arguing about what to watch and eventually leaving with a few good, and probably some other questionable choices. It made for a great night of fun. You could even get popcorn, drinks and candy, just like at a real theater.
Today, when almost everything is available somewhere on demand, on your computer, TV or even your smartphone, those stores have gone the way of the dinosaurs. And sadly, so did that wonderful experience of walking around a colorfully decorated video rental store looking at the displays, arguing about sci-fi, famous monsters or action heroes with your friends, and leaving with an armful of movies that you would try and watch over the next few days to avoid the dreaded late fees.
The new Retro Rewind – Video Store Simulator for the PC on Steam can help to bring some of that nostalgia back. Now, we all know that the simulation genre is white hot right now, especially on Steam. As such, there is a lot of junk out there populating game lists. However, rest assured, Retro Rewind is a quality title. In fact, it’s probably one of the best store type simulations that I have ever played. And that is not just my nostalgia talking.
In Retro Rewind, you become the owner of your very own video store. Your store starts out really small. My opening day featured a cavernous open room and exactly three little shelves of movies. But it was decorated just like the video store of my dreams. I went with a space theme, with stars on the ceiling and blue tinted lighting everywhere including the big front windows. The walls featured those yellow grid lines on a black field like the holodecks on Starfleet vessels. I did not have many shelves, but the ones I did own were equipped with purple neon accent lights to draw people’s eyes. You also get to name your store, proudly displaying it in bright lights on the roof of your creation. My store was called Starship Command Video, and I rented out almost every single movie on opening day.
The gameplay loop is realistic and exciting, while also being pretty easygoing. Your responsibilities also slowly grow as you expand your retail empire. At first, you will be working the register, making change for customers and taking in returns. Occasionally, a customer will even ask you a question (since you are obviously a movie expert) about a specific type of movie they want to watch. Maybe it’s a comedy or a drama, or one that is critically acclaimed. Now, because you have to shelve all of the movies in your store every day, a process that gives you basic information about them, you probably really do know about the movies on your shelves. If you can find a movie that matches what the customer wants and hand it to them, then they will rent it and you get another sale out of the deal. Plus, you also earn a happy customer who will likely come back again for more.
Eventually, you can start to expand your new retail endeavor. For example, you can add more movies and shelves, or put in a popcorn, cotton candy or drink machine (something that many Blockbusters also had). You also get to do a lot of backroom tasks, and it was cool to be able to see behind the curtain at how video store management really worked. In the backroom you can research upcoming movies that are sure to be hits (the ones in the game are not real movies but are close enough in many cases that you can guess what they are trying to mimic). If you anticipate big demand for a title, you can strike a deal with the distributor and pre-order a bunch of them for your store. You can even sometimes get lucky, and the seller will throw in a standup display so that everyone knows that you have many copies of the hot new movie. Incidentally, those standup displays for movies were also a big part of the majesty of those 90s video stores. The one near me would even sell used ones alongside movie posters after a few months on the show floor.
All that work in the store can get a bit hectic after a while, with long lines of customers who will only wait for so long. At that point, you can hire someone to work the front counter for you. You have to be careful and choose the best employee for the job based on their rated speed for the task you want them to work on as well as their personality, all of which is listed on their application. If you hire someone good for the checkout counter, then you can concentrate on returns and keep your inventory refreshed. And if that gets too much, you can also hire someone to work returns too, leaving you to just work on the backend stuff or wander around the store talking with customers and taking their special requests like some kind of local video professor. I liked that job a lot.
The developers also seem to be responsive to player requests. For example, a lot of people wanted to be able to add video game rentals to their stores, or even to start a brand-new department just for that. That was something that Blockbuster also got into in real life, even though Nintendo sued (unsuccessfully) to stop that video game rental process. In any case, the developers at Blood Pact Studios say that video game rentals are going to be the next big DLC, released sometime this fall. Please, nobody tell virtual Nintendo about that.
Retro Rewind – Video Store Simulator is a wonderful surprise. It could have coasted on nostalgia alone, especially for those of us who remember walking through the aisles of Blockbuster or a local rental shop while arguing with friends about what to take home. Instead, it builds a genuinely strong store-management experience around that memory. The customer requests are fun, the movie ordering and display systems add smart strategy, the store customization is excellent and the whole thing captures the warm, slightly chaotic feeling of running a place where entertainment was something people browsed together.
Retro Rewind – Video Store Simulator is not just a good simulator for people who miss video stores. It’s a good simulator, period. And unlike the real thing, you can walk away from this one for a few days without worrying about any late fees.
