Warranty Dept.File No. ED-2024-042

It Came
Like That!

“I swear, it came like that.”

You're the new warranty technician at ElectroDavis. Customers bring you a broken phone and a story. You check the paperwork, open the phone up and decide: approve the warranty, repair it, or hand it back.

A satirical warranty-desk simulator: Papers, Please paperwork meets Assemble with Care repairs.

See how it plays Join the Discord

6 weeks
5 endings
PC
Demo on itch.io: November

Everyone swears it came like that.

Every customer brings a phone, a certificate and an excuse. Some of the excuses are true.

“I didn't do anything to it, just in case that's the first thing you're going to ask.”
“There may have been a small accident... but a really small one.”
“Let's see if the phone and the warranty tell the same story this time.”
“I think my phone has something against me personally.”
“I tried fixing it myself and that was probably a terrible decision.”
“I've reached the point where I don't know whether to laugh or throw the phone out a window.”
“I'm here about the warranty. I've got the certificate right here.”
“This phone has more drama than my entire family.”

One claim, three steps

Each workday runs from 8:00 to 18:00 on the shop clock. You see as many customers as the clock allows.

Check the paperwork
Compare the warranty certificate with the phone in your hands: serial number, purchase date and a one-month warranty. A serial that doesn't match means fraud.
Screwdriver
Multimeter
Heat gun
Soldering iron
Open it up
Take out the screws, lift the case and the screen, test each part with the multimeter, pull the dead one with the heat gun and solder in a new one.
Approve warranty
Repair
Hand it back
Make the call
Approve the warranty, offer a repair or hand the phone back. A wrong call can cost you a sanction. Three sanctions make a written warning, and three warnings get you fired.

Five brands, all made up

Every phone at the counter comes from one of five fictional brands, and each one breaks in its own way.

Ifunny
Premium, sealed shut and expensive to repair.
KnockIA
Indestructible. Spare parts are another story.
Sahur
High-end phones with batteries known to run hot.
Rotorola
Retro flip phones with hinges you shouldn't trust.
Who-Away
Great cameras. Network chips that fail from the factory.

The ElectroDavis boss, arms crossed, in sunglasses

Six weeks at the counter

Every week the boss adds new rules. The customers get angrier, the quota climbs and the company keeps asking you to look the other way.

Weeks 1–2
The Happy Cog
Easy excuses and obvious damage. You learn the job.
Weeks 3–4
The Nova X Batch
Batteries start blowing up and the company tells you to blame the customer.
Weeks 5–6
Total Obsolescence
Forced updates, absurd rules and a quota that's nearly impossible to meet.

Your decisions and your savings decide which of five endings you get.

The night shop

After closing, a vendor knocks on the shutter with tools, consumables and knick-knacks. Put a knick-knack on your desk and it changes your next shift: more time on the clock, better pay or fewer sanctions.