R.E.P.O., out now on PC, is a ridiculously chaotic co-op horror where characters struggle to carry away objects while avoiding monsters. It’s gone down a storm, but you might be wonder, just what does R.E.P.O.’s title stand for? We’ve got the answer.
R.E.P.O.’s title stands for the Retrieve, Extract and Profit Operation. Shouldn’t that be T.R.E.P.O.? No, because with acronyms, prepositions and other smaller, less notable words are typically omitted.
Here’s how those words figure into the game.
Retrieve. You’re sent into one of several locations to collect valuable objects from that location.
Extract. Once you’ve located the objects, you’ve got to get them back to the recovery area. This is particularly tricky since heavier objects are harder to shift and any noise risks incurring the wrath of the monsters and other creatures that live in each location.
Profit Operation. Finally, once you’ve successfully brought the objects back they’re sold for money, of which you get a (small) slice. It’s a lot like Lethal Company, though the difference is that larger objects may require a team effort to move effectively.
You can bet that developer semiwork came up with that acronym after calling their game REPO, however, because R.E.P.O. can be viewed as having another meaning.
R.E.P.O., or REPO, is an abbreviation of repossession. When people buy something on a payment plan, or otherwise on loan, they have to keep making payments until they’ve paid for the item, plus interest. So while someone might not be able to afford a car that costs £10,000, they could buy it at 10% interest over three years, making regular payment, which would cost them £13,310.
Repossession happens when they are unable to make payments and, generally with a court order, the agents, sometimes known as repo men, will locate the car or other item and take it away. There have been several series that show repo men in action, and it’s not a job I’d want. Sometimes repo men are shown as being sympathetic, other times they can be depicted as callous.
Related: How To Revive Teammates in R.E.P.O.
There’s no financial agreement in place in R.E.P.O., and the suggestion is that the monsters don’t actually own the items, they just moved in when the previous owners expired. But, in essence, they view the items as theirs and, as in the various shows that depict repo men, they’re none to keep to give them up.
So the answer to what does R.E.P.O. mean is that it stands for Retrieve, Extract and Profit Operation and you’re essentially acting as repo agents, reclaiming property from monsters who don’t want to part with it.
