Hozy, developed by Come On Studio and published by tinyBuild, just released on Steam on March 30th. Discover your new passion for restoring the sense of community that once filled the streets of your hometown. Room by room, space by space.
Hozy? Homey? Cozy?
Who doesn’t enjoy cleaning? Exactly. Everyone. Not a task I’m looking forward to, personally. Cleaning in video games tho? Now THAT is a different story.
Gameplay
Each level in Hozy follows roughly the same loop. First of all, you need to remove the heaps and heaps of trash that are covering the entire ground. With all of that out of the way, you have easy access to the floors that desperately need some sweeping. Then you clean the windows and throw some paint on the walls if the wallpaper is really beyond saving. And voilà! You got a perfectly clean slate to start with your creative endeavors. Every task you complete gets checked off in your notebook as you go, so you’re never at a loss for what still needs to be done. It’s super handy for those moments when you are stuck trying to figure out which tiny spot isn’t perfectly clean yet.
Decorating
Next up: furniture! You will receive a mountain of boxes to unpack, which, unlike real life, is actually fun instead of incredibly tedious. Each and every item is packed to the brim with personality. Colorful sofas, pretty plants, and tons of little knickknacks and decorations that make the space feel truly lived-in. Moving furniture around feels very smooth and fluid too. Also, you can actually interact with things around the room! You can turn on lamps, light candles, open windows, and more. It adds yet another cute little touch to the game.
You don’t need to use everything the game gives you. If you hate a piece of furniture, you can just chuck it out the window! Well, kinda. If you drag an item anywhere outside of the map, it will be stored in a temporary box that you can always unpack again in case you change your mind.
Each of the nine maps in Hozy has its own distinct vibe. From a cozy tree house to a trashed city apartment or a moody studio. Every location feels unique and tells a story about the person who lives there through the items that you are unboxing.
Graphics & Audio
Hozy‘s graphics fit the style of the game perfectly, and the attention to detail really knocks it out of the park. The lighting is absolutely gorgeous. When you are cleaning a window, you can actually see the sunlight start to stream through the spots you have already finished. There are even little dust particles floating around in the air, and fresh paint actually looks a bit wet while it’s drying. It overall feels very, very polished.
The game also includes some great accessibility options, with full settings for different types of color blindness, like deuteranopia, protanopia and tritanopia.
The only tiny downside is that you get some mild ghosting when you are using the sweeper or paint roller, but it is easy enough to ignore.
The audio is fittingly serene, especially the music. The game is packed with a lot of background noise that you would actually hear in a city. The birds are chirping, dogs are barking, and even a church bell rings in the distance every now and then. You can even hear the wind through the windows if you open them. It feels very realistic without being too loud or distracting.
Longevity
There is definitely some replayability here if you are into experimenting with different layouts or styles, though it is a bit limited since you are working with the few pieces of furniture that the game gives you. Your options for customizations are not endless, but it is still the kind of game that may be nice to revisit later on, once your memory of it isn’t the freshest anymore. I finished Hozy in a bit under two hours, so it is unfortunately a bit on the shorter side, but it does make up for it in terms of quality.
However. Reading the developer updates on Steam, they agree that, while Hozy was meant to be a handcrafted experience rather than an endless one, they are working on adding additional content to the game. Even a sandbox experience will be added down the line! I’m excited to see what those will look like. If you are interested in these updates, you should absolutely peep their socials for more news!
Final Thoughts
All in all, Hozy is a very cozy game that provides a fun and relaxing experience, perfect for a comfy afternoon. Even though the game is a bit short, the vibes are there and the attention to detail makes every minute worth it. If you are looking for a fun little game to switch your brain off, this is definitely a cute one to pick up. If you want a more custom experience, maybe wait for the teased updates to release, but even right now, the game is already worth giving a shot!
Today, I am giving Hozy the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
If you enjoyed this review, why not check out my previous article about Tiny Garden’s Switch port?
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