Begin your low-stakes renovation journey in Hozy, from tinyBuild and Come On Studio. Clean and decorate nine areas, uncovering the stories of the inhabitants. Still, this neighbourhood might not suit everyone.
A Fresh Start
Hozy offers a colourless hub that brightens with each new unlocked level. Your goal: renovate until the neighbourhood shines again, though this remains a visual effect with no gameplay impact. The design is cute, and I liked that the car tracked your cursor along the bottom.
You then enter a messy room with two walls cut out, with a camera that gives the impression of an isometric view. Starting with bins, wipes and brushes, your first goal is to clean everything out and freshen up before decorating.
Let’s Get Down To Business
Hozy uses a keyboard and mouse and has partial controller support. Cleaning is a mixed bag. While some of the mechanics were intuitive, others were tricky and hurt my hand after a while. It was really satisfying to effortlessly collect trash and dump it in the bin, but sweeping the floor and painting the walls were so uncomfortable that I considered changing my mouse settings.
Each level introduced a new mechanic, such as pulling up boards and placing tiles. This kept things from becoming too repetitive and freshened up the gameplay loop. Some also came with super satisfying ASMR noises that made finishing each task all the more rewarding.
Decorate
Once you have a clean slate, it’s time to decorate. Or rather, unpack, as you don’t get to choose what you have to play with.
You’re given several boxes to unpack with labels on the side to help you unpack in a sensible order. Placing objects in the 3D environment was easy, and I really enjoyed the mechanic. However, I really felt that I was missing things in places, and had an abundance of chairs or plants in others.
It’s About The People
Each level/room is designed to tell a story or provide a reason for you to be there. While the themes are entertaining, and players may find some surprises, I noticed a few items repeated across rooms. Although not every item is repeated, this repetition made certain rooms feel less distinctive to me.
I appreciate that Hozy is whimsical, but I sometimes felt like there wasn’t a place for every item. I frequently wished for more shelves and stands, and often couldn’t be sure what would come out of the box next. It began to feel as if they were just throwing random items into the boxes to fill them.
I wound up pulling everything out just to see what I had, which triggered the pop-up to complete the level and earned an achievement. This may divide players, as there’s little incentive to keep playing once each level is completed, which could be disappointing for those hoping for more in-game goals.
Welcome Hozy
Hozy has a lot going for it. The cosy vibes dominate every aspect of the aesthetics and sound design. You have some control over these in the settings menu, including some colourblind accessibility, but not enough to fix some of the control issues. It’s charming, relaxing and a great way to spend a few hours.
For a small development team, it’s a great achievement and features many beautiful, unique assets from real artists. Hozy currently has only nine levels, but there are plans for more in the future, which would greatly increase its appeal to potential players.
Platforms: PC
Publisher: tinyBuild
Developer: Come On Studio
Played On: Steam
Key Provided By: Keymailer
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