Hozy was provided by tinyBuild for review. Thank you!
We all have a game or genre of games that we go to for relaxation. Some of us prefer the mindless beatdown of thousands of enemies in games like Dynasty Warriors, while others may prefer a laid-back RPG. However, I tend to keep falling into sandboxes. Specifically, sandboxes where you have to put an apartment together. There's something therapeutic about cleaning up and placing furniture to make a place look nice, the way I want it to. And while I have played lots of these games, Hozy stands out, even while being very similar.
Like others in the cozy sandbox genre, Hozy relies on simplistic gameplay with a gorgeous backdrop to create a relaxing, calm experience. The bulk of the game has us cleaning up and placing furniture, setting it down however we want to decorate the room. That alone is quite relaxing, and with the gorgeous backdrop, it's hard not to love.
But Hozy takes it a step further with the cleanup section. Before we can get started designing each room, we have to clean it up. These mechanics are way more fleshed out than in other games like this, and it involves a little more work. Whether it be raking leaves, gutting wood floorboards, or picking up trash off the ground, there is some extra interaction that is involved, which I found relaxing. Watching paint appear on the wall as I painted or dirt get brushed away from the windows as I brushed was just as great as placing my furniture where I want to.
Some of these interactions can feel a little tedious, like when you have to take the paint roller back to the pan to lather paint back on consistently, but in general, the satisfaction of cleaning was apparent.
It also helps that each of the nine levels feels wholly unique from the others. Initially, I was worried that the levels would be similar to each other, like all of them being apartments with different layouts. I was very wrong, though. From a workshop to an attic, and even a cafe, it felt like a new challenge to make each place look exactly how I wanted in an appealing way. And once we finish, we have a great photo mode that can get us some great screenshots of our environment with some optional filters.
However, this is also where the biggest issue I have with the game lies: its length. I am someone who much prefers quality over quantity, and Hozy is filled with quality from front to back. Still, it feels like it ends too soon. Completing the game in under 5 hours is quite easy, and I even completed it in 3 hours. This, coupled with the lack of replayability due to each level having curated sets of furniture, means there's little reason to come back after beating it. There's a decent interconnected story here that spans across the levels, but it doesn't help with the problems Hozy has.
Still, despite being short, it’s hard not to take in those gorgeous views and feel at ease. There’s something about Hozy’s visual style that just stuns, whether it be the shading on the middle models, the great lighting that peaks through the windows, or the well-crafted levels themselves. On top of that, just moving the objects around and interacting with them was enjoyable. Most of them can have some interaction, like turning the lights on, and can interact with each other with solid physics. It made placing objects around in finding the right layout not just relaxing, but a bit of fun.
Hozy on the Steam Deck can also be a treat, but it does have its limits. On some levels, it will run quite well, hitting around 50 FPS at the default graphical settings, which are set to Medium. However, there are also some levels that will drop tremendously. Even at the Low settings, the game will still fall below 40 FPS, though it does seem to stick above 40 more at the cost of shadows and some lighting.
With the visuals being an important part of the game, I do recommend keeping the settings at Medium and setting the framerate to 30 FPS for stability. There's also a Steam Deck settings preset in the game, but it seems to be the same visual quality as Medium, so I would just keep it at the default.
The only other issue while playing is the controls. The game does have gamepad support, and it's okay for the most part, but there are some minor problems here and there, like moving furniture out of boxes, and some of the keybindings for moving the camera around don't feel the most comfortable. There isn't much we can do with this type of game, and it does work, but it can still feel a little awkward. However, I do know the team is working on improvements, so I am looking forward to seeing what they improve on.
Even with the issues, Hozy succeeds as a relaxing experience that is worth playing through. I love the visual style and how cleaning is more interactive. The levels may be short, and there aren't many of them, but each one feels unique and exciting to play through, as long as it's your first time playing.
It isn't the greatest on the Steam Deck right now, but better support is on the way, and I can't wait to see it for myself.
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety of game reviews and news that are sure to help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got your back.
Hozy is a great cozy sandbox that shines with its gorgeous visuals and extra care in its mechanics, even if it feels a little too short. And it's pretty nice on the Steam Deck.
