Though it is plagued by a terrible name, I took on the task of playing Hozy this past week because I was enamoured by its cute style and cozy vibes. I am happy to report that all good vibes are in full effect, and I was even pleasantly surprised by some interesting twists and turns throughout my playtime.
Hozy is, at its simplest, a room-decorating game. They would lead you to believe apartments, but there is only one space at a time, aside from small patios, etc. You won’t be decorating bathrooms, bedrooms or anything like that. What I love the most is that you can put anything you want in any place, and there are no requirements or repercussions.
This gives you the opportunity to be as classy or chaotic as you want. I appreciate what Hozy is doing because each level tells a small story, but leaves enough open-ended for you to finish it yourself. Whether you’re decorating your sister’s first apartment, Dad’s place after the split, or even an artist’s loft, there will be small story beats between levels and how you got there, as well as small asides for different items in the room.
“Hozy is, at its simplest, a room-decorating game.”
You can even find a common thread between items in the different apartments if you pay attention. If story isn’t your thing, and you just want to decorate to your heart’s content, you can do that too. Hozy is very flexible. You can also opt not to include some of the items offered, but once that “no thank you” box is full, you’re stuck with including everything else.
This leads me to one of the complaints I have with the game. You have to take out every item, one-by-one, in order, which includes your discard box. I would need to pull out everything and crowd my room so I could see what I was choosing from, leaving little space to move things around. For the discard box, if I decided I wanted the first item I put in there, I would have to pull out all the items I placed first just to get it. With empty backgrounds surrounding the levels, there is ample space to put an inventory section to choose from.
Level design in Hozy is extremely creative. There are nine levels in total, which makes for a pretty short game; you could definitely binge it in a night, but I split it up over a couple of days. I mentioned a few earlier, but there is also a treehouse, and even a dream level where nothing is quite what it seems. With things like that, new mechanics are introduced to make things interesting.
Standard mechanics include cleaning up trash, painting, cleaning windows, sweeping leaves, laying tiles, etc. These parts are non-negotiables. One level had me covering up gorgeous brick, and it hurt me to my core. Once those are complete, you unpack and decorate with a series of items in labelled boxes: huge furniture, lights, flowers, etc. Once you reach this stage, you are able to take complete creative control.
“For anyone who loves the freedom to relax and decorate, Hozy is a great game for you.”
I also really loved the difference in aesthetics between each level. Not only in the spaces you are decorating, but also in the items themselves. Some are cutesy and young, others are edgy and expensive-looking. Everything in each level was designed with purpose, and it shows.
With a premise so simple, however, you need to nail every aspect. Unfortunately, I didn’t love the camera control in Hozy. Everything else (except the inventory, which was fine but could be improved) was great. I was constantly struggling with not being able to zoom out enough to see everything, or, even weirder, one second I could zoom out enough, and the next time it wouldn’t go as far. I think there is definitely room for improvement here, but it isn’t a deal breaker at all. The team has noted that camera controls are still somthing they are working on as well, so this could improve!
Hozy was an incredibly calm, cozy experience from start to finish. Though the game is short, I could see the desire for more levels later on. But at under $15, plenty is on the table here, and for anyone who loves the freedom to relax and decorate, Hozy is a great game for you.
