Hozy Review for Steam
Hozy is a beautifully crafted and cozy puzzle game that feels intentional and calming. If you are like me, coming home after a taxing day at work, this title offers a way to decompress.
Hozy is a puzzle in the same way that home renovations and reorganizing may prove to be. Each home starts off as abandoned with plenty of work that needs to be done. You need to revitalize the community, one environment at a time. Typically, you will find debris and red solo cups covering the floor. The walls also need a fresh coat of paint. But then everything picks up once the field is cleared: it’s time to move in. You need to sift through moving boxes and organize the space. This is the moment that room truly lights up.
I am a huge story lover, and Hozy does tell a story through subtext and some more obvious nudges. One object had text about wondering what could have been if they did not quit art after high school. As you are placing objects around the home, you get a feeling for who actually lives here. There is a scene where you can move a blacklight around and see hidden messages and drawings everywhere. Pictures often say more, and you see what matters to these individuals: family, art, music, work, and expression through technology. This made me reflect on what objects I have laying around my apartment, what my things say about my life, my story, and how I assign value to these objects.
The word that keeps coming up in my thoughts is “intentional.” The developers also suggest that you take your time as you play. Everything you do has a feeling attached to it. The physics of collecting garbage and intentionally throwing it away like Marie Kondo feels good. I then feel like a hoarder when the deliverables appear, like couches, tables, lights, memorabilia, etc. You can’t see what you are about to take out until you have it in your hands. The game allows you to put it back in the box or put it to the side for later, but I played it wrong at first: I laid it all out there. My advice is to put it aside until you’re ready; that is much more peaceful.
After everything has found its place, you can take pictures of the work you did. When my wife and I started learning Blender, we built small, cute rooms in a similar way to the Hozy houses. Hozy takes it to a level that is very aesthetic, interactive, and personal. Even selecting the houses is artistic and deliberate, like the pulling of a curtain to reveal a piece of art.
If you want a slower change of pace compared to visceral cleanup or house flippers, then this game is for you. I also think this is a wonderful game that anyone can relate to and enjoy. Funny enough, my only criticism is that we need more Hozy homes! Each of the nine homes allows for many playthroughs, but the personal aesthetic changes from scene to scene. I would encourage the developers to expand the neighborhood. I think for what the game is, a fair score is 9/10.
Hozy is available for PC via Steam.
Related: Reviews by John Pruitt
I like to think of myself as the average Joe who grew up alongside video games. I have fun playing strategy games, RPGs, shooters, sandboxes, the whole shebang! Every game provides an experience whether it strikes you as profound, mundane, or someplace in between. I'd like to weigh in my two cents before you spend a single penny.
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