We usually play videogames in order to perform tasks and feats we are not able to in real life, but the advent of games like Truck Driving Simulator and PowerWash Simulator showcased that even the more mundane tasks, those we can perform in real life but are occasionally too lazy to do so, can become hits by simply being relaxing experiences you can enjoy whilst listening to a podcast, for example.

Another game that became a hit in this “relaxing mundane task” subgenre is House Flipper, a game all about cleaning up houses, redecorating them, and selling them for profit. Sadly, that title in specific is hampered by horrendous visuals and poor controls. So if you want to play a more simplified version of it, one that throws realism aside in favor of just being relaxing and devoid of stakes, I guess Hozy will be the solution.

Before the redecorating starts…

Hozy takes that same house cleaning and restoring approach, but simplifies it quite a bit. Instead of an entire house, your mission is to usually restore a room or two at a time, set up in a diorama-like way. Picking up the trash is done by just clicking on the stuff, and painting a wall with a roll is also vastly simplified. Hozy doesn’t want to be realistic, it just wants to be relaxing. It basically gives you two objectives per “level”: first of all, clean up the mess. After the cleansing and restoration is complete, the game wants you to unleash your creativity by giving you a ton of decorations and furniture for you to shove in said room. But that comes with a catch.

…and after. I feel like the room is a bit messier than before, to be honest.

The catch is that you HAVE to place every single piece of furniture you are given in order to complete your objective, and it simply is too much. Cozy indie titles usually appeal for a more minimalistic art style, and whilst Hozy‘s visuals certainly aim for that appearance, the sheer amount of crap you gotta add in to a room before moving onto the next one basically ensures that you have to clean up an initial mess and then proceed to create a mess of your own. I know millennials like to spend their money on frugal stuff, but this is borderline hoarding territory.

I feel like this room was previously used as a site for a ritual for an Elder God with a name that’s very hard to pronounce.

Hozy is a relaxing and straightforward refurbishment simulator that isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, nor is it trying to demand too much attention from you. It features just enough elements to keep you entertained (good visuals, decent controls, a gameplay loop that won’t bore you) while you’re listening to a podcast, for instance. Whilst I think they should have given players more freedom in terms of how much stuff you have to shove into a room before a level is complete, it is so easygoing and devoid of stakes, you won’t end up minding about this issue that much. As a game simply meant to relax you with a basic gameplay loop, however, it gets the job done.

Hozy is available now on PC

Reviewed on Intel i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, RTX 3060 6GB.

A copy of Hozy was provided by the publisher.