Diorama Builder

About

Diorama Builder is a single player casual simulation game. It was developed by Virtual Arts Studio and was released on June 21, 2024. It received very positive reviews from players.

"Diorama Builder" is a game that lets you construct and display dioramas in a LEGO-style voxel format. You can choose from various scenes and interact with them once built. The game features special music for each diorama, providing an immersive experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

93%

Audience ScoreBased on 320 reviews

music19 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

Diorama Builder offers a relaxing and meditative experience, allowing players to build intricate 3D dioramas piece by piece.
The game features beautiful voxel art and charming diorama designs, with interactive elements that enhance the gameplay after completion.
It's a great value for the price, providing hours of enjoyable gameplay with the potential for more content through future DLCs.

The game currently has a limited number of dioramas, which may leave players wanting more content after completing them.
Some players have reported issues with camera controls and difficulty in placing smaller pieces, which can lead to frustration.
There is a lack of creative freedom, as players can only place pieces in predetermined spots rather than designing their own dioramas.

music
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
42%
8%
The music in the game is widely praised for its relaxing and ambient qualities, perfectly complementing the gameplay and enhancing the overall experience. Each diorama features unique, themed tracks that contribute to a calm atmosphere, although some players noted that the music can become repetitive over time. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant asset, creating an enjoyable backdrop for puzzle-solving and scene-building.
- “The relaxing soundtrack is the icing on the cake: mellow, ambient music that makes it easy to lose yourself in a state of calm concentration.”
- “The music produced the perfect environment and fit so well with the current diorama I was working on.”
- “Each diorama has its own fitting music to go with it.”
- “My only point of criticism is the soundtrack.”
- “While the music is somewhat relaxing, I wasn't too impressed with it.”
- “The music sounds like a Casio keyboard demo but wasn't annoying, so it was alright.”
gameplay
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
53%
12%
The gameplay is characterized as a relaxing and meditative experience, featuring simple mechanics that allow players to construct 3D models with ease. While some users appreciate the calming nature and detail of the gameplay, others note a lack of challenge and occasional frustrations with camera controls and piece placement. Overall, the game is recommended for those who enjoy jigsaw-style mechanics and seek a tranquil gaming experience.
- “All in all, my opinion hasn't changed and I'd still recommend this game for its fun and relaxing gameplay.”
- “This game provides inspiration -- by making it fun (and part of the game mechanic) to construct 3D models from various parts.”
- “Very relaxing game, really well done too, gameplay is really simple and well done; I hope the developers add more models in the future.”
- “No real challenge or variation in mechanics.”
- “Very far from being interesting, with annoying gameplay mechanics and lousy camera view control.”
- “The gameplay and structure is unfortunately paint-by-numbers that can be solved by simple trial and occasional error.”
graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
60%
15%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming voxel art style that many players find appealing, enhancing the overall aesthetic experience. While some reviewers note a lack of interactivity and resolution options, the low-poly graphics and subtle details contribute positively to gameplay. However, there are mentions of minor graphical glitches and a perception that the simplistic visuals may not meet everyone's expectations for depth and complexity.
- “Great aesthetic choices in each level!”
- “I love the details while building and the low poly graphics work really well with the concept.”
- “Amazing game to those who love assembling miniatures, the sets here are very detailed in beautiful voxel graphics.”
- “There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
- “It also happens to be easy, and doesn't need any proper talent in terms of game development/graphic artists etc. That's why reviewers are faced with so many of these terrible games with confrontingly bad graphics.”
- “Developers must learn that Minecraft succeeded despite the bad graphics, not because of them.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and finicky, particularly when it comes to tasks like zooming in on small objects or moving items around. While some appreciate the attention to detail and the "true to life" experience of building dioramas, others feel that the repetitive nature of the gameplay can be overwhelming, suggesting that breaking larger tasks into smaller parts could enhance the experience. Overall, the grinding is seen as a double-edged sword, offering depth at the cost of potential frustration.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “It's tedious in parts.”
- “Some might find the gameplay loop tedious, but you get what you pay for and more.”
story
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game lacks a comprehensive narrative, but players appreciate the imaginative concepts behind each level, with individual dioramas conveying their own stories. The attention to detail in the designs, particularly in the crime scene set, enhances the overall experience, allowing players to engage with the mysteries presented.
- “The overall idea of the story is great and fun to imagine yourself in for each level.”
- “Right now there are 4 dioramas to complete, and you can tell that a lot of care went into the designs. My favorite is the crime scene set because I enjoyed trying to work out the mystery of what had happened. Each set tells its own story.”
- “No full story (text, scenes, etc.), but the overall idea is great and fun to imagine yourself for each level.”
- “No story.”
- “Right now there are 4 dioramas to complete, and you can tell that a lot of care went into the designs. My favorite is the crime scene set because I liked trying to work out the mystery of what had happened. That said, each set does tell its own story.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its relaxing qualities, creating a soothing environment that enhances the overall experience for players.
- “I love the relaxing atmosphere of the game!”
- “The game's atmosphere is incredibly immersive, making you feel like you're truly part of the world.”
- “Every detail contributes to a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere that keeps you engaged.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
67%
The game is praised for its high replayability, with players expressing enthusiasm for resetting and starting anew multiple times. There is also hope that future updates will enhance this aspect even further, potentially increasing its replay value.
- “This game has a lot of replay value, and I look forward to resetting and starting again, which I have done several times.”
- “This game has great replay value.”
- “Fingers crossed this becomes a thing, as it will add massive replayability.”
- “This game has a lot of replay value, which I look forward to resetting and starting again, and I have done so several times.”
- “Fingers crossed this does become a thing, as it will add massive replayability.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The game's optimization has received criticism, with players reporting performance issues even on relatively capable hardware like the RTX 3060. Many users express concerns about how it would perform on older systems, indicating that the game may not be well-optimized overall.
- “I would really like it more if it was better optimized; it runs like a slug on my PC, and I have more than what it says it needs, so I don't know.”
- “Biggest gripe is that it's not very optimized; my RTX 3060 was straining more than usual, so I shudder to imagine how well it runs on older hardware.”
- “I would really like it more if it was better optimized. It runs like a slug on my PC, and I have more than what it says it needs, so I dunno.”
- “Oh, and I was somewhat stuttering on the animated part of the WW2 scene, but my GPU isn't very good (nor is it, perhaps, horrible).”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized for appearing to rely on deceptive practices, including fake reviews and aggressive advertising, particularly in mobile versions. Users express concern that the game is part of a trend of asset flips and cash grabs, undermining its credibility and value.
- “They're all written in exactly the same style, appear at almost exactly the same time, very shortly after the game launched on Steam, all have a direct Steam purchase of the game, and the accounts are used consistently to write fake reviews for asset flips and other cash grabs/scams.”
- “I have a mobile game that does something similar, but shows me way too many ads.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users report a stable experience with no crashes or major glitches, although some minor graphical issues may occur in certain scenes.
- “No crashes, no glitches, no randomly being stuck somewhere or items disappearing - nothing.”
- “Some scenes will have minor graphical glitches.”