Small Spaces

About

Small Spaces is a single player casual simulation game. It was developed by Niklas Tomkowitz and was released on May 27, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

NEW UPDATE! About the GameAbout this gameHi, I’m Niklas – the developer of Small Spaces. My goal is to make a game that puts you into a creative flow without you even noticing. And a lot of the player feedback has been exactly that. So, if you’re looking for a relaxing game to take your mind off stressful thoughts, Small Spaces might be just the creative escape you were looking for :) What …

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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90%

Audience ScoreBased on 458 reviews

graphics27 positive mentions

stability10 negative mentions

The game offers a relaxing and cozy atmosphere, making it enjoyable to play for extended periods.
The graphics are beautiful, with realistic lighting and a charming aesthetic that enhances the decorating experience.
The game allows for a high degree of customization, enabling players to creatively arrange furniture and decor in unique ways.

The game suffers from performance issues, with lag and crashes reported on various hardware setups.
There is a limited selection of items and color options available, which can restrict creativity and make the game feel repetitive.
Some controls and mechanics, such as item placement and camera movement, can be clunky and unintuitive, leading to frustration during gameplay.

graphics
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
47%
5%
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their beauty and realism, enhanced by features like real-time lighting and a charming art style. However, some players report performance issues on lower-end PCs and a lack of control over graphical settings, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these concerns, the visuals are generally considered stunning and contribute to a cozy, satisfying decorating experience.
- “The graphics are beautiful and pleasing to the eye.”
- “The game’s art direction is clear, it uses Unreal Engine 5 with Lumen lighting to lean into that realistic graphics that you often see in home interior videos.”
- “The visuals are beautiful and make arranging things inside the house really satisfying and fun.”
- “If I'm not playing on the lowest graphics, everything else on my very high-quality PC runs like trash.”
- “Unfortunately, that heavy real-time lighting makes the visuals look noisy and fuzzy.”
- “I know that for me the graphics seemed very grainy even on high quality; right now there are not a lot of options when it comes to decorating, and there are only a few styles in the shop that you can choose.”
music
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
60%
9%
The music in the game is generally described as soothing and cozy, enhancing the relaxing atmosphere of the gameplay. However, many users express frustration over the lack of volume control options, leading some to mute the in-game music in favor of their own playlists. While the music complements the aesthetic well, it is often noted as repetitive, with a desire for more variety and customization.
- “The atmosphere, music, and the design catalogue make this the perfect game to unwind with in an evening or during a stressful week.”
- “It's such a calm, cozy game - love the background music.”
- “I love the calm music, the day-night cycle with the atmospheric lighting, and the great new rooms to decorate.”
- “I hate having to turn the music off, but at this point in time there is no way to adjust any of the in-game volumes, so hopefully it's something that'll get added in the future!”
- “My only real dislike is that there are no sliders for the audio in-game - it's either on or off, which is not ideal if you like background music and sound effects at different sound levels.”
- “I recommend muting the music and playing your own.”
gameplay
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
75%
11%
Gameplay in this early access title is characterized by its relaxed and intuitive mechanics, allowing players to focus on creativity and design without pressure. While some users experienced performance issues like lag and awkward controls, many praised the straightforward controls for moving and placing objects, as well as the satisfying core mechanics that encourage experimentation. Overall, the game offers a cozy and enjoyable experience, though players hope for future updates to enhance content and address performance concerns.
- “Despite this game being in early access, I found that there aren’t many bugs, and when bugs do occur, they’re often minor and have minimal effect on gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is elegantly simple yet deeply satisfying.”
- “The relaxed nature of the gameplay allows one to simply build without pressure.”
- “The game mechanics also seemed quite awkward for me.”
- “When I first loaded into the design gameplay, items weren't appearing, everything was running very slow, and it also wouldn't let me exit out of the game. I'm sure if I ran this on a better PC, everything would be okay, but it is still disappointing to know I can't play this game right now!”
- “You can tell that it's early access as the game mechanics can be difficult to control, but there's so much potential with this game and I can tell it'll get there.”
optimization
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
76%
12%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players expressing frustration over poor performance, including lag and frame drops, even on high-spec systems. While some users report smooth gameplay and appreciate the developer's commitment to updates, others are hesitant to recommend the game until significant optimization improvements are made. The general consensus is that while the game has potential, its current state requires further refinement to enhance the overall experience.
- “There are some performance issues with this current build, which are less than ideal, but I feel comfortable in that the developer seems invested and passionate about this concept and have been very happy so far.”
- “I hope to see more decorations added, optimization improvements, and more building layouts!”
- “Should this game become better optimized and have the option for controller support, then I'll consider recommending it.”
- “My only real problem right now is that even though my specs are above the recommended requirements, it is very unoptimized.”
- “Performance is abysmal and so far it was a waste of time and money as I wasn't able to play.”
story
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
50%
19%
The game's story aspect is characterized by charming snippets that provide context for each location and its inhabitants, enhancing the player's experience as they design interiors. While the overarching narrative is minimal, the individual stories associated with each space offer guidance and inspiration, allowing for creative freedom in fulfilling simple objectives. Players appreciate the blend of storytelling and gameplay mechanics, which encourages exploration and personalization without feeling restrictive.
- “I was pleasantly surprised by the little story snippets describing the people who live in each place.”
- “I really enjoyed how each space came with a story that gave me enough guidance to allocate areas and then get creative.”
- “Storyline is flat.”
- “Each new space provides you with a small story of the people you're designing for and their simple requests, meaning you can do the bare minimum or get carried away filling in every nook and cranny.”
- “The little stories they show for each mission are adorable.”
atmosphere
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
15%
21%
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for being cozy, clean, and relaxing, creating an inviting space for players to unwind. Thoughtful design elements, such as lighting, music, and a day-night cycle, enhance the immersive experience, making it a perfect escape from more hectic games. Overall, players appreciate the beautiful textures and intuitive decorating system that contribute to a serene and enjoyable environment.
- “The core mechanic involves moving and rotating pieces, experimenting with color palettes, lighting, and spatial arrangements to find the perfect balance and atmosphere.”
- “Its thoughtful design, atmospheric environments, and well-crafted assets create an inviting space for players to explore interior design in a stress-free setting.”
- “The atmosphere, music, and the design catalogue make this the perfect game to unwind with in an evening or during a stressful week.”
- “Would add a lot to the atmosphere, I feel, rather than the 'fog of war.'”
- “From the moment you step into the world, the atmosphere completely pulls you in.”
- “I love the feel of how the lights affect the atmosphere of the rooms.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is currently in early access and users report a variety of bugs, including issues with camera movement, block placement, and minor texture glitches. While these stability concerns can affect gameplay, most players feel that the game's potential outweighs the problems, and they remain optimistic about future updates. Overall, the experience is not unplayable, but players should expect some rough edges.
- “Of course it's early access, so it's a bit buggy. Not being able to move the camera while holding an object, as pressing shift to place multiple of an object would make decorating a lot easier.”
- “Block placement is buggy; the snap-to-grid/object feature in particular is unreliable when it comes to blocks.”
- “Aside from these main concerns, there are other things like texture and lighting glitches, but these issues didn't deter much from my experience.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game offers strong replayability through its gradual unlocking of items and the opportunity to improve and redesign rooms, appealing to players who enjoy perfectionism. Many users express a desire to continue playing to explore all available furniture and materials, indicating that the experience remains engaging even after completing initial objectives.
- “Cozy and with gradually unlocking different items, it has great replay value.”
- “I'm postponing finishing the last apartment because I don't want it to end yet. You don't get all the furniture and materials at the beginning, so you have to unlock them by playing, which makes it very replayable as you can redo all your starting apartments eventually.”
- “It gives you a reason to go back and improve the room, which enhances replayability.”
- “It does give you a reason to go back and improve the room, which is the upside of it (also in terms of replayability), but at the moment of building, for perfectionists this can be a major turn-off.”
- “Cozy and with gradually unlocking different items, has replay value.”
- “I'm postponing finishing the last apartment because I don't want it to end yet... you don't get all the furniture and materials at the beginning, so you have to unlock them by playing, which makes it very 'replayable' because you can redo all your starting apartments eventually.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the humor in the game to be genuinely hilarious, with suggestions for incorporating popular memes, like the galvanized square steel meme challenge, to enhance the comedic experience.
- “I honestly find this hilarious.”
- “It would be so funny to add that galvanized square steel meme challenge into this game.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players characterize the game as an "emotional support simulator," highlighting its ability to evoke strong feelings and provide comfort, suggesting that it effectively engages players on an emotional level.
- “More like an emotional support simulator.”