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 positive reviews from players.

Unpacking Mode 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 :…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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89%

Audience ScoreBased on 593 reviews

graphics35 positive mentions

stability14 negative mentions

Cozy, relaxing, and visually appealing interior design game with well-crafted lighting and realistic textures.
High degree of creative freedom with intuitive controls, allowing placement and scaling of items anywhere in the space.
Frequent updates and active developer support with a promising roadmap including sandbox mode and expanded content.

Optimization issues causing lag and crashes on lower-end or even some higher-end PCs, leading to poor performance.
Limited content and customization options currently, including furniture variety, color swatches, and absence of features like curtains and ceiling lights.
Certain gameplay mechanics and controls can be clunky or unintuitive, such as camera movement, object rotation limits, and item placement glitches.

graphics
73 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
48%
4%
The graphics are widely praised for their beautiful, realistic art style, detailed lighting, and cozy, visually appealing aesthetic, especially for an early access title. However, many users report performance issues on lower-end PCs, including lag and limited graphic settings, which affect smoothness and usability. Overall, the visuals enhance the relaxing atmosphere and decorating experience, though improvements in optimization and expanded customization options are desired.
- “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 graphics (especially the lighting), ease of decorating, the amount of items... this really is looking to become the alternative to The Sims for people who just want to decorate spaces.”
- “Lighting, modeling, graphics, even the BGM are all gorgeous.”
- “It launches, but it's incredibly slow even on the lowest graphics settings.”
- “The settings menu would not open, I could not change graphics options, and many objects in the room could not be selected.”
- “Honestly the game could be a whole lot better... this game looks cute and fun but I just can't get around how slow it makes my PC... and graphics look so blurry when I play this game and do not focus right.”
music
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
62%
6%
The music in the game is widely praised for its relaxing, cozy, and chill vibe, perfectly complementing the calming atmosphere and aesthetic. However, many users find the soundtrack repetitive due to a limited variety of tracks and lack of volume controls, prompting some to mute it and play their own background music instead. Overall, the music enhances the game’s soothing experience but could benefit from more diversity and audio customization options.
- “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, cosy game - love the background music.”
- “I'm already in love with this game, it's very cozy, the music is peaceful, and since I love decorating spaces and am a sims builder, the game is what I adore.”
- “I had to turn off the music as it was too repetitive and kept to the same song.”
- “My only nitpick is that the music track (I think there's just one?) loops pretty quickly, which gets annoying if you spend a long time in any one level, but you can always mute it if that bothers you.”
- “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 want different volume levels for background music and sound effects.”
gameplay
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
73%
8%
The gameplay is praised for its relaxing, intuitive, and satisfying design-focused mechanics, offering freedom with clear goals and rewards that encourage creativity. While controls for moving and placing items are generally smooth and easy to use, some players experience technical issues, occasional bugs, and limited content due to its early access state. Overall, it provides a cozy, low-pressure experience reminiscent of Sims but emphasizes creative expression, with sandbox mode and more content anticipated in future updates.
- “It is relaxing, gives you plenty of freedom with set goals, and you get rewarded every time you finish a level with all criteria met (using stars to buy a larger variety of items). You also have 2 types of gameplay (either freestyle, or 'design' and the 'unpack' one), which I like.”
- “The core mechanic involves moving and rotating pieces, experimenting with color palettes, lighting, and spatial arrangements to find the perfect balance and atmosphere.”
- “The mechanics to place, move, and edit items is incredibly intuitive and easy to work with, mostly only needing to use the mouse and WASD keys.”
- “The movement and placing mechanics need a lot of redo.”
- “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 or computer everything would be okay, but it is still disappointing to know I can't play this game right now!”
optimization
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
73%
10%
Optimization in the game is widely reported as poor, causing performance issues even on high-end hardware, although some users experience smooth gameplay. While the graphics are praised, many hope for future updates to improve optimization and address performance problems. The developer's ongoing updates offer some optimism, but those with less powerful PCs are cautioned before purchasing.
- “The graphics are awesome and it runs smoothly.”
- “Performance / graphics: 10/10.”
- “For early access too, it runs smoothly and I haven't ran into any issues with it.”
- “Performance is abysmal and so far it was a waste of time and money as I wasn't able to play.”
- “My only real problem right now is that even though my specs are above the recommended requirements, it is very unoptimized.”
- “The developer seems to be unable or unwilling to address the performance issues.”
story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
55%
15%
The story aspect is characterized by charming, small narratives tied to each location and its occupants, providing context and simple objectives that inspire creativity without feeling restrictive. While there's no overarching quest or deep storyline, these snippets enrich the gameplay by offering cultural flavor and goal-oriented design tasks. Overall, the story is light but effectively supports engagement and immersion.
- “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.”
- “I really enjoyed how each space came with a story that gave me enough guidance to allocate areas and then get creative.”
- “I was pleasantly surprised by the little story snippets describing the people who live in each place.”
- “No story.”
- “Storyline is flat.”
- “There are no real quests, just some requirements which don't feel constricting.”
atmosphere
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
37%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for being cozy, relaxing, and immersive, enhanced by thoughtful design, calming music, and atmospheric lighting effects. Players appreciate its inviting and stress-free environment, making it an ideal escape for unwinding and creative interior design. Overall, the charming, well-crafted ambiance is a standout feature that deeply engages and soothes players.
- “Its thoughtful design, atmospheric environments, and well-crafted assets create an inviting space for players to explore interior design in a stress-free setting.”
- “From the moment you step into the world, the atmosphere completely pulls you in.”
- “The atmosphere, music and the design catalogue make this the perfect game to unwind with in an evening or during a stressful week.”
stability
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
93%
The game is generally stable with mostly minor glitches typical of early access, such as issues with object deletion, snap-to-grid placement, camera movement, and occasional visual inconsistencies. While some bugs affect decorating and block placement, the overall experience remains smooth and promising, especially on mid-range hardware. Players acknowledge its early stage but are optimistic about future improvements.
- “Super cozy game and runs great if you have a mid-range rig from 2026.”
- “A lot of technical glitches, but there's a ton of promise here.”
- “Of course it's early access, so it's a bit buggy; not being able to move the camera while holding an object and pressing shift to place multiple objects 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.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game offers enjoyable and relaxing replayability through gradual unlocking of furniture and materials, encouraging players to revisit and improve their rooms. While this progression adds depth and motivation to replay, perfectionist builders might find the initial building phase less appealing. Overall, the unlocking system provides strong incentive to continue playing and revisiting earlier stages.
- “Fun and relaxing, replayable with room for more content.”
- “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 in the beginning and have to unlock them by playing, which makes it very replayable because you can redo all your starting apartments eventually.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is often seen as tedious and repetitive, making progression feel monotonous. Players may find themselves needing additional time or resources, such as a "second life," to effectively handle the grinding requirements.
- “But at some point I just thought to myself, 'God, it feels so tedious to think I have a next room to do.'”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the humor in the game genuinely funny and enjoy its comedic elements, with some suggesting that adding popular internet meme challenges could enhance the comedic experience further.
- “I honestly find this hilarious.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a monetization model free of microtransactions or additional purchases, providing a complete experience upfront. This approach is appreciated by users, who also see potential for future expansions through updates.
- “Unlike many decorating games out there right now, there are no microtransactions, no additional packs to buy -- and yet, I feel like there's room for growth and potential expansions later down the road if the developer wants to keep updating the game.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users highlight the game’s strong emotional support elements, describing it as an experience that provides comfort and emotional connection.
- “More like emotional support simulator.”