MakeRoom Review

Wholesome games have always caught my eye, especially when it comes to creating characters and environments. That is why I love The Sims 4 so much. I have always found comfort in organising and styling a location as if I were an interior designer, which is why MakeRoom caught my eye immediately. It reminded me of Unpacking the moment I saw it, and for those that have had the pleasure of experiencing that title MakeRoom provides somewhat of a similar experience.

MakeRoom is a cozy interior design sandbox that features three distinct modes, including Play, Create, and Object. In Play mode, you’ll be able to explore MakeRoom Island and complete design requests across several locations. In Create, you’ll have the opportunity to design your location from scratch, and the Object section gives you the freedom to make your own objects. Surprisingly, despite these three various modes, MakeRoom does not feature any story other than requests to be fulfilled in the Play section of the game. Although these requests are available, none connect in a storytelling way, but rather in a disconnected job-by-job routine, such as redecorating a bedroom or a vampire lair needing renovating.

No matter which controls you prefer (controller or mouse and keyboard are available) MakeRoom is simple to master – you’ll never need to overthink while you’re making your dream campervan, garden, or room. Surprisingly, MakeRoom does not feature an undo button, so if you try out a new object but prefer the colour, size, and angle before you changed it, you’ll need to start over again.

A day out in the park

There are so many available objects in MakeRoom, such as plants, fridges, computers, pillows, windows, beds, and even cats and dogs that can be freely placed where your heart desires. Every object has the option to be shrunk, expanded, copied and pasted, and colours changed, including a randomise colours option as well, if you don’t know how you’d like to style an object and want to throw the dice. Not only is there a huge selection of objects to choose from, but there’s also a small number of effects to use to enhance your locations. This includes a fire effect for the fireplace and a sleeping effect that goes nicely with the sleeping cats I placed in each location. The texture and shape of walls and flooring can also be customised to your liking.

MakeRoom provides a cozy experience, but unfortunately does not have much content in the Play section. Despite having over 1,000 objects and the option of making your own, the Play section only features 13 places to refurnish, and as such was a lot shorter than anticipated. I was expecting the Play section to have at least three islands to complete, and was left disappointed that the one island was all I got to experience. That’s not to say I did not enjoy having the freedom of creating my own objects and places, but I mostly enjoyed fulfilling the requests and making what I saw fit. As someone who would rather get lost in fulfilling requests and cleaning up a location before decorating it, it was a bit diminishing. You’ll also unlock new objects to use once you fulfil these requests as well, so it’s a great incentive to use this mode. Hopefully, in the future updates will come out and add more content is this section.

One of my favourite parts of MakeRoom was the interaction various objects had with the environment – sunrays coming through windows, cabinets being opened and closed, and fans spinning (which luckily can be toggled off since it made me a little nauseous) give life to your creations. Photos can also be taken within the game that allow you to decide if you’d like the logo included, change the size of the image and perspective, filter changes, and much more.

The making of a chocolate bar

The make-your-own object section was a bit confusing to understand, but I got the hang of it once I played around with it. Luckily enough, these objects that you take time creating can be used in the other sections of the game and moved around like any other object. For your convenience, you can also type in the name of the objects you’re trying to find, and all versions of that object will show up.

The imagery of MakeRoom is very simple and childlike, which allows it to be cozy and adorable. It’s very simple to decipher what objects are because of the clear design as well, so you won’t second-guess what you’re placing. It also features a cute house-like mascot that you can give head pats to, which is cute.

MakeRoom features some great lighting options, such as night, day, and winter and environmental sounds (such as rain, tropical, birds, and city noises) to enhance the mood you’re creating. Although the environmental sounds help your designs become complete, the music itself has the potential to get lost when playing, as I found myself concentrating on making the perfect location a lot and forgot it was playing.

Can you spot the cat?

Thanks to the three featured modes, MakeRoom has an infinite amount of replayability as you can redo the Play section as much as you want, and create numerous objects and locations to your heart’s desire. On top of this, there are many save options for each of your builds, so you won’t lose your creations. You can upload them to Steam Workshop too, allowing others to try out your creations and vice versa.

Final Thoughts

MakeRoom is an interior design sandbox that provides a simple yet addictive, cozy experience for players. Despite no story and its Play section having a short playthrough, you’ll still be hooked for hours, making your own objects, creating unique locations and discovering everything that is possible.

Reviewed on PC // Review code supplied by publisher

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