SMALL SPACES REVIEW: A BEAUTIFUL BLUEPRINT FOR YOUR NEW HAPPY PLACE
Ever wondered what would happen if the best part of The Sims (the building) had a baby with a minimalist art gallery, and you got to watch that brilliant baby take its first, slightly wobbly steps? Say hello to Small Spaces, an Early Access game that swaps high-stakes pressure for pure, zen-like creativity.
The Unfiltered Joy of Creation
Let's be clear: at its core, this game is digital Xanax. It taps directly into that part of your brain that loves organizing things and making them look pretty. You're given a series of beautifully designed, pre-built apartments—from a Tokyo loft to a historic Berlin flat—and told to go nuts. There's no budget, no time limit, no angry clients demanding you use shiplap. It's just you, a catalog of gorgeous, high-quality furniture, and the freedom to create. The lighting system is phenomenal, letting you watch golden hour sunlight stream through the windows of your creation. The placement tools are a dream, allowing you to clip, rotate, and layer objects with a level of control that most billion-dollar life sims can only dream of. For hours, I was in a state of pure, unadulterated creative bliss.
A Catalog of Curated Charm
The game's current selection of furniture is more like a chic boutique than a sprawling superstore. Every piece feels intentional and high-quality, encouraging you to be more creative with less. While I occasionally wished for a wider color palette for some items, the curated approach means you're never overwhelmed with choice. It smartly guides you toward creating elegant, cohesive designs. The promise of more items, styles, and basic fixtures like ceiling lights on the roadmap doesn't feel like a missing feature, but rather a tantalizing preview of an even bigger creative toolbox to come.
The Charming Quirks of Construction
Being an Early Access title, the game has its share of charming quirks. I had a few comical moments with a stubborn houseplant that seemed determined to live on the ceiling, and the camera can sometimes be a bit clumsy when navigating tight, two-story spaces. But these are the kinds of minor oddities you'd expect from a game in active development, and they rarely derailed the core, relaxing experience for long. In fact, working around them sometimes led to surprisingly creative solutions.
A Promising Blueprint
For all its minor quirks, the foundation here is rock solid. This isn't some buggy, unplayable mess; it's a polished and satisfying core experience. The developer is clearly passionate and active, with a roadmap that promises to build upon this amazing base with a full sandbox mode and more content. Buying Small Spaces now feels like getting in on the ground floor of something special. You can see the gorgeous mansion it's going to be, and even the foundation is a beautiful place to hang out.
The Verdict
Small Spaces already succeeds perfectly in its mission to provide a relaxing, pressure-free, and deeply satisfying design tool. It’s a joy to play now, with the exciting promise of it becoming something truly essential for any fan of design and cozy games. While it has the expected wobbles of an Early Access title, its solid foundation and clear, passionate development path make it an easy and enthusiastic recommendation.
Score: 8.0/10 - A beautiful apartment with great bones, and the developer is handing you the keys early.
We at NLM received a key for this game for free, this however didn't impact our review in any way.