When I first saw Furnish Master on Steam, I hoped that it might give me that sweet spot of relaxation and creativity that so many simulation games promise yet often just miss. And did it deliver? Yes and no. Let’s walk through my journey from a newbie decorator to a, well, still a newbie decorator but with a slightly better eye for which rug really ties a room together.
First Impressions
There’s something quite comforting about diving into a game where the biggest stress is deciding between an art deco coffee table and a mid-century modern sofa. Furnish Master greets you with this dilemma right from the get-go, offering players two modes: Story and Sandbox.
Story Mode: It’s all about progress. You start small and dream big, unlocking new jobs and earning cash to splurge on that fancy lamp you’ve been eyeing. The tasks range from the mundane to the bizarrely fun, like organizing dominoes to cascade just right.
Sandbox Mode: Here’s where you unleash;) your inner designer without all the pesky restraints of budget or logic.
The Gameplay
Easy does it, or so I thought. The controls are as simple as they come. You scoot furniture around with the mouse and delve into a surprisingly deep menu to tweak colors and materials. However, every so often, the controls seemed to have a mind of their own, especially when I tried sprucing up walls with a new shade of paint, only to have my brush not responding. Frustrating, to say the least.
Navigating the game’s menus felt like being in one of those dreams where you’re trying to find a door in an endless corridor. Exit and enter symbols are twin mysteries, leading to some frustrating moments of simply trying to get back to where I started.
The Tasks: From Fun to Frustrating
Here’s where my journey took a wild turn. Most tasks felt like a delightful puzzle, piecing together rooms that felt cohesive and true to the client’s vision. That is until the dominos slammed into my path. Not literally, of course. The idea of setting up a domino display in a design game tickled my fancy, but the execution? Less so. With no hints and a do-over only granted after a painstakingly long process of resetting the entire scene, I found my zen slipping away.
Earning Your Keep
The game introduces an intriguing economic angle. You can buy stuff. A lot of stuff. And to fund this shopping spree, there’s work to be done. Among the jobs, fixing up a shop and stocking its shelves sounds mundane but becomes surprisingly compelling as you see your bank balance grow.
Yet, placing each item on the shelves – one. bottle. at. a. time. – felt less like creative freedom and more like a test of patience. And let’s not even start on the slight earnings difference no matter how meticulously or randomly you stock those shelves.
Performance and Polish
As with any Early Access game, you go in knowing the rollercoaster is only half-built. The game teeters on the edge of great potential, with a respectable array of design options already in place. Yet, it stumbles with freezes and occasional non-responsive controls that yank you out of your interior design daydream.
The notion of adding more diverse jobs, hints for the trickier ones, or even letting some jobs time out as they might in the real world sounds like a promising roadmap to a more refined experience.
Graphics and Settings
Visually, Furnish Master checks all the boxes for a game of its genre. The furniture and room designs have enough diversity to keep your inner decorator well-fed, albeit the occasional physics-defying floating carpet.
The options menu is comprehensive, catering to tweaking visuals, sounds, and language to your liking. Keeping in mind the game’s Early Access status, the promise of further enhancements, bugs ironing, and additional furniture sparks excitement for the game’s full potential.
Room for Improvement
Zooming in and out while in the throes of design would greatly benefit from being decoupled from rotating the items. It’s a small tweak that could smooth out the gameplay significantly.
More furniture options are always a plus, particularly in the kitchen department where corner counters (a staple in any modern kitchen) were conspicuously absent.
Finally, the lack of customization for several key pieces was a letdown. The uniformity in design is one of the game’s strengths, so hitting a snag on unchangeable colors or styles felt out of step with the rest.
Verdict
Furnish Master nestles itself snugly in the niche of interior design simulation games, offering enough charm and challenges to entice would-be decorators. It’s a mixed bag of soothing room design punctuated by occasional gameplay hiccups and task-induced frustrations.
Yet, it’s the kind of game where the journey feels as important as the destination. Every room designed, every piece carefully chosen adds to your story within the game. And while not every task was a joy, the satisfaction of stepping back to admire a freshly adorned room, dominos notwithstanding, kept me coming back for more.
Furnish Master might not have me quitting my day job to embrace interior design full time, but it’s certainly carved out a cozy corner in my gaming library. For those who find joy in colors, textiles, and the quiet thrill of bringing a space to life, this game offers a canvas only limited by your own creativity (and occasionally, the game’s Early Access boundaries).
Rating: 8/10
Pros:
- A lovely canvas for creativity with a wide range of furniture and customization options.
- Sandbox mode offers unfettered access to the game’s design elements.
- An intriguing mix of design challenges and economic strategy.
Cons:
- Some gameplay mechanics and controls need refinement.
- Task-related frustrations can disrupt the flow of the game.
- More polish and furniture options would elevate the overall experience.
In its current state, Furnish Master is akin to a fixer-upper with good bones – a project filled with potential waiting for the right designer to bring it fully to life. Whether you’re a seasoned decorator or a newcomer looking to dip your toes into interior design, Furnish Master offers a blend of challenges and relaxation, making it a game worth keeping an eye on as it evolves towards its full release.
Early Access for Furnish Master should take 12-18 months according to the developer, so there’s hopefully plenty to come. It’s a great start.
