Sizeable Review (Xbox)

There’s something refreshing about a game that knows exactly what it wants to be. In an era where puzzle games often feel compelled to wrap themselves in elaborate narratives or endless progression systems, Sizeable goes in the opposite direction. It's a compact, relaxing puzzle experience built around a single clever idea: the ability to shrink and enlarge objects within beautifully crafted miniature worlds.

Originally created as a student project before evolving into developer Business Goose Studios' first commercial release, Sizeable feels like a passion project through and through. Every level is a self-contained diorama packed with secrets, visual charm and puzzles that encourage experimentation rather than frustration.

The core mechanic is wonderfully simple. Each level places you in a handcrafted scene where various objects can be resized. Shrinking the moon can lower tides, enlarging clouds can create strong winds, and manipulating the environment reveals the hidden items required to complete each puzzle.

What's impressive is how much mileage the game gets from this concept. Every new diorama introduces fresh possibilities, forcing you to view familiar mechanics from a different angle. One moment you're exploring a desert landscape, the next you're tinkering with a space station or solving puzzles inspired by famous landmarks. With 39 handcrafted dioramas on offer, there's a surprising amount of variety despite the straightforward premise.

The beauty of Sizeable is that it rarely tells you exactly what to do. Instead, it rewards curiosity. You'll spend much of your time rotating the camera, examining every corner of a scene, and testing interactions just to see what happens. The best puzzles deliver those satisfying "of course!" moments where the solution suddenly clicks into place.

The game's greatest strength is its atmosphere. The low-poly art style is clean, colourful and inviting, helping every level feel like a collectible miniature sitting on a shelf. There's a playful quality to the presentation that makes exploring each diorama a pleasure even when you're temporarily stuck.

Complementing the visuals is a wonderfully calming soundtrack from Jamal Green that reinforces the laid-back nature of the experience. The game never feels like it's rushing you. Instead, it encourages you to slow down, experiment and enjoy the process of discovery.

For completionists, each level also hides a secret turtle alongside the main objectives, adding an additional reason to comb through every environment carefully. Finding all 39 turtles unlocks further secrets and bonus content, providing extra challenges beyond the main campaign.

Not every puzzle lands perfectly. While many solutions feel logical and rewarding, others can be surprisingly obscure. There are occasions where progress comes less from deduction and more from trying every possible interaction until something works. The game generally strikes a good balance, but a handful of later puzzles can test your patience.

The Xbox controls also aren't quite as precise as the mouse-driven setup the game was originally designed around. Most of the time they're perfectly serviceable, but occasionally selecting or manipulating smaller objects can feel a little fiddly. These issues never ruin the experience, but they do prevent Sizeable from reaching the very top tier of puzzle games.

Pros

• Clever resizing mechanic that remains engaging throughout

• Beautiful handcrafted low-poly dioramas

• Relaxing soundtrack and atmosphere

• Plenty of hidden collectibles and secrets

• Easy to pick up and play

Cons

• Some puzzle solutions are overly obscure

• Controller controls can feel imprecise at times

• Relatively short experience compared to larger puzzle adventures

Sizeable is a delightful reminder that great puzzle games don't need complicated systems or lengthy campaigns. Its ingenious resizing mechanic, charming low-poly worlds, and calming atmosphere combine to create an experience that's easy to recommend to anyone looking for a relaxing brain teaser.

It may be short, occasionally cryptic and slightly awkward with a controller, but its inventive puzzles and irresistible sense of discovery make it a genuinely enjoyable experience from start to finish. If you're in the mood for a puzzle game that encourages experimentation and rewards curiosity, Sizeable is well worth a visit.

XPN Rating: 4 out of 5 (GOLD)

Sizeable is available now!