The Sims meets Unpacking in this cozy Steam Next Fest demo that could easily have eaten up hours of my free time

Whisper of the House actually made me steeple my hands together like I was some kind of fiendish cartoon villain who'd just come across the perfect scheme. What elicited such a gesture? Well, it was the sight of an elderly gentlemen's room in dire need of organization.

The delightful pixelated adventure from developer GD Studio is all about decorating rooms as you take on the role of a new resident opening their own housekeeping company. You set about bringing other peoples rooms together, with the creative freedom to set down their belongings in any way you wish. After tucking into the Steam Next Fest demo, I frankly didn't want it to end. I could have spent hours upon hours perfectly placing knick-knacks and shaping spaces with furniture of all shapes and sizes.

Think the satisfying arrangement of Unpacking meets the room decorating and slice-of-life storytelling of The Sims 4, and you have Whisper of The House. It delivers a supremely laidback life sim that's also stuffed with surprises that have left me wanting more. You may start off decorating kitchens, bathrooms, and your everyday living spaces, but the latter half of the demo suggests it's going to lead to some rather playful and unexpected places, and I'm all here for it. I basically just want this game in my hands right now.

Decorative delights

The decorating adventure begins in your own little abode that you've just moved into. Free to make the space your own, a TV-shaped robot by the name of Mark helpfully holds a tardis-like box full of all of your belongings. Using a hand cursor, you can pluck each object out one by one and place it down to your liking. A shopping list of objectives sits at the side of the screen, telling you to make up the living room, bathroom, and kitchen before you can venture outside into the city and put your housekeeping skills to good use for other residents.

What I really love about Whisper of the House is the way it lets you easily stack and rotate items, and decorations slot over others in a way that just makes sense. Have a blanket? You can absolutely set it down on the bed, or over a chest of drawers to add a homely touch. Got some plates? You can pile them up and pop them on a shelf with ease.

Once my own apartment is good to go, letters start pouring into a small mailbox outside my residence. I get two assignments from locals in need of my particular skills, and while I'm free to go about adorable little pixelated city as I please – interacting with vending machines and finding coupons littered about the place that I can spend on more furniture for my home – I rush to get stuck into some more decorating goodness.

My first job comes from Luna, who's just moved to the two and needs me to set out all her belongings. As I begin unpacking and placing things down in her living room, I discover that I can interact with various objects for a bit of added fun – from turning on a tap to flicking on a light switch.

It's also pretty clear from the get-go that Luna is a big fan of Shiba Inus (aren't we all), thanks to the wealth of belongings that are either Shiba-shaped, or for a dog. I love that every little object can tell you something about the person you're working for, from their interests to their fondness for doggos.

There are also some oddities and secrets squirreled away in Luna's house – such as a portrait that hides a hidden room. I won't spoil that for you much more, so all I'll say is, be sure to explore every nook and cranny and click on just about everything as you go about decorating – you won't regret it.

The second house assignment took me in a distinctly different direction as I was brought down into a lab underneath that home that was completely overgrown with vegetation. Thanks to a handy dandy portal back in time (yes, it gets a bit wacky), I could go back to the house before it became plant food and start organizing an old grandpa's home.

Falling into a laidback flow, I lost track of time as I decorated every room just so. I've never been so sad to see the "thank you for playing this demo" pop-up, because I just wanted to keep playing.

There's definitely more to Whisper of the House than meets the eye. It's charming, chill, very creative, and it's firmly on my wishlist.

Here are the 10 Steam Next Fest demos you need to play this weekend