Outside the Blocks – Cozy Diorama Building Meets Creative Freedom (GOTW #30)

Outside the Blocks – Game of the Week 30

Reviewed on PC.Score: 7/10

Outside the Blocks could be the ultimate playground for builders and creators who want to express their artistic side in a relaxing, stress-free environment. Created by solo developer Michał Kubas. This “digital LEGO” approach sets free your creativity to build and create intricate dioramas, which are further enhanced by dropping in finer-detail assets in the form of little animations such as moving animals.
Currently, the game is limited to a small selection of these, but they do well to add more of a living, breathing aspect to your creations.

Outside the Blocks is the latest addition in the “cozy gaming” niche that does away with the pressures of time, allowing players (creators) to indulge themselves and build. We later spoke with solo developer Michał Kubas about the project, and also covered the game’s Steam launch.

Outside the Blocks – Trailer

This approach to creativity is made a little easier with the Autobuild function that allows you to manipulate specific assets in size, height, and width, and then use adjustable materials to customise your creation – want to build a mock Tudor townhouse with green roof tiles? You can.

Additionally, creators can adjust lighting effects to set the way natural light bathes their creation. Furthermore, mist, wind, snow, and rain can be tweaked with sliders, as can contrast, brightness, and other more nuanced adjusters to really show off your build.
A huge range of background colours to enhance created dioramas is another impressive detail, and it appears Kubas has really considered how presentation is just as important for digital model makers.

The great thing about Outside the Blocks is you don’t really have to know or even understand architecture, although it does help to understand function.

Outside the Blocks turns your desk full of creative tools into a relaxed digital diorama playground.

Obviously, there are certain rule sets of what you can and can’t place based on how objects interact with each other – this is natural with any creation program, since it has to make some sense without being so overly complex that you need to work at NASA just to build a quaint Tudor townhouse.
The tutorial can be a little challenging and the learning curve is a little steep if you’ve not dipped your toe into creation games like this before, but with a bit of tinkering, you’ll soon get to grips with it.

The display function is another cool feature, allowing creators to choose from a selection of glass cases and bases, which you can also colour with a huge variety of colours. The display glass even has different shades too.
A built-in photo mode caters for those keen to show off their creations on social media, and already the builder/creator community for Outside the Blocks is keen to know if their creations can be exported for printable 3D models.

Outside the Blocks lets you shape terrain, place buildings, and add subtle animations—perfect for realistic miniature scenes. Image © Michał Kubas.

The modular architectural block system, coupled with the storytelling props to build out unique, one-of-a-kind dioramas, can literally steal hours of your life once you get started.
Success for Outside the Blocks relies on its content; even with the variety already on offer in the launch version, I was already hungry for more options – even subtle things like door and entrance variety, window options, more storytelling assets, different breeds of animals, plant varieties, and so on.
The job now for Michał Kubas, the game’s creator, is to prioritise the wants and needs of the community and feed them. That’s a big undertaking for a solo dev, but given how responsive he’s been to players, it tells you that he’s incredibly dedicated and passionate about his project.

Outside the Blocks

Release: November 4, 2025

Genre: Casual, Indie, Simulation

Developer / Publisher: Michał Kubas

Platforms: PC — Steam

If anything, Outside the Blocks is another example of how technology and creativity are bridging the gaps for people to explore their creative sensibilities without necessarily needing to understand complex coding.
Limited only by its range of assets, which will no doubt expand considerably in the coming months, I can see this becoming a firm favourite with digital artists, content creators, and those looking for something relaxing to waste a few hours on.

If you enjoy seeing how solo devs build worlds like this, you might also like our demo impressions of
Operation Purge
and our guide for players on helping indie developers,
The Right Way to Playtest: Safe Access, Useful Feedback.

Why We Like It

• It’s the ultimate playground for builders and creators who want to express their artistic side without needing to understand coding.
• It’s addictive and a time thief – you’ll spend hours perfecting your dioramas once you start.
• Great selection of building options and supporting assets to create unique dioramas, even from the limited number of design options.
• Room for huge expansion of assets, materials, and options as the game evolves in 2026.

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• Operation Purge demo – promising sci-fi survival held back by bugs