“Welcome to Cozy Grove, a life-sim game about camping on a haunted, ever-changing island. As a Spirit Scout, you’ll wander the island’s forest each day, finding new hidden secrets and helping soothe the local ghosts. With a little time and a lot of crafting, you’ll bring color and joy back to Cozy Grove!”

I’ve been playing Cozy Grove from Spry Fox and the Quantum Astrophysicists Guild for the past few days, multiple times a day. I pick it up for a short period every time and am transported to a magical island that feels like it’s suspended in space and time. 

When you first arrive at the island of Cozy Grove as a Spirit Scout on your first solo excursion it’s just you and Flamey, your anthropomorphic campfire assistant. Flamey helps you start your journey to bring light and colour to Cozy Grove by aiding local spirits who are lost and may not know it. Thus begins a series of fetch & crafting quests designed to give you over forty hours of gameplay.

Cozy Grove starts out grey, but you add colour and life as you play!

Many are comparing Cozy Grove to Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo), but I feel that correlation doesn’t give the credit that is due to this charming, ghostly game. With hand drawn 2D art, reminiscent of Don’t Starve (Klei Entertainment), unique stories that you slowly unlock as you progress daily through quests, and a soothing lo-fi soundtrack, Cozy Grove is the reminder we need to slow down in 2021. 

(Light spoilers to gameplay ahead.)

Most quests are designed for you to gather materials or find hidden objects, sometimes over multiple days as the materials slowly respawn. Sometimes you’re given objects to hold on to for an unknown period of time until another spirit requests it from you. This gives you ample time to mosey around the island and gather resources to sell or, my personal favourite, to burn in Flamey to get new items that may be of use. 

Gather, farm and craft to your heart’s content.

Eventually a spirit can help you recycle those items if you have processed too much so that you can get your materials back. Another spirit catalogues items for you, whether gathered, fished, crafted or harvested, and you’ll receive rewards for doing so. Eventually the island’s little imps that normally run scared from you will start requesting items – make sure to throw them what they’re in need of as to not scare them off! 

One of my favourite parts of the game are the ghostly animals, starting with birds who have different likes and dislikes allowing you to level them up by placing furniture that fits their needs nearby. And yes, you can pet any of the animals who end up visiting your campsite. 

Decorate your campsite to make visitors feel welcome.

Cozy Grove is a game that allows you to take your time experimenting with items, crafting, decorating, fishing, and just relaxing for a short period of time. The tasks you find yourself doing never feel overwhelming, which can be a common issue with this variety of game. Cozy Grove is the ideal experience for busy people who want a relaxing retreat from their hectic life, as well as anyone who wants to recreate the feeling of sitting by a nice warm campfire. Once you put the game down you’ll realize that you’re just a little calmer, a little more centered than you were before.