Cozy simulators have been doing well over the past couple of years, with Pokémon Pokopia currently taking the lead. With so many big names in the genre, it’s hard to stand out and even riskier to enter the scene if you’re not bringing your A-game. Collector’s Cove, developed by VoodooDuck, a four-person team, tries to bring something new and exciting to the genre. Is it good enough to stand out? Let’s dive in!
Time for an adventure
The game starts with the creation of your own character through a familiar customization menu. The options aren’t endless, but it’s still a pretty decent character creator. Once you’re done, you can start your adventure together with your three uncles. Your parents are Named Collectors who traveled the open ocean in search of resources, and they left you behind with your uncles, who will try to help you become a Named Collector yourself. It’s something you can achieve by farming different plants, discovering different kinds of fish, and crafting objects for your home. That home is actually a huge boat that’s pulled forward by a giant Loch Ness–like creature.
The story is not something you’ll remember in the long run, but it gives you enough to start your cozy gameplay loop of gathering resources, discovering new locations, and steadily growing towards becoming a Named Collector. At its core, this is more similar to Animal Crossing than Stardew Valley. It’s all pretty laid back without survival elements; it’s you, your resources, and a day-and-night cycle to move the momentum forward. Because of those lower stakes and lower pressure, it’s the perfect game to relax with after a busy day.
Time to gather some resources
So once you’re off on your adventure to collect all the resources you need, the cozy loop really starts to kick in. I played this on Nintendo Switch 2, and I must say the visuals and audio really carry a lot of weight here. It’s all very tropical and sunny, and even though the soundtrack is rather limited, it still offers some relaxing tunes to float away on. I also like that you can control the camera freely to look around. Even though it glitches a bit sometimes, it still gives you everything you need for a relaxing time. But what do you actually do on the open sea? Well, first things first, you can visit several islands and gather all the useful resources there. These can be used to create new tools, or you can sell and trade them with your uncles.
Visiting the islands is fun, but you’ll spend more time onboard your ship, where you maintain your crops and throw out your fishing line to catch some fish. The more fish you catch and the more crops you harvest, the more information about them becomes available in your Collector’s Compendium, a book that keeps track of everything you’ve caught or harvested. You’ll also learn more about fabled species through it. Fabled species are rare versions of your resources that can only be collected if you check certain boxes. Some include dressing your Nessy creature, while others demand a bit more in order to be discovered. It’s clearly a mechanic aimed at giving you an extra objective, and even though some requirements are a bit odd, it’s fun to track down those Fabled versions for sure. Just be aware that progress on these moves very slowly, so you’ll have to be patient.
Fun but a bit rough
I had fun playing Collector’s Cove, and I appreciated its relaxing gameplay loop that easily made me lose track of time, something only the better cozy games can achieve. That being said, it is all a bit rough around the edges, and even though the smaller team did an incredible job, it becomes a bit too repetitive in the long run. There could have been a bit more variation in islands, fish, and crops to keep things interesting for a longer period of time. It’s something I didn’t mind during my first couple of hours, but after a while, I had the feeling that I was just doing the same thing over and over again without any real rewards.
That’s probably my biggest concern with this game. The smaller price tag does help to recalibrate your expectations, of course. For its price, it’s pretty fair for what you get, but releasing this so close to the incredible Pokémon Pokopia doesn’t really help either. If you’re looking for a cozy game on a budget and can forgive some technical hiccups and a lack of variation, I can certainly see the charm in this one.
Conclusion:
Collector’s Cove offers a relaxing, cozy gameplay loop that easily made me lose track of time, especially thanks to its tropical atmosphere and laid-back pace. Unfortunately, a lack of variation and a few technical hiccups prevent it from reaching the heights of the genre’s best entries. Still, if you’re looking for a cozy game on a budget, this might be the one for you.
