Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit is the sequel to Cozy Grove — a camping life-sim set on an island haunted by bears. You’re a Spirit Scout, which means you’re obliged to help the ghost-bears move on and find peace by being their therapists.
I’ve never got around to playing the original Cozy Grove, but the franchise spoke to me with its cosy mechanics; I’ve never met a cosy game I didn’t want to try. Thankfully, you don’t need to have played the original to jump into Camp Spirit. However, the gameplay might be polarising for some, and left me wanting as well.
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Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit, like its predecessor, is synced to real-time. Much like Animal Crossing, devs Spry Fox want you to log in daily to complete quests, fish, craft, and decorate. There’s only an hour or so of game time daily, so if you’re someone who likes to complete many quests and charge through a story, Cozy Grove may not be for you.
Early on, it’s evident Spry Fox has put a lot of effort into the game’s dialogue. It’s funny and dry, with characters delivering surprisingly sarcastic exchanges — particularly for a cosy game.
The hand-drawn 2D art style perfectly suits the game’s whimsical tone. The island begins in muted sepia colours before gradually coming to life as you progress. However, it was a tad difficult to see what objects you can and can’t interact with. I fear I button-mashed a bit to make sure nothing was missed.
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The biggest drawback is that so much of Camp Spirit is locked behind its real-time progression. Camp Spirit has plenty left to offer, but it’s spread across weeks of real-time progression. After a week in-game, I feel I’ve barely scratched the surface. Which is either amazing for some, or boring for others.
Things I love about Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit:
- Perfect for short daily gaming sessions
- Well-written dialogue with funny interactions
- Art style is charming and cute
- Worked well on the Steam Deck
Things I don’t love about Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit:
- Daily progression limits immersion
- Slow early game progression
- Some objects are difficult to distinguish from the background
Is Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit worth your time?
Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit showed me the appeal of games designed to be played in short daily sessions. While the strict daily cap wasn’t for me, I can absolutely see why fans of the original love this approach
If you’re looking for a daily game that will remind you when to leave, then yes, Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit is one you should give a crack. If you’re after something you can really sink your teeth into, I’d say no.
Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit is out now on PC via Steam for $28.50.
A copy of Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit was supplied to Quest Daily for this review.
