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Eventually you’ll run out of ghostly errands to run, story to advance, and Spirit Logs to add to Flamey’s power. Every ghost has their own story to advance and you can only do it once per real-time day. You can’t play this game all in one sitting. That leads us to Cozy Grove’s core gameplay loop. I will admit their tasks mostly amount to fetch quests, but none of it is all that challenging to accomplish either. Once you’ve helped them it will take them a day to work their way through the fog of their being and have something new to share with you. One thing is for sure though, these ghost bears are all forgetful of their purpose for being ghosts. They might be a handyman (handybear?) who can create tools or craft items or a sea captain who happily catalogues every resource you come across for rewards. Bring that Spirit Log back to Flamey and it increases in power, revealing the presence of another ghost, but also requiring an increased number of logs for the next power-up and ghost reveal.Īnd so you go about the island meeting the new ghost bears (they’re all some different bear-type character), learning little bits about them, and helping them out where applicable, after which they’ll give you rewards like a Spirit Log, coins, or resources to spruce up your campsite around Flamey. You talk with that bear, help them with some tasks on the island, and they become corporeal for a time, adding color to their space on the otherwise muted island and awarding you with a Spirit Log and other prizes. Fortunately, it doesn’t take you long to find your first one, which reveals the first ghost - a scout bear, or a bear scout… definitely a bear in a scout outfit. As a Spirit Scout, it's your job to help them, but Flamey can only reveal these ghostly presences when it’s powered up with Spirit Logs.
#Cozy grove review full#
It isn’t long before you meet a character known as Flamey: literally a talking bonfire who warns you that the island is full of ghosts who need help. A Spirit Scout’s honorĬozy Grove puts players in the role of a Spirit Scout who arrives at a mysterious island. I wouldn’t mind playing more of Cozy Grove in a single session, but I can hardly fault it for introducing a interesting experience that left me coming back to see more each day.
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However, the more I played Cozy Grove, the more I came to appreciate the patience it asked from me… the more it felt like a refreshing break or eager moment to look forward to each day. That’s not something you just do overnight. It is, after all, the story of a camper arriving at an island of ghost bears and lending them aid. I’m far more used to grinding hours of a game in as short a time as possible, but this was one that actually demanded I take my time with it.
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When I got the assignment for Cozy Grove, I immediately noted the explanation that this was a game I could only play for 30 minutes at a time.
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