Animal Crossing: New Horizons was one of last year’s most massive hits. The warm, relaxing atmosphere of its gameplay has hooked millions of players to spend hundreds of hours creating their ideal island. However, if you’re in the minority of gamers without a Switch (myself included), playing the platform-exclusive adorable sim is, unfortunately, a far-fetched dream. On the other hand, a glimmer of hope shows for PC gamers who’ve ‘wanted in’ on the “cute island sim” experience with Cozy Grove now out on Steam.Â
Cozy Grove is a bundle of several inspirations:Â
- New Horizon style character customization, ‘collectathon’ design, and island-life sim management (resource gathering and decor crafting)
- Spiritfarer‘s character questlines—aiding your ghostly friends will yield rewards and progress their unique storyline
- Don’t Starve‘s hand-drawn aesthetics and gameplay, but in a casual sense and “cutified” to the max
- A hint of Howl’s Moving Castle, with Flamey the campfire strongly resembling Calcifer, the fire demon
Cozy Grove features activities such as crafting, collecting, fishing, and decorating to your heart’s content. As a Spirit Scout, you’ll wander the island’s forest each day to find new hidden secrets and help soothe the friendly local ghosts. Boasting a 40+ hour campaign, the game is synced to real-world time and designed to span months of playtime. The cheerful art style is endearing, and the gameplay provides a brief but calming break during one’s day. Like a warm cup of coffee, Cozy Grove is something to do casually at a slow pace. Most notably, it’s accessible to gamers on multiple platforms. All can now enjoy an experience that was once exclusive to Switch owners—albeit in a miniature fashion of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Cozy Grove is developed by Spry Fox, the studio that brought us charming multiplatform titles like Triple Town, Alphabear, and Road Not Taken. The game is available on PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Apple Arcade.
Are you a fan of Cozy Grove and will you pick it up on PC? Let us know in the comments!