Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit

We’re experiencing heatwaves across the globe right now. Sitting in any one room for too long seems to exacerbate the sticky heat, meaning we have to keep moving from one fresh, cooler piece of furniture to the next in order to remain comfortable. The video game calendar is also heating up, with launches stacking up compared to the relative quiet of previous months, so I’m finding myself busier and with less free time and a whole lot less patience.

It’s the ideal time for a casual game that’s easy to pick up and play, and even easier to fall in love with, to land in our laps. Sometimes, the perfect type of game comes along at the perfect moment. For me, that game is Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit.

Bigger, Better, Cozier

A flashback scene in Cozy Grove Camp Spirit.

When the first Cozy Grove launched back in 2021, I was drawn in by its adorable art style and subsequently kept captive by casual life-sim gameplay that Animal Crossing fans know all too well. It offered a quirky mix of melancholy subjects and warm charm. It was a rather unassuming game at first glance, but as you spoke with the myriad bear spirits and helped them move on, you uncovered the touching undertones beneath its simple cosiness.

I enjoyed it so much that I was thrilled to hear news of a sequel, Camp Spirit, but I’ll confess that my excitement was short-lived when I found out it would initially be mobile-only when it launched in 2024. These games feature so much fine detail, especially when you’re decorating the island or dressing up your scout, and collectible items can already be difficult to spot, that a smaller screen felt like selling it short. Thankfully, it’s now arrived on console and PC. And it was well worth the wait.

Camp Spirit does exactly what it says on the tin. It adds more spirit to the series. The bear stories and relationships in the first game could sometimes feel shallow, but here, they tackle more contemporary subjects, like a non-binary bear character, while also offering deeper narratives. One thing I especially love is the intriguing web that gradually weaves the characters and their stories together. At first, they appear to be mostly standalone, but the connections soon become clear.

A scout speaking with Medvarius in Cozy Grove Camp Spirit.

Bears can now have proper homes with interior spaces to explore, while their landmarks and homes evolve as you progress through their storylines. There are also flashback scenes that offer rather sweet insights into the lives they led before you met them.

Everything feels more polished, with extra depth thrown in for good measure. In addition to slowly unlocking more of the island by feeding Flamey Spirit Logs, you’ll eventually gain access to a brand-new area called the Old Grounds. Alongside the returning spirit pets, you now have companions, the first of which is Craw, an adorable little dog.

There’s also a new power-washing mechanic that lets you clean sand or black soot from structures to earn rewards or fulfil quest requirements. I can’t help but wonder whether this came about purely because someone on the development team loves PowerWash Simulator.

A scout powerwashing in Cozy Grove Camp Spirit.

Camp Spirit also adds asynchronous multiplayer, allowing you to send letters and gifts to friends and see astral projections of them on your island. I confess I didn’t care one way or another about this. I just needed my bears and cute customisation options, the latter of which still offers an absolute wealth of things to keep me tinkering with my island for ages.

My least favourite aspect of Camp Spirit is the same thing that irked me in the original, and it’s certainly a divisive subject among fans: the time-gating. You can only progress so far through the storyline each real-world day before you can no longer help your bear friends or earn any more Spirit Logs. An inspiration from Animal Crossing that I wish wasn’t taken.

Sure, you can still farm for coins, catch fish and bugs, and spend your time rearranging your decorations and wardrobe, but you’ll be waiting for the next day to dawn before you can meet new friends and discover new mechanics.

You can manually change the date and time on your console or device to get around this, provided you don’t mind risking a potentially corrupted save, but that’s quite a faff. While you technically can keep playing, it starts to feel grindy once you can no longer make meaningful progress. All that remains is foraging, selling… then rinse and repeat.

It’s a double-edged sword, as the thing I love about the game is also what I dislike most. I want something I can pick up and play in short bursts, but I also want to sit there for hours on end when the feeling takes me.

Take Me Home, Cozy Grove

A scout inside the Arbor in Cozy Grove Camp Spirit.

Camp Spirit offers more of what we know and love from the first game, but it doesn’t quite reach the heights of a fully-fledged sequel. Though it builds on the original with quality-of-life improvements and some welcome new features, it doesn’t push the boat (or bus) out far enough to break new ground.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I simply want to set expectations. It will feel extremely familiar because it follows the same template and maintains the same quaint atmosphere, only on a new island with new bear spirits. In short, it feels more like a refined tune-up than a complete reinvention, but it’s every bit as moreishly enjoyable as its predecessor.

Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit is a must-play for fans of the original. It offers a familiar yet refined gameplay loop and once again combines a casual pace with subtle storytelling that has far more depth than you might expect from a game this cute.

Casual

Life Simulation

Systems

Released: June 25, 2024
ESRB: Everyone 10+ / Crude Humor, Mild Language, Tobacco Reference, Violent References
Developer(s): Spry Fox
Publisher(s): Spry Fox
Prequel(s): Cozy Grove