Camping out on a deserted island looks a little different in the newly-released Cozy Grove. While the new simulation game shares many similarities with Animal Crossing: New Horizons, like island decoration and befriending NPCs, it has also taken certain ideas and expanded on them. This is most notable with the narrative in Cozy Grove. Unlike New Horizons, where the story is loose and mostly designed to guide players through Animal Crossing's island upgrades, Cozy Grove has implemented a rich, haunting narrative that must be unraveled to understand what truly happened to the island's inhabitants.
Cozy Grove follows the story of a Spirit Scout sent to the island to help guide lost souls to the afterlife. Upon arrival, it becomes clear the number of ghosts trapped on the island is far greater than originally thought, and the wayward souls have been stuck for a long time. In order to help these ghosts pass on, the player must befriend them by completing daily tasks. These objectives unlock new parts of each Ghost's storyline. Cozy Grove mimics Animal Crossing: New Horizons' progression mechanics, which takes place in real-time, so each day offers new tasks to complete and prevents players from blasting through the game.
The stories of these Cozy Grove NPCs are bittersweet. They love their island, but have been stuck for so long many don't remember who they were in life. As the player builds relationships with each ghost, they remember new parts of their forgotten past. As this is done, the player earns Spirit Logs, which can be fed to the campfire to illuminate new ghost NPCs lost on the island. Unlike Animal Crossing villagers who amble around all day and might give the player gifts from time to time, each of the ghosts in Cozy Grove has a skill to offer the main character, like crafting, fishing, or baking.
Cozy Grove Tells The Story Of A Devastated World
As the player learns more about what has happened in Cozy Grove, it becomes apparent that something horrible befell the game's world, leading to widespread destruction. Often the NPCs mention radiation and pollution as normal parts of their past lives. Cozy Grove has a more serious tone than Animal Crossing's storyline, despite its whimsical appearance and casual mechanics.
Animal Crossing games have always lacked a filled-out narrative, leading fans to speculate on what the Animal Crossing world looks like, and why the main character is the only human now living on a deserted island. Taking inspiration from Cozy Grove and adding more in-depth backstories for villagers, as well as an explanation on how the player ended up striking a deal with the Nook corporation, could enrich Animal Crossing: New Horizons' narrative, and offer more to focus on in the day-to-day gameplay loop.