Collector’s Cove – Gotta collect ’em all

Look at this!!

This could be my entire review, and you should be convinced to play Collector’s Cove from the small German game developer team, Voodoo Duck. But, since you took the time to pop over here and read this, you deserve more than that.

Starting off, you get to customize your character, always a lovely thing in a cozy game. There aren’t a lot of options, but enough that I liked my ‘mini me’. The story is a little light, but you are told you come from a family of Collectors, and now it’s your time to set sail and start your own adventure. Your job as a Collector is to catalogue every fish and crop throughout the world. Seems easy enough, right? After getting your instructions from your Uncle Jerry and getting your basic tools, you start collecting on the first island. You won’t be able to harvest everything until you learn to upgrade your tools, which will take some time, so you just must accept this fact. At this starting point, you will also get your own sea creature Companion, known as a Fablefin, that you can customize and name. There is a decent variety of options to choose from, and I was happy with my companion, Bubbles. She is how you travel the world; the boat attached to her back. Your Fablefin takes you to the islands you visit and then returns to your floating farm. Seeing them just waiting for you in the ocean always made me smile. Some of the islands you visit will have small puzzles to solve to gain access to treasure chests and different materials.

On your boat, you will plant a garden, place equipment to purify water and create fertilizer, and even build a table to upgrade your equipment. On one side of your boat, you have a plunger gun, where you will scavenge flotsam at sea. This will give you a variety of materials to use for building, upgrading, trading or selling.

You also have a bedroom area you can decorate. Your Uncle Jerry can be beckoned by ringing a bell. He will pull up alongside your boat with his own sea companion. You can purchase items from him, like seeds. Next door to his booth is Uncle Terry, who will trade you your excess materials for goods and upgrades. The 3rd booth is Uncle Barry/Larry/Gary/Perry/Harry (yes, the name changes at this booth, and I spent far too much time seeing how many names there were), who will provide you with ‘secret items’. It doesn’t take too long to realize something is suspicious with your uncles; they look VERY similar to one another.

Your Collector role is the core component of this game, though, and you will have a catalogue to fill. Each crop and fish you collect also has a legendaryor ‘fabled’ version of them, and you will get tips to unlock them as you play. First, you must catch enough to unlock the fertilizer or bait, then grow/catch enough with the fertilizer/bait to unlock the tip to get the fabled version. Each will have different requirements to unlock, and I loved this little twist. Filling your book may take a little time and require you to revisit some of your islands. Certain fish only appear in certain locales, and certain crops will only grow in their native habitats as well.

Completing pages in your book will allow for more upgrades and perks for your character. Interacting with your companion in a variety of ways will upgrade them. The estimated time to beat Collector’s Cove is approximately 25-30 hours, more if you want to 100% complete it.

Ultimately, this differs from a lot of other cozy farming sims because of your floating farm. It makes it feel like an adventure. Bonding with your companion was adorable, the music serene (with a touch of steel drums for a tropical vibe), and the graphic style delightful. It was everything I could have hoped for, and I had high expectations of this game ever since it was first announced. No combat, no sharks, just pure cozy vibes. This is definitely worth checking out. It is available on PC, PS5 and Nintendo Switch, and I’ll be setting sail with Bubbles again very soon.

Until next time…be good to yourself and be good to each other.