I have one more post in me about Cozy Grove: Camp Spirits (Spry Fox), even though it’s not going to focus as much an the demo. The f irst game was so important to me, and I never thought it would be that way. I thought it was just going to be a cute little game about gathering resources and helping spirits in limbo make their last journey. I mean, death is not usually a cozy subject, but I was used to it being prevalent in cozy games. Of my top five favorite non-From games, four out of the ive have something to do with death. The only one that doesn’t is Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!! (David Galindo), and that has to do with food.
Cozy Grove, as I’ve said, is third or fourth. Probably third. There are several reasons for it. One, it’s just such a heartwarming game. I came to care deeply about the bears, and helping them on their last journeys was something I took seriously.
One of the stories that struck me the most was that of someone I did not particularly like. She was the mayor, and she was always trying to get me to do things to promote the town. When I started hearing her story, though, I learned that there was much more to her than I had previously imagined. Also, she revealed some pretty ugly truths about herself that, weirdly, made me like her better. It’s the flaws that make us who we are, and her showing her vulnerability and, quitk frankly, ugly side made her more relatable.
My favorite bear, however, was one from the DLC. She was so down on herself, insecure, and self-effacing. She liked science and origami, but in life, she had an abusive boss who was cruel to her in several ways. I related to her so much, and I wanted to ease her pain.
She actually made me feel so much sorrow in my heart–and a bit uncomfortable because I was a too much like her.
In the last post, I was talking about what I wanted from the sequel–which is coming out in a month!! I am so stoked. I can’t emphasize enough how much I grew to love the first game. I mean, I liked it from the start, but the steep grind in the beginning was frustrating.
I went over that in the past post, so let’s move on with what else I want from the sequel. I want to reiterate, though, that I’m not expecting nor wanting anything radical. I’ve talked about how sequels have such a difficult time because on the one hand, it has to be recognizable as the first game. People fell in love with the first game for a reason. And people become very passionate about what they like about the game.
Let me bring up Dark Souls (FromSoft). It became a surprise hit in a way that Demon’s Souls did not. I’m not going to recount the reasons why because I’ve talked about it a million times before. Suffice to say, the sequel was doomed to fail. And not because it wasn’t directed by Miyazaki (he moved on to Bloodborne). The expectations were too high, and there was no way the sequel was going to meet those expectations.
I have said that Scholar of the First Sin (the remake of the second game) is a fun game and a good game. I used to say it’s not a good Souls game, but I have changed my mind. There are parts of it that are frustrating as hell, but over all, I replay it much more than I do the first game.
Back to Cozy Grove. I don’t want them to reinvent the wheel. I do wan them to do whtat they did in the first game, but better. Or rather, I want them to streamline things. One thing that annoyed me in the first game was that there were too many mini-games and side quests. I don’t mind a little, but there’s a line that once crossed starts to feel like filler.
Also, I wish there was a way to clean up the island once you’ve placed a million things. I tend to just place them wherever, and by the end of the game, my island was an eyesore. As someone with OCD tendencies, I really hated how messy it was. But I certainly wasn’t going to take the time to painstakingly straighten things up one by one. I admire people who are meticulous from the start, but that is not me.
Even in the demo of this game, I have just plunked things down wherever I feel like it. It’s only four or five things, so you would think I could make a plan. Nope! My brain said, “We’re just going to put this here” without a thought, and then that’s what I did.
Here’s something interesting about me. I’m watching a lot of Korean content, and they are very into the Myer-Briggs. In the west, it’s been pretty much debunked, but it’s handy for a very broad look at personal traits. I have always scored as an N and F. The last one, though, (J/P), I have always split evenly on it. That means that I’m simultaneously (or alternating?) both a planner and a free spirit.
This is true. I am very much a planner for certain things, but then I just wing it others. In the game, it’s difficult because you have to keep adding resources into the ground throughout the game. I ran out of room by the end, and I had to move things around.
I want there to be the sweet and sad stories that were in the first game. Complex stories that leave me thinking and feeling an ache in my heart. I also want to do quests for them, but not too many. I want it to take time, but not too much time. Yes, I’m being picky, but might as well aim for the sky. I don’t expect to get all I’m asking for, but I might as well put the thought out there.
That’s all for today. I might or might not write another post on this tomorrow.