Critter Cove [First Impressions]

Currently in Early Access; Critter Cove is an adorable farming simulation game with a very unique character customization aspect. So much so that I wanted to mention it in the first sentence, you get to create your very own Critter. You can be a human if you would like but you also have options to make a cat, dog, reptilian, or aquatic creatures with a lot of in-depth color and pattern options you can choose from. It really helps put you in the world since all of the villagers and visitors are also animal people. I know when I say animal people everyone is going to think of Animal Crossing, but I promise you the only Animal Crossing inspiration this game has is the music direction and sound design (at least when it comes to the talking noises). The gameplay is much more like a classic farming sim like Rune Factory.

Critter Cove was developed and published by Gentleman Rat Studio LLC, which is probably why the first person you talk to when crashing at Critter Cove is a rat. And you do crash there. Your character is actually a sailor whose boat sinks while trying to reach Critter Cove, a decrepit little island that seems to have been abandoned for years. It’s your job to help fix up Critter Cove, for one thing, profit! Yep, the goal here is to make the island pretty and functional so tourists will visit and spend money. The more money you get the more buildings and shops you can fix up for future tourists to enjoy. You can also decorate the island with furniture, toys, and pop-up stands that will both make the island prettier and more functional.

Not only are you a tourism entrepreneur, but you are still a sailor. You can build yourself a boat (or even just swim) to travel to different islands and underwater cities that litter the map. When first playing I thought the entire game was just the first island. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw on the map two smaller islands. And then I was blown away when I realized you could zoom out on the map and that there were tens of little islands everywhere. Not only that but there are underwater cities, garages, and even a bridge that have been submerged years ago that you can explore and loot for resources.

The underwater aspects lead me to believe there’s a bit of a story going on here. I’ve found a letter in a garage talking about how someone cut corners on the infrastructure to save money, this letter was found right next to a skeleton… It makes me think this game takes place in some sort of post-apocalyptic setting where water has risen and all that’s left are islands. But maybe not, there are cruise ships with tourists and they are coming from somewhere. Regardless, it makes me want to learn more.

The gameplay is pretty straightforward, especially for those who frequent farming sims like myself. It’s very similar to Rune Factory, you run around a pick up just about anything and everything off of the ground. You can use stamina to chop up tree trunks and piles of scrap for more materials. Every farming sim has some sort of stamina system but I will say Critter Cove’s solution is one of my favorites. There are berries and drumsticks that you can find growing around the island (like in Digimon, meat grows out of plants here). In most games like this, eating foraged food will only give you just a bit of extra stamina. In Critter Cove eating one berry refills one-fourth of your stamina meter. And you can cook the food to restore even more. This food is abundant everywhere to the point where I only sleep if I want to save the game, not to restore stamina. It’s great.

A unique aspect of this game is the water. I’ve never played a farming sim where you could swim let alone dive underwater and explore sunken cities. Once you unlock the blueprint for the snorkel you can stay underwater for long enough to explore and scavenge whatever your heart desires. The scuba-diving certainly helps break up the monotonous gameplay that all farming games have.

I adore Critter Cove and will be continuing to play it on my own now that I don’t have to play it with the mindset of reviewing it. It’s a great game to just pick up until you get bored or even to play while watching something. The only thing I could say I wish this game had was multiplayer. I think it would have been amazing to share an island with a friend or have an invite to your island system and I hope they add it in the future. This won’t affect my review or score. I just wanted to mention the lack of co-op for anyone wondering. Usually, I don’t like to rate Early Access games but, Critter Cove is a 10/10 and I absolutely recommend it. Especially for those who enjoy farming games. Critter Cove is currently available in Early Access on PC.