Collector’s Cove Review

Collector's Cove is a “cozy farming adventure” developed and published by VoodooDuck. I’ll be blunt, I chose to review this game because it really looked like one of my favourite games, Dinkum, except on a boat, and I still refuse to play more than an hour of Stardew Valley. So let’s see if it’s worth exploring the sea or staying on land in this not-so-swashbuckling adventure!

You play as a young up-and-coming Collector. Living with your uncle since your folks are too busy adventuring, you dream of following in your parents’ footsteps by exploring the world. After going through a tutorial and getting a set of rusty tools, you’re ready to set off on your own journey with a boat to make your home/farm and a Fablefin (a friendly Loch Ness monster) to keep you company, with the goal of filling your Collector’s Compendium, getting to Collector’s Cove, and rising through the ranks to become a Named-Rank Collector.

The story is just a set-up, but a pretty decent one to get you started. Most of your time will be spent on completing your Compendium, but I did find some decently chuckleworthy moments, plus it does feel nice to have parents that aren’t dead, or missing, or in danger, or non-existent. They aren’t physically present, but they’re around, as you’ll get frequent messages from them. Not only are the letters from your parents nice to have, but they also contain major hints and tips to make your job as a Collector a little easier. It’s worth reading through them.

As for the graphics, they can be quite beautiful. With a vibrant colour palette and so many things to explore, it was just nice to take a moment to soak in the sights, even though most of it is just islands and the ocean. Though, the islands you’ll be exploring start to lose their lustre after a while as you see the same layouts and structures. They aren’t randomly generated, but rather they’re randomly placed on the map. At least you’ll know where everything is eventually.

But enough about that, let’s start sailing away! Collector’s Cove revolves around farming, fishing, and finding materials. The various islands you’ll be sailing to will have resources to take, treasure to find, and discoveries to make. It’ll take time to get there (usually eight in-game hours at the shortest), which is a great opportunity to tend to chores, like maintaining your farm, crafting stuff, or using the plunger gun to collect floating crates that pass by. Don’t worry if you completely deplete everything, as you can always start a new expedition to generate more islands to explore. There are even different regions that will offer all sorts of new materials and fish to find that you will need to progress further into the game.

Though you will need a steady supply of materials, what you’re really looking for are Fabled items. Not only will they fetch a pretty penny, feeding them to your Fablefin will increase their Fabled Bond level, which is needed to unlock some seriously useful upgrades. However, in order to get them, you’ll need to discover the very specific conditions that’ll make it possible, like fishing for flying fish while high up and harvesting a watermelon while it’s surrounded by flowers. The game will tell you what they are if you use bait and fertiliser (earned by additional collections), but these conditions can be a little vague or frustrating to do. For example, what do you mean by “rotating the camera”!? I did enough times to make me dizzy IRL and it still didn’t proc!

Again, this is all necessary to progress further. As you discover new crops and fish, you’ll add entries in your Compendium. Fill in enough spots, and you’ll rank up in that activity. Each rank reached will unlock skills, new areas, and upgrades to make your life a little easier. If you want to become a Named-Collector, you’ll need to almost completely fill the entire thing.

Of course, you can’t just collect everything from the islands (or you’re too lazy to), which is why you can always ring a bell to call the Merchant ship to trade items and purchase stuff like seeds, crafting recipes, and expansions for your boat. Also, I’m pretty sure that all the shops are run by your uncle, but there isn’t enough evidence to confirm such a ridiculous thing. I mean, Uncle Terry, Uncle Larry, and Uncle Eugene are totally different people! They do have the same sweet beard, though…

Overall, the gameplay loop is pretty relaxing. Even though I constantly had to change the layout of my farm to get more Fabled items, it was fun to collect them and slowly improve everything. Though, I do think that Collector’s Cove is the type of game you won't need 100% of your brainpower for. Pop on some of your own music, start watching a video essay, or set up a chat with friends. It’ll make the process of reaching the ultimate Collector rank a little more interesting.

Onto performance and… wow, it was insanely great. Playing on Epic graphic settings with an uncapped framerate, my game stayed at around 250 FPS, which is… excessive but cool. However, there were a few glitches that did ruin the peaceful mood, such as the time the plunger gun didn't reel in crates from the sea quite right, getting stuck behind it. I ended up softlocked as I couldn't get off the gun or pause the game to use the “I’m Stuck” option. That might need to be fixed.

In conclusion, Collector’s Cove is a fine cosy game to casually play. I admit, I was a little impatient while playing (thank you, my internet addiction), but taking my time and just going with the flow made my playtime enjoyable. It does need refinement here or there, but if you just want to play something less intense, I highly recommend this game.