Collector’s Cove from VoodooDuck is a 3D farming adventure set on the high seas. Learn more in our Collector’s Cove review!
Collector’s Cove from VoodooDuck is a 3D farming adventure set on the high seas. It’s a cozy and chill journey that won’t have any enemies or dangers for you to worry about. You’ll be exploring the ocean as you uncover secrets, with your animal companion by your side. In fact, Marty is the one pulling the boat! Your task? To build a flourishing floating farm. You might also want to catch a fish or two as you explore each area you find. As you move from island to island, you’ll locate new flora and fauna that will allow you to also work on completely filling up your Collector’s Compendium, as you aim to reach the ultimate rank of Named-Collector.
Uncle Jerry will be the one helping you get started by teaching you the basics of becoming a Collector. Your parents are Collectors, and they were headed for the titular Collector’s Cove. If you are to follow in their footsteps and find them, you’ll need to reach the highest rank and become a Named-Collector. You know, until Uncle Terry takes over and continues with the tutorial segment. And then, you’ll be talking to Uncle Eugene. He’s certainly a special one. But before all that, you’ll have to choose how your character will look!
Yep, the first step in your new adventure will be to customize your character. You can choose its skin color, t-shirt, shorts, sandals, hat (or no hat), whether it will wear a pair of glasses, eyebrows and their color, eyes and their color, mouth, nose, hair, and hair color. You can also toggle the belt and bag. The last thing that you’ll have to do is choose your character’s name, and you’ll be set. Oh, and you’ll also get a chance to customize your companion!
Once the intro cutscene ends, you’ll be taking control of your character by using the left analog stick, as you interact with other characters and items by pressing the A button. You can use the right analog stick to zoom in and out as needed. You can also use it to move the camera around you. Pressing in on the right analog stick will change the camera mode. Don’t forget to feed your animal companion so that it can have enough energy to take you from island to island!
Switch between your tools by pressing the L and R buttons, and use the required tool by pressing the Y button. You can also open up the tool selection by pressing the ZL button. This will allow you to use an axe to cut down trees to collect wood and fiber, a pickaxe to mine and obtain rocks, or use a shovel to collect soil. You’ll also have access to a fishing rod to catch as many fish as possible. All the items that you collect will be added to your inventory, which you can open by pressing the X button.
Press the – button to open the Collector Compendium so that you can review information on what you’ve managed to note down. There are dozens of fish, vegetables, items, and other stuff for you to find. You’ll gain experience points in the collector, farming, and fishing categories. Leveling up will allow you to gain access to new upgrades and new structures to craft.
Say you level up your farming by planting, watering, and harvesting enough crops. Once you reach rank 1, you’ll unlock the Lucky Seed 1 perk. Thanks to this one, you’ll have an increased chance of retrieving seeds when harvesting crops, so that you can then immediately use these bonus seeds to keep the cycle going. Level up fishing, and you’ll gain access to the Alluring Bait 1 perk, which will make fish bite faster. Increase your level for collector and ger to rank 1, and you will be able to craft the bait maker and the compost bin.
As you build new stuff, use the ZL and ZR buttons to rotate things left or right so that you can place them just right. You will, for example, use the hammer to build planter boxes for your crops. You can then use some seeds to plant new crops and use a watering can to, well, water them in order to make them grow. Another thing you can craft is the small storage chest, an item that, as its name suggests, you can use to store some items. These and other stuff you craft will require that you have enough of specific materials, so be sure to always work on collecting simple wood, soil, fiber, and more.
Watering the plants on your own is all fine and well, but since you’re out in the ocean, you won’t simply have access to sweet water at all times. This is why you might want to consider building a water station, so that you can use it to purify water. All you’ll need is 15 pieces of simple wood, 4 pieces of fiber, and 4 rocks. Once it’s ready, you’ll have to feed it some wood, and it will produce water until it’s full. That way, you’ll be able to fill up your watering can.
You’ll sometimes be able to gather additional resources without even having to set foot on an island. Your boat has a plunger gun that Uncle Terry installed, which you can use to reel in the flotsam that you find along the way. Just interact with the plunger gun, aim it by using the left analog stick, and shoot by pressing the ZR button. Once you grab something, press the ZR button again to reel it in.
You can visit the Farmer’s Market to sell some of your extra items and resources, so that you can obtain the extra coins that you’ll need to be able to purchase the seeds you need to be able to continue increasing the size of your farm. You can get some sweet potato seeds, cucumber seeds, chilli seeds, watermelon seeds, and more. You can also visit the Sailor’s Stop, where you can trade resources for other resources, as well as get some boat upgrades once you’ve progressed further in the game. There’s also the Secret Seller stall. As the name suggests, you’ll be able to get special items such as bait recipes and blueprints in exchange for specific resources.
Collector’s Cove is a 3D farming adventure set on the high seas. It’s a cozy and chill journey that won’t have any enemies or dangers for you to worry about. You’ll be exploring the ocean as you uncover secrets, with your animal companion by your side. In fact, Marty is the one pulling the boat! Your task? To build a flourishing floating farm. You might also want to catch a fish or two as you explore each area you find. As you move from island to island, you’ll locate new flora and fauna that will allow you to also work on completely filling up your Collector’s Compendium, as you aim to reach the ultimate rank of Named-Collector.
Collector’s Cove launches tomorrow on Nintendo Switch with a $19.99 price tag. There’s also the Collector’s Cove Supporter Edition for $24.98, which, along with the base game, includes two royal cosmetics for your animal companion – to give them an extra majestic look – and a matching jester cap to customize your character – perfect to keep their majesty entertained. You can also grab the Collector’s Cove Supporter Pack on its own for $4.99.
Disclaimer
This Collector’s Cove review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by VoodooDuck.
