Summary
In recent years, ‘cosy’ has become something of a double-edged epithet to me. It’s a pointless descriptor most of the time, a buzzword meant to evoke a game’s intended reception where cosiness is a fleeting dream in the face of efficiency-first farming, shallow mechanics, and writing so saccharine as to give you cavities.
Amber Islemanages to avoid these pitfalls and presents a legitimately cosy experience. There are so many ways it could have been my bane - it’s a shop simulator ripe for spreadsheetification, and really quite buggy for a full release. I’ve had my gameplay progress halted by a softlock that I’m patiently waiting to be fixed. And yet… I don’t mind.
This story-halting bug has since been fixed in an update. My cosiness resumes unabated!
I wake up. I leave my shop, walk past the pristine work surfaces adorned with my hard-crafted wares, and step out into the sunshine. Paleofolk walk past friends I’ve invited to the island, helped settle, and built homes for. I zip around the isle, clearing up rubbish, chopping down trees and messy vines, picking up shells and flowers. I chat with my neighbours and do a little crafting. More gathering. More crafting. The evening rolls around and I decide to open up shop, shortly before heading to bed with a heavier pouch of Amber for my troubles.
This is the basic gameplay cycle. You have certain goals to hit, but there are no time limits to be wary of. The island doesn’t fall to ruin if you accidentally sleep for a month straight, there are no friendship degradation mechanics, and the inhabitants will love your taste in decor no matter what.
It’s not a very demanding lifestyle. The stakes are low. The island is filled with predators and prey, but the only danger here is me and my ability to price gouge. The grumpy mayor is putty in my hands after an afternoon of friendship-grinding. The bureaucrat character is more charming than frustrating. If I ever need a pick-me-up, I can chat with the adorably wacky anomalocaris who treats the island like we’d treat an alien planet or the equally adorable thylacine who’s all about photography.
Amber Isle is not cosy like a fireplace or a mug of hot chocolate. It’s cosy like a life with absolutely no friction. It has you populating the island with future friends, learning new crafting recipes for items to sell to said friends, and completing quests to make life even cosier. I’ve played plenty of games with similar vibes, styles, and mechanics, but this particular and peculiar melange makes Amber Isle stick in my mind as a true love letter to cosy.
There’s a tiny part of me that wishes there was a little friction to challenge me, but that tiny part is easily ignored by the far larger part that enjoys having an escape that allows me to be a Paleofolk in a world of happy folk who flock to my home to enjoy the things I make with my own two paws. Or claws. Or whatever.
