Review: Cozy Caravan Is a Casual Animal Crossing-Like Life Sim

There are games out there that serve as a means to step away from real life for a few hours and enjoy existing in a pleasant space, and the Animal Crossing-like Cozy Caravan is exactly that. It’s a life sim with the lowest possible stakes and cutest possible appearances. There’s no possible way to fail. However, as a result of that simplicity and relaxed approach, it can get a little repetitive and feel like there’s no real thought necessary to spread kindness in a community. That, combined with Apple Arcade exclusive content, means that Cozy Caravan can be fun, but might be best on certain platforms at the start.

Cozy Caravan begins in the player’s hometown of Fellowood Acres, following a pretty extensive character creator that involves a variety of animal species. You’re a member of a Guild that goes from town to town, assisting people in different villages around Harvestvale to spread happiness and make their lives easier. This could involve cooking, crafting, finding folks who are lost, aiding farmers with crop care, and of course selling food at the weekly markets in different towns. By helping out, you get Guild Tokens to advance through the ranks and improve your caravan, increasing the range of things you can do. You also get to do things like dress up, customizing your avatar’s appearance.

Now, while Animal Crossing will probably be the first thing that springs to mind when it comes to Cozy Caravan, it’s only sort of like Nintendo’s famous life sim series. The priority here really does feel like traveling around the world, taking on quests, and heading to the weekly market. In a way, the gameplay loop almost reminds me of a mix between some older Atelier games and Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar. People will ask for your assistance with an array of different type of tasks, leaning into a more quest-like situation. However, since there is also the sense of gathering food for the market and making NPCs happy, it brings Story of Seasons to mind too. Since personal caravan growth is tied to making the effort to cook things up and assist folks, there is a sense of accomplishment. 

However, since there aren’t things like demanding material requests or stringent timelines, there isn’t really any challenge to Cozy Caravan. The only trouble I had sometimes involved occasionally finding out what to do next. But even then, it’s such a freeform and relaxed game, the answer usually comes from taking the time to explore and talk to more characters. Said folks are generally all adorable. The downside is, while the character designs are fantastic, they aren’t terribly deep. In that way, Cozy Caravan can feel a bit like Animal Crossing. I’m sure you’ll find favorite friends while on the road. But while they do make it clear they know your avatar and like them, it feels superficial and not a more deep friendship (or more) as in Story of Seasons. 

Speaking of presentation, there is a Switch issue that I noticed comes up and is exacerbated by the stop-motion design direction in Cozy Caravan. It can feel like there’s a bit of lag when moving around and exploring the world. I did notice this is alleviated a tad by choosing to turn it off in the accessibility settings, making it run a bit better. However, I also saw that it performed a bit better and more smoothly on my Switch 2. 

But there’s another way in which the Switch doesn’t feel like the ideal Cozy Caravan platform, and I brought that up earlier. There is Apple Arcade-exclusive content in the game. This adds the Pawcific Islands region to Harvestvale. In turn, it means new characters, quests, and spots to visit. 5 Lives Studio did confirm on the Steam Discussions forum for the game that it is a timed exclusive element. Which means if you have an iPad, that’s with a subscription is probably the best way to play at the moment. 

Cozy Caravan is a very relaxed approach to a life sim that is never taxing, but an exclusivity arrangement means the Switch might not be the best way to play it right now. After that deal with Apple expires and some patches release, that could change! It is pleasant, but know going in that the relationships with characters never get too deep and, while rewarding, the daily routine is quite simple.

Cozy Caravan is available on the Switch, PC, and mobile devices via Apple Arcade.