Coral Island, a new farming and dating sim from Stairway Games, is the latest example of a game where chasing a cute guy is enough to get me hooked on something I’m hot for. I’ve spent some of my game time cutting down trees trying to build a real farm out of my assigned plot of land. But I don’t want to cut trees, I just want to climb like a tree on the inhabitants of Coral Island.
Coral Island it starts like most Stardew Valley– likes: your special character arrives in a so-called tropical paradise, only to find that the farm they’re there to raise is in rough shape. Apparently, most of Coral Island is in bad shape and a predatory oil company has set up camp to strip it piecemeal and consider it a lost cause. But there are still many people living here, and somehow their livelihoods depend on your labor to restore the island to sustainable shape.
Coral Island A solid, if unremarkable farm sim
Coral Island‘s farming mechanics are simple and intuitive, so it’s a largely frictionless experience compared to other games in the genre. But I spent about 10 hours weeding, clearing trash, and planting crops on the farm, and it always felt like things I needed to do before exploring parts of the farm. Coral Island i enjoy There’s a supernatural plot that I solve by making an offering to a local temple, its overtly anti-capitalist story rekindles a burnt-out part of my brain, and the sense of growing a community in danger of freezing the state of the world warms my heart. it’s over
Like most agricultural sims, Coral Island There’s a lot of “hurry up and wait” as you plant your crops to progress through nearly every route in the game, then wait in-game days for the fruits of your labor to grow from masochistically slow ground. Farming is like that in real life, of course, but Coral Island I feel so tied to my regular schedule that I lose a lot of time between the things I really want to see and do.
To his credit, Coral Island constantly giving me new stories to follow and activities to try. There are festivals based on mini-games that make me participate in competitions like sack races, and a pot I can donate to it helps me feel like a part of the island’s community. I can dive into the water and find sunken treasure that I can’t find on land. As I build relationships with the locals, I make friends and maybe more. But this is regulated by only allowing me to give gifts to potential suitors twice in one week – as far as I can tell, this is the only way to develop your relationship. And all the islanders are waiting to charm them because of how cute they are Coral Island it’s incredibly frustrating to request.
Coral Island‘s best feature is its excellent Disney inspired character design
While I’m not impressed with how the romance works so far, Coral Island‘s hot singles in your area is the Stairway Games draw Stardew Valley formula. The studio was gone for a year Disney-esque art style for all its characters, and if you’ve posted some posts about being in love with a cartoon character since childhood, this game is specifically for you.
Coral Islandthe character design is its strongest point. Not only is her diversity easy on the eyes, but you can get a strong sense of their personalities by looking at their portraits. Mark, a resident bear and adventurer, gives off an air of rugged stoicism. The only reason I know he likes me is because the heart rate in the relationship menu goes up every time I give him a shiitake mushroom. Scott, a local archaeologist trying to get the museum up and running, has the sloppiness of Nathan Drake, bare-chested but stripped of all grime and grime. Rafael, the soft-spoken blacksmith, always looks fresh, but his kind eyes radiate kindness.
I want to marry them all, and that’s a bigger struggle than cleaning up all the trash on the lawn or growing the perfect carrot. Coral Islandunfortunately does not include polyamory (at least not on purpose), so while I’m doing all the busy work, waiting for the next breakup scene to begin, I’m constantly weighing up the pros and cons of potential friends. Mark is a dog lover and could throw me over his shoulder with minimal effort, but he’s also distant and emotionally unavailable. Scott is a golden retriever who likes to unbutton his shirt, but he’s also a bit of a jerk. Raphael seems to fear me and any human contact.
But the truth is, most of my early hours are focused solely on these characters, because while they’re certainly a bunch of pretty faces, Coral Island‘s character writing feels thinly stretched to the point of transparency. . There are 28 possible marriage candidates, and between the relationship scenes you set, each character rattles off the same three or more lines at you until you give them enough gifts to further your bond. I’m still waiting for the point where these relationships feel more meaningful, because right now they’re pretty shallow. This lack of meat on the bone made for fans to fill in the gaps with fanfiction and art, but the character design felt like a carrot on a stick where I was looking for depth.
In general, Coral Island So far, it’s 28 dateable hotties with beautiful farming and relationships, and it’s easy to draw. But at 10 hours in, I feel like I’d rather have a simple dating sim than a lot of quest-based filler and farming, which is great, if not remarkable. The farming sim genre is pretty swell these days, as is everyone else’s pursuit Stardew Valleyis the success of At least, Coral Island stands out for its unique visual design, which makes the dating aspect of its gameplay even more delightfully challenging.