Review: Coral Island

Genre / Tags: Farming Sim, Life Sim, Dating Sim, Relaxing
Developer/Publisher: Stairway Games/Humble Games
URL: Coral Island on Steam

I’ll say outright, i’m a little biased when it comes to the cozy farming sim games as an avid enjoyer of Harvest Moon Back to Nature growing up. Yes i’m prolly showing my age a bit, but who cares. If the formula aint broke don’t change it in my opinion. That being said Coral Island is a wonderful way relax and unwind from those real life stresses.

Coral Island probably closely relates to a similar game, Stardew Valley, in many ways. How this game operates at it’s core, is very much akin to Stardew Valley or even Harvest Moon, but seemingly more “modern” or at least a different style because the world is more 3D or at least a higher graphical level then the wonderful pixilated worlds from the game’s predecessors.

(Image Credit: Coral Island)

At the beginning of Coral Island, you are given your relative’s home in one way or another, and your task is to fix the place up while also meeting the locals and helping the town thrive. From there your first day is you start off with some tools and some seeds to start your farm after you clean it up a bit, then are tasked to meet the locals of which there are loads of, and tons to date even while learning the town.

I personally love the fact that Coral Island clearly loves games like Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon, Roots of Pacha, Sun Haven. Mainly because of how closely the games relate to one another. But they differ in many ways as well. Whether it be art styles, or like what Coral Island does where they do a lot of just modernizing the ‘mold’ that other these other games do ontop of everything I mentioned prior. With either how you can transfer items between your inventory and boxes easier, or craft directly from the items in your boxes as one example.

Where Coral Island differs and really comes out with a whole different experience from any other farming / life simulation game out there is the “save the island” aspect of it. Where something has happened to the island from the oil drilling company “Pufferfish” that has all these like magical black tentacle looking things all over the ocean and parts of the island. Through playing the game you learn that you can heal the island through uncovering things through underwater diving and pushing back this corruption of the island.

(Image Credit: Coral Island)

Weather you’re a fan of cozy farming sim games like Stardew Valley. Or you’re an old fogey like me that just loves Harvest Moon. You’ll absolutely fall in love with Coral Island like I have. Easily giving Coral Island a 9.1/10. There’s definitely some things I’d like to see improved, like combat in the mines is pretty rough. But the game just released this year. We’re all eagerly awaiting co-op to come in the near future, so they’ve only just begun. Check out the 1.0 Trailer for the game below!