Coral Island, the new farm and dating sim from Stairway Games, is the latest example of a game where the pursuit of a handsome guy is enough to pull me through something I’m otherwise lukewarm to. I spent chunks of my game time chopping down trees, trying to make a real farm out of my assigned plot of land. But I don’t want to chop down trees, I just want to climb Coral Islanders like they’re climbing trees.
Coral Island begins as the majority Stardew Valley-likes do: Your custom character arrives in the titular tropical paradise, only to find that the farm they’ve been cultivating there is in dire straits. As it turns out, most of Coral Island is in bad shape and a predatory oil company has set up camp to tear it apart and consider it a lost cause. But there are still many people living here, and for some reason their livelihoods depend on your work to restore the island to a healthy state.
Coral Island it’s a solid, if unremarkable, farming simulator
Coral IslandThe farming mechanics are simple and intuitive, so compared to other games in the genre, it’s mostly hassle-free. But I’ve spent about 10 hours weeding, cleaning up trash, and planting crops on the farm, and I always feel like I need to do some chores before exploring the parts Coral Island I like it. There’s a supernatural side-plot that I unravel while making a donation to the local temple, its overtly anti-capitalist narrative reviving a burned-out part of my brain, and the sense of community growing warms my heart as the state of the world threatens to freeze it over.
![Shep looks out over his overgrown farmland.](https://i.kinja-img.com/image/upload/c_fit,q_60,w_645/b1ad50103d44cdc3b1c67506dbec36f8.jpg)
Like most farm simulators, Coral Island it’s a lot of hurry up and wait as you plant your crops, trying to complete just about every route in the game, and then wait in-game for days for the fruits of your labor to grow from the masochistically slow land. Of course, this is what farming looks like in real life, but Coral Island feel so beholden to my regimented schedule that I have long stretches of time killing busy work in between things I really want to see and do.
To his credit, Coral Island constantly feeding me new stories to follow and activities to try. There are festivals based on mini-games that force me to participate in contests like sack races, and the donation I can donate to helps me feel more like a part of the island community. I can go diving and find sunken treasure that I can’t find on land. As I build my relationships with the locals, I make friends and maybe more. But even that is governed by the fact that I’m only allowed to give gifts to potential suitors twice a week – as far as I can tell, that’s the only way to improve your relationship. And with how beautiful all his islanders are, waiting to court them for so long Coral Island requires incredible frustration.
Coral IslandThe best feature is the excellent Disney-inspired character designs
While I’m not yet thrilled with how the novel works under the hood, Coral IslandHot singles in your area attract the attention of Stairway Games Stardew Valley formula. He went to the studio with a Disney style art style for all her characters, and if you’ve ever posted crap about how you fell in love with an animated character from your childhood, this game is for you.
![Mark greets Shep saying: "Yes, good morning. I'm Mark."](https://i.kinja-img.com/image/upload/c_fit,q_60,w_645/2e953c2b769aece51f83c61728683859.jpg)
Coral IslandThe character design is its strongest aspect. Its diversity is not only pleasing to the eyes, but you can get a sense of their personalities just by looking at their portraits. Mark, the resident bear and adventurer, exudes an air of stern stoicism. The only reason I know he likes me is because the heart rate on the relationship menu goes up every time I give him a shiitake mushroom. Scott, a local archaeologist trying to get the museum back on its feet, has a Nathan Drake swagger, complete with an open trunk, but without the dirt and sand. Raphael, a quiet blacksmith, always looks like he’s fresh off the anvil, but his kind eyes radiate friendliness.
I want to marry them all, and that’s a harder struggle than getting all the trash off my lawn or growing the perfect carrot. Coral Islandunfortunately does not include polyamory (not on purpose, at least), so while I’m dealing with all the hard work of waiting for the next relationship rollercoaster, I’m constantly weighing the pros and cons of my potential lovers. 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 goofball. Meanwhile, Raphael seems almost afraid of me and human contact.
![- says Scott "By the way, Shep, I've heard some things about you."](https://i.kinja-img.com/image/upload/c_fit,q_60,w_645/1063a979121b484357cd4b3f9e85b31b.jpg)
But to be honest, a lot of it was me projecting the early hours onto these characters, because even though they’re pretty faces, Coral IslandThe character writing seems stretched to the point of transparency. . There are 28 possible marriage candidates, and between your designated relationship scenes, each character chirps you three or so lines until you give them enough gifts to further your bond. I’m still waiting for the moment when this relationship becomes more substantial, since it’s pretty shallow right now. This lack of meat on the bones is for fans to fill in the gaps with fanfic and art, but the character design feels like a carrot on a stick I stick with in search of depth.
in general Coral Island it’s a great farming and relationship sim, and it’s easy to be attracted to the 28 hotties to date. But after 10 hours, I feel like I’d rather have a simple dating sim than deal with a lot of quest fillers and farming, which is fine, if nothing special. The farm sim genre is pretty bloated these days as everyone is chasing it Stardew Valleysuccess at least Coral Island stands out for its unique visual design, which makes the dating aspect of the gameplay even more challenging.