| Coral Island | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Stairway Games |
| Publisher(s) | Humble Games |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 4 [1] [2] |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | November 14, 2023 |
| Genre(s) | Farm life sim |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Coral Island is a 2023 farm life sim developed by Stairway Games and published by Humble Games. It plays similarly to Stardew Valley and is set on a tropical island.
Players control a character who has become disenchanted with city life. After moving to a small farming community on a tropical island, they are given an overrun farm to work. Besides fixing up the farm and planting crops, players can explore a nearby mine, where they can find rare resources guarded by monsters; talk to and romance the non-player characters (ocean NPC relationships are not fully released); donate rare items to a local museum; [3] and clean up a toxic oil spill in the ocean, which is functionally similar to exploring the mine and includes ocean shops and NPCs. Players can also recycle trash to gain resources, such as scrap. [4] Planned release of ocean NPC relationships is May 20, 2024.
The developer, Stairway Games, is in Indonesia, [5] which inspired the setting. [3] Its 3D art style is influenced by Disney animation. [2] Coral Island had one of the most successful video game crowd-funding campaigns of 2021. [6] After it entered early access in October 2022, Humble Games released Coral Island for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on November 14, 2023. [7] Shortly after its release, an imposter account on social media targeted fans with NFT scams. Coral Island does not feature any NFT content. [8]
Coral Island is often compared to Stardew Valley and has been called one of the best Stardew Valley clones by multiple gaming publications. [3] [5] [9] [10]
Rock Paper Shotgun said the early access release was a little buggy in October 2022 but was overall mature. They recommended it to players looking for a game similar to Stardew that has quicker rewards and less grinding. [4] GamesRadar said that although the gameplay was similar to other farm sims, especially Stardew Valley, Coral Island implemented it well and added their own unique twists. [3] Reviewing the game in May 2023, TechRadar said they were "thoroughly excited" by its roadmap and said Coral Island proved to them that there was room for more farm sims. [5]
On release, Coral Island received positive reviews on Metacritic. [11] Siliconera said that, although not innovative, it builds upon its influences and add quality of life improvements. Although they called it essential for farm sim fans, they suggested that people hold off for bug fixes on the PlayStation 5 version. [12] TouchArcade said it "feels unfinished in parts" and may have left early access too soon. However, they said it has "a fantastic base to build on" and is a "joy to play" on the Steam Deck despite some technical issues. [13] GameSpot included it in a list of hidden gems released in 2023 and called it "a breath of fresh air" for the genre for its tropical setting, large and diverse cast, large map, and compelling story. [14] At the 2023 Steam Awards, Coral Island was nominated for the Sit Back And Relax award. [15]
Social simulation games are a subgenre of life simulation game that explore social interactions between multiple artificial lives. Some examples include The Sims and Animal Crossing series.
Stardew Valley is a 2016 farm life simulation role-playing video game developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. Players take the role of a character who inherits their deceased grandfather's dilapidated farm in a place known as Stardew Valley. The game was originally released for Windows in February 2016 before being ported to other platforms. Stardew Valley is an open-ended game, allowing players to grow crops, raise livestock, fish, cook, mine, forage, and socialize with the townspeople, including the ability to marry and have children. It allows up to eight players to play online together.
Ooblets is a life simulation video game by Glumberland. It was released via early access on July 15, 2020, for Windows and Xbox One. The game launched on September 1, 2022, for Nintendo Switch, Windows, and Xbox One.
Slay the Spire is a roguelike deck-building game developed by the American indie studio Mega Crit and published by Humble Bundle. The game was released in early access for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux in late 2017, with an official release in January 2019. It was released for PlayStation 4 in May 2019, for Nintendo Switch in June 2019 and for Xbox One in August 2019. An iOS version was released in June 2020, with an Android version released in February 2021.
My Time at Portia is a 2019 farm sim game developed by Chinese studio Pathea Games and published by Team17. It has some similarities to other farm sims like Stardew Valley.
A roguelike deck-building game is a hybrid genre of video games that combines the nature of deck-building card games with procedural-generated randomness from roguelike games.
The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming computer developed by Valve and released on February 25, 2022. The device uses Valve's Linux distribution SteamOS, which incorporates the namesake Steam storefront. SteamOS uses Valve's Proton compatibility layer, allowing users to run Windows applications and games. In addition to handheld use, the Steam Deck can be connected to a Television or monitor through a docking station and be used like a desktop computer or home video game console. In desktop mode, users can install third-party applications for Linux.
Company of Heroes 3 is a real-time strategy game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sega for Windows. A sequel to Company of Heroes 2, the game features new mechanics and modes and is set in the Italian and North African theaters of World War II.
Disney Dreamlight Valley is a 2023 life simulation adventure game developed by Gameloft Montreal and published by Gameloft. The game has players tend to a magical valley populated by various Disney and Pixar characters who previously underwent a curse that caused them to lose their memories of their lives in the valley.
Core Keeper is a survival sandbox game developed by Pugstorm. Currently in early access, the game features mechanics similar to other games in the sandbox genre such as Minecraft, Terraria and Stardew Valley, including mining, crafting, farming and exploration in a procedurally generated underground world. It was released to Steam in early access on 8 March 2022 and received praise for its game mechanics, art style, tone, atmosphere and ease of access to multiplayer modes. The game is set to release on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4 on 27 August 2024.
APICO is a 2022 beekeeping simulation video game developed by TNgineers and published by Whitethorn Games. It was released on 20 May 2022 to coincide with World Bee Day.
Kingdoms and Castles is a city-building video game developed by Lion Shield and released on July 20, 2017, for Linux, macOS, and Windows. In the game, players build and expand a medieval town while defending it from dragons and vikings. The game received mixed to average reviews on release.
Little Witch in the Woods is an upcoming indie life simulation video game developed and published by South Korean studio Sunny Side Up. It launched in early access in mid-2022 for Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. The game follows Ellie, an apprentice witch who lives in a forest, wears a talking witch hat named Virgil, and is able to fish and brew potions. She must complete her training by helping nearby villagers and meeting other witches.
Roots of Pacha is a 2023 farm life sim indie video game set in the Stone Age developed and published by Soda Den, funded as a Kickstarter campaign. It allows up to four players to play online together.
Farm life sims are a subgenre of life simulation games which fuse social simulation, dating sim and farm simulation elements. The games generally feature a protagonist going out to a rural setting and taking upon a farm, oftentimes because of an inheritance from a deceased relative, or because of urban boredom. The player-character grows crops and raises livestock to make money, and can interact with a wide cast of characters who are inhabitants of the town, and work toward the main plot's objective, if one exists. The game plots often featured dying ghost towns that must be revitalized by the player's actions. The games tend to feature simplified and less realistic farming as opposed to a simulation, such as Farming Simulator.
Brotato is a 2023 top-down arena shooter roguelite video game created by French independent developer Thomas Gervraud under the studio name Blobfish. It was first released via Steam early access in 2022, during which it sold over one million copies. Brotato received positive reviews from critics and players, and it was later ported to multiple platforms.
Everdream Valley is a 2023 simulation video game developed by Polish studio Mooneaters and published by Untold Tales.
My Time at Sandrock is a 2023 farm life sim developed by Pathea Games and published by PM Studios and Focus Entertainment. It is the sequel of My Time at Portia.
Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story is a role-playing video game and farm life sim developed by Lithuania-based studio Lazy Bear Games and published by Riot Forge. It was released on February 21, 2024, for Windows and Nintendo Switch. The game, a spin-off of League of Legends, is set in Bandle City, the home of the fictional fairy-like Yordle race, in the fictional universe of Runeterra. The player character is a custom-created Yordle who befriends characters from League of Legends as they seek to fix a malfunction causing the portals connecting each sky island of Bandle City to break. As the player progresses through the game, new parts of the city are unlocked. The game received positive reviews from critics, who praised its graphics and atmosphere, but criticized the gameplay as overly repetitive.