Coral Island is SUPER Cosy – Review
I love a cosy game. It’s like a guilty pleasure I’m not overly quiet about.
Life is already so full of everyday expectations that finding a game that lets you really relax into it is a great thing. This time around I had the chance to play the 1.0 release of Coral Island.
I was initially intrigued by the game because of the theme of ocean conservation. We have literally hundreds of farming sims to choose from, so the best cosy games these days have to have a little something more to them than crops, romance and farm animals.
I think Coral Island delivers here, along with the usual cleaning up of your farmland, planting crops, mining, fishing and romancing (over 70 NPC’s! 28 or so are romanceable) you can also go on Ocean dives, complete a museum, and help the community on the island with various projects. So there’s something for everyone, and you can do whatever you like really.
The ocean and conservation is referenced throughout, and there is even a population of merfolk to think of, adding just that touch of magic to the game, ticking off all the boxes I need to consider it a cosy success. Some may say it’s an animated Stardew Valley, and while it does give some of the same vibes, I think that most cosy games that follow this recipe will all be compared back to Stardew, and that Coral Island does enough to stand on its own.
The game has been in early access for some time, and in the 1.0 release, there was so much added to the game, that if I listed it all here, this would seem like a news blast for patch notes. Most important is a definitive storyline to bring the town back to its former glory. Pets and tons of home decor items and customisation options also make my list.
Coral Island isn’t stopping at 1.0, with a full roadmap for 2024 available, promising more story, more people, and even multiplayer.
