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Back in the day, I was a big fan of Harvest Moon. Then, Stardew Valley came out and swept the nation! In the next iteration of farm simulation, Coral Island puts a twist on the genre with common RPG elements.
It crushed its Kickstarter goal and will be hopefully hitting the shelves in summer 2022!
If you want even more gaming news, check out our entire TAG Roundup series! The last post covered a couch co-op platformer that combines a unique set of game mechanics with a wonderful story about growth.
Coral Island – Nintendo Life
What’s not to love about living in your own virtual farm world? Raise some animals, grow some crops, and start a family with the love of your life!
Coral Island has all the elements that we’ve come to love from this style of game and more. The dating pool is large, critters are exotic, and there’s a more distinct plot than to “save your grandparent’s farm”.
There’s a hint of anti-big oil in the storyline where your goal is to protect the island from an evil drilling company. It’s a tall order, but Coral Island sets you up for success by giving you plenty of tools.
Unlike the Stardews of the world, Coral Island features a skill tree to customize your character. If you’ve ever played Mario vs Rabbids, the skill tree will look very familiar!
Additionally, you can dive to the depths of the ocean to clean up the sea beds. This element of water travel is a welcomed feature in a class of games that are typically reserved for land.
Coral Island also features some of my favorites from games that it draws inspiration from:
- Caves to explore and mine
- Fishing for all the fish
- Festivals to hang out with all the townsfolk
- Cooking like a boss
The art style of Coral Island reminds me of a cross between a Disney princess movie and one of the newer Pokemon games. You play the game in a top-down view while getting to enjoy some super calming music. Soundtrack samples are available on Soundcloud and are definitely worth a listen.
The team at Stairway Games is about 24 people strong and has been working on Coral Island since late 2019. They’re committed to the base campaign and have big ambitions for the multiplayer component post-launch.
I will point out that the cows in Coral Island look dangerously close to the ones I’ve seen in Harvest Moon games…but I guess there are only so many ways to design a cow in this art style. I’ll forgive them since the combination of 2D avatars to complement their 3D NPCs works so well.
There’s house interior design, character wardrobe changes, and magical beings to be discovered. Overall, Coral Island looks great and has the potential to grab many of the Stardew fans next year.
Check out the trailer and tell me I’m not crazy for hearing Ocarina of Time remixes in the background!
Let me know what you’re most excited about Coral Island in the comments section, below!
Honorable Mentions in Last Week’s Gaming World
- Playstation – Co-op FPS coming to PS VR to immerse you in a post-apocalyptic world
- Gamespot – Aliens: Fireteam shows off dope gameplay in a 25-minute mission
- Gamespot – Monster Hunter is getting a sequel this summer on Switch and PC
That’s All For Now
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What were some of the most interesting things you read last week? Leave us a message in the comments so we can check it out!
