If you love farming RPGs, a brand-new game is on the horizon: Stairway Games has announced Coral Island, a project coming to Kickstarter that aims to build on the formula of games like Stardew Valley.
Coral Island aims to "[keep] intact what makes classic farm sim games fun" while also modernizing some elements, adding an environmentalism element, and making the game more inclusive. It's not out quite yet — the developers have yet to launch its Kickstarter campaign — but it does bring some intriguing ideas to the table.
How Coral Island Stands Out as a Farming RPG
On its face, Coral Island does a lot of things already done by other games in the genre — especially when it's competing against games like Stardew Valley and My Time at Portia. Here's a quick summary of some of the content you can expect:
- Build and customize your farm, including the exterior and interior of your house
- 16 romantic options
- Dive into caverns to mine and fight monsters
- Customize your character
- Build community improvements for the town such as a Community Garden or Recycling Center
- Play at your own pace
Graphics aside, a game like this needs to stand out with some unique features, improvements, or changes. Coral Island does just that in several ways, one of which is a diverse set of 40 NPCs living on the island.
The biggest new addition, however, is what looks like a pretty robust diving mechanic. You can dive underwater to clean up trash while also collecting materials for use in farming. You might even meet a mermaid or any number of other fantastical friends!
Environmentalism appears to be a pretty big focus — note again the ability to build a recycling center for the town. What's most important, however, is that the game's announcement trailer shows something that could very well be a pretty respectable Farming RPG.
When Does the Coral Island Kickstarter Launch?
The Coral Island Kickstarter will be launching on Monday, February 1, 2021; you can follow the campaign to get notified about its launch. Stairway Games hasn't yet announced a price point or what the ultimate goal of its campaign will be.
In the meantime, why not add Coral Island to your wishlist on Steam? You'll be able to play the game in Steam Early Access sometime in Q4 2021.
