Coral Island

As someone who has an unhealthy obsession with Stardew Valley, this game absolutely scratches that cozy farm simulator itch. I may only have 18 hours in so far, but that's just in 3 days; it's [i]that[/i] good. Coral Island is simply fantastic, with a diverse population, beautiful music and graphics, and you can [b]see[/b] the love the developers poured into this game. Could not recommend more, and I can't wait to see what more the game has in store for me.

I'm going to give this game a recommendation even though I'm refunding it because I feel it delivers on what most people interested in this type of game are looking for, which is a more than competent 3D Stardew Valley clone. And that it is. In fact, if imitation is the best form of flattery, this game is an ass-kissing trophy winner. Base systems have been ripped directly from SV, which isn't bad per se, but a little jarring at first. Oh, the story is a blatant ripoff as well, I guess, but it's not like SV was the first game to pit you against "EVIL CORPORATIOOON". I feel that sums up the positives for me, so here are the negatives: - NPCs: What's that weird ♥♥♥♥ on Suki's stomach? Are those supposed to be stretch marks? I suppose that if I played the game long enough I would probably find out that Suki was once a much bigger girl, is self-conscious about her looks, and has jealousy issues toward her twin sister. Okay, WHATEVER the reason is, why are they proudly on display? Weird. And why the hell is my head so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ big compared to the NPCs?! - Dialogue: The dialogue in this game reminded me of a job I once had while living in Canada where I was the only person in the office that wasn't super liberal (or Canadian). Everyone was super forwardly fake-nice all the time, and they couldn't turn it off. It actually made me miss the devil-you-know ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ back in my hometown in NY. If sickeningly-sweet pretentious banality are your thing, you'll feel right at home in this game. - Graphics and Performance: The graphics overall are more than serviceable for a game like this, and I'd dare even call them pretty if not for the hazy atmosphere thing that occurs during sunny days. I think I know what they were going for, Tropical Island and all, but it borders on fog-effect and kind of ruined the sunny island vibe for me. Also, see my GIGANTIC HEAD! Performance-wise the game is rock solid. I was able to run it at 3440x1440, Epic settings, no anti-aliasing, locked at 120fps (my PC specs reflect a 7900XT connected to an AOKZOE A1X via Oculink). That's about all I can speak to with 2 hours of playtime. What can I say, this game was clearly not made by or for my generation, which is obvious from the character models and dialogue. And that's fine, even expected. As older gamers we have to learn to accept that a younger generation of developers and game production leadership aren't going to make games that appeal to our sensibilities, even if it might still be more profitable to do so. - Bottom Line: My millennial daughter and her friends would love this game because it's both a competent 3D SV-clone and appeals to their modern sensibilities. In fact, I'm so sure she'll like it I'm going to gift her and her best friend a copy. Not everything is made for me. Sad but true.