This farming sim is very similar in mechanics to any Harvest Moon, and also takes from the very successful Stardew Valley (2016). It's so similar than while planting my first crops I had a hunch that I should whichever vegetable came out best for the first festival's soup: an lo and behold, it was needed. The similarities in mechanics are a positive, I think; there's no need to reinvent the wheel and stray too much from a formula that works. Games like My time at Sandrock (2023) or My time at Portia (2019) already fill that void– though, less successfully.
Where Coral Island stands out is in its graphics. The Nusantara vibe in the artwork exudes mastery in design, particularly on rainy days. Graphically, there's no better looking farming sim: it's even better than 2019 Doraemon Story of Seasons, but, of curse, esthetic opinions will always be subjective.
So the game-play is familiar and it looks good. Some gripes that I do have are about pacing, which is, I believe, the most personal of the aspects these games provide: I mean that days that last 25 minutes might be too long for some, too short for others. I have only completed one season but I already have invested 15 hours in the game, and while I wish I was further along, some might see this as a positive, and that's great. Villagers do seem to like me without much effort, and bachelors can only be gifted twice a week, which really does alleviate the burden of seduction. Personally, I'm also missing planting fruit trees. While there are some in game, It's my understanding that I first need to progress the plot a lot to get to them. I always enjoy going for trees in these games, but I'm yet to scratch that itch. Speaking of subplots, this game has them aplenty. I've been so busy doing stuff for others that I have not had much time to clear my own huge farm or to make any money. This is OK, as it is by choice, and hopefully I'll find all the time I'm investing rewarding eventually, but the grind is now seeming tedious. I'd like to play a full year of this game, but I don't know if I want to spend the 60 hours I estimate it would take me to do so.
Overall, my impressions are positive, but I do caution to only purchase at a discount– so, at about £20.
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