Highlights
- Coral Island, a game similar to Stardew Valley, will be released on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 14, after raising over $1.6 million on Kickstarter.
- The 1.0 version of Coral Island will include new features such as marriage and family mechanics, a new story quest, and expanded NPC interactions.
- The game will be available on the Nintendo Switch, but the release date is still unknown, and backers can request a Steam key if they prefer.
A Stardew Valley-like game called Coral Island will reach the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 14. Its console release date was announced just over a year after Coral Island launched on Xbox Game Pass and Steam in early access.
The first-ever title from indie developer Stairway Games has been in active production since late 2019. A year and a half later, Coral Island raised over $1.6 million on Kickstarter from 36,374 backers. Stairway then partnered with Humble Games—the publishing arm of Humble Bundle—in March 2022, before going on to release the preview version of its farming sim that October.
New Game Is Like Stardew Valley With 3D Graphics and Animal Crossing Style Characters
An upcoming life sim for PC and consoles looks to combine the gameplay of Stardew Valley with 3D graphics and Animal Crossing-style characters.
Coral Island is now on the verge of leaving early access, with its 1.0 version scheduled to be released on November 14. That date will also see the game launch on the current-generation PlayStation and Xbox consoles. The 1.0 version of Coral Island will retail at $29.99, a $5 increase compared to its early access period. Stairway cited the massive influx of new content as the reason for the price hike, positing that the new figure better reflects the overall quantity and quality of everything that Coral Island will have to offer from mid-November.
The 1.0 update will deepen Coral Island's extensive romance options with the introduction of marriage and family mechanics, and debut a new story quest geared toward revitalizing the town located on the game's titular island. New NPC interactions are also part of the incoming package, together with a pet adoption system, additional underwater locations, and more furnishing options, among many other novelties.
The overall gameplay loop of Coral Island should appeal to both Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing fans, as well as anyone who values diversity and inclusivity in their entertainment. The farming sim is also planned to be released for the Switch, although its port to Nintendo's hybrid console will lag behind the other platforms. Specifically, the Switch version of the game is still lacking a release date, with Stairway merely stating that it's currently aiming for a 2024 eShop launch.
Elaborating on that state of affairs, the studio explained that it simply needs more time to polish Coral Island's Switch port. Any Kickstarter backers who originally opted to buy the Switch version of the farming sim but are now running out of patience can alter their choice and request a Steam key by emailing the developer at support@stairwaygames.com and placing "Request to exchange to a Steam key" in the subject line. This option is only available until the end of October, as any such platform changes must be confirmed come November 1.
Coral Island is available now on PC and launches November 14 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. A Switch version is also in development.
Source: Stairway Games
