Coral Island

**Coral Island** is a traditional 3D farming sim game set on a tropical island, this game is created by game developer from Indonesia named Stairway Games. The game released on 14th November 2023, fully exiting Early Access stage. Coral Island was nominated during Steam Game Awards 2023 as "Sit Back and Relax" Award .

## Story

Pufferfish Drilling Corp. has nefarious plans for Coral Island. More than ever, the coral reef restoration project, along with the environment, is at risk. Having purchased the only plot of land left on the island, you start a new life. Tend to your farm, explore the island, and get to know the islanders. You’ll decide whether to help them revitalize the town or not.

## Gameplay

As a farming game, the game focused on players tending their farms and mining valuables that can be sold for a price. Player's farm can be fully customized from adding decorations to planting various kinds of plants.

### Underwater Venture

Players can head into the ocean and restore the coral reefs. Other than restore the reefs, players can build trusts between Underwater settlements.

### Cavern Combat

Players can go deep into the islands cavern to mine precious gemstones. Throughout the journey player will encounter numerous enemies that can be killed with your trusty weapons. Player's weapon can be upgraded or switch to preference style that is comfortable to use.

## Characters

There are over 50 characters in Coral Island. Players can talk with islanders to engage in building trust or relationships. Some of the characters in Coral Island can build a romance and married to player.

## Development

The development of Coral Island starts in 2020 and the game takes heavy inspiration from Harvest Moon series and Stardew Valley . The game was developed using Unreal Engine 4 however according to Co-Founder of Stairway Games Jeremiah Bramble the team lack of experience in Unreal Engine but also able to overcome the challenge by helping them to learn how to use the game engine . The helping the development of the game, Stairway Games launched kickstarter campaign and managed to reach over the fund goal. The studio also received Epic MegaGrant funding and receiving funding that they needed to develop the game . On October 11th 2022, Coral Island released on Steam as early access and received positive feedbacks from players.

## Trivia

* Many of Coral Island's theme based on South East Asia culture
* There are numerous easter eggs and reference to pop cultures and video games
	+ An "O.G Farmer Hat" can be bought which directly references to Harvest Moon protagonist
	+ Players can encounter hidden ghost in the graveyard between 5:20 PM to 11 PM .

## Official Links

* Coral Island Steam Page
* Coral Island Official Twitter
* Coral Island Official Wiki
* Stairway Games Official Twitter
* Stairway Games Official Website

## References

1. ↑ [1] The Steam Awards 2023. Created by VALVE Corporation
2. ↑ https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/developer-interviews/coral-island-inside-the-chill-farm-sim-reinventing-the-genre
3. ↑ https://www.stairwaygames.com/post/greetings-from-swag
4. ↑ https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/developer-interviews/coral-island-inside-the-chill-farm-sim-reinventing-the-genre
5. ↑ [2] TheGamer.com article "10 Things Everyone Completely Missed In Coral Island" written by Marina Silveira-Marquez