Due to some personal projects, returning to Coral Island has taken me a little longer than most. I did not have time to throw myself into gaming until about a week after v1.0 launched. I want to preface this article by saying I am still in the summer of year one. Therefore, my experience may not align with others. Additionally, two things can be true: I can have a ball in my save, whereas someone else may be frustrated with the content. All in all, let’s get into it and see what Coral Island v1.0 has to offer.
Coral Island Game Content v1.0
When I found Coral Island on Kickstarter, I immediately backed the Alpha Farmer Pack. So, I have been playing off and on since the alpha and have seen much change over the early access period. From the beginning, this game was ambitious. Players have the typical farming sim experience with farming, ranching, mining, and fishing. However, the addition of diving, Merfolk, Giants, and the evil corporation Pufferfish Drilling Corp makes this game one of the largest farming sims I have ever seen. Below, I have shared what Stairway Games anticipated in v1.0 as of October 17th.
Coral Island v1.0 Content
- Storyline to revamp the town.
- Dynamic dialogue and heart events with NPCs.
- Marriage and starting a family.
- Bathing suits for select NPCs.
- Customization options for the house’s exterior.
- 200+ décor options.
- 200+ clothing options.
- Pet adoption.
- Eight festivals with mini-games.
- Access to all diving depths.
- Access to all mining gates.
- The ability to have a mythic pet.
- Exploration of the Merfolk Kingdom and meeting Merfolk NPCs.
- New Game Plus for early access players.
- Allowed players to keep the money they made in previous saves.
Unrest in the Community
I have heard similar feelings regarding v1.0 in the farming and cozy sim circles. Players feel the game was not ready for v1.0 release, especially on consoles. Luckily, the devs are working on fixing bugs and issues on consoles, which are in the release process at the time of writing. Unfortunately, this information only appears to be available on their Discord. I looked at both the Stairway Games and Coral Island X pages and did not see information regarding fixes.
Additionally, players further in the main quest than I have explained that the game is not currently finishable. The main quest requires a location that has yet to be implemented. Overall, I can understand the criticisms shared throughout the community. Especially for those who purchased this title without playing early access.
My Thoughts on Coral Island v1.0
As I have previously stated, I am not deep into the game yet. I have been focusing on farming, mining, and early game diving. Therefore, my opinion may not hold as much weight. However, I am having a good time with this title. Most of the anticipated v1.0 content is there, but I would argue against dynamic NPC dialogue and the storyline to revamp the town. Anytime I talk to my beloved Pablo, all I hear about is karaoke. It feels like typical NPC talk, one or two lines of dialogue you hurridly click through. However, this does not feel dynamic to me. It is also a bummer that you cannot buy anything from the taco truck, considering plenty of recipes and ingredients could be used there.
In conclusion, Coral Island v1.0 is a different game than early access. It has the elements I look for in a farming sim and bring me joy. I am having fun making spreadsheets to fulfill offerings for the goddess and planting different crops. However, it does not feel like a polished official-release game.
Odds & Ends
I have previously talked about Coral Island during the Kickstarter and the beginning of early access. If you want another farming sim to get excited about, I recommend Cornucopia. In the end, even if the original v1.0 release feels like a flop, I look forward to seeing how it develops over time.
