Those who have backed Coral Island on Kickstarter for a hopeful Nintendo Switch version can now ask the developer Stairway Games for a Steam code instead. This comes after its publisher Humble Games' recently revealed restructuring and reportedly laid off all of its staff, leaving Coral Island's console versions in a "place of uncertainty."

Stairway Games sent out an open letter on X/Twitter and Kickstarter to everyone?? affected, claiming that the developer isn't in c?ontrol of the console ports, Humble Games is. It has also said there have "been frustrations regarding the lack of a Nintendo Switch port."

When discussing the unreleased Coral Island Switch port, Stairway said, "Over the years, there's a lot we've wanted to say in the spirit of transparency, about many different things, but c??ontinue to be unable to do so because of the publishing agreement and NDA we have in place."

For those who have waited a long time for the now uncertain Nintendo Switch port for Coral Island, the develo??per has taken measures into its own hands and is ??offering Kickstarter backers a PC Steam code in exchange for the Nintendo Switch version they've opted for. If you're one of these people, you'll have to email contact@stairwaygames.com.

Stairway Games is having some trouble with console updates

Stairway Games is also trying to push new updates, but says it can't get control of its console backends. "We have an upcoming hotfix for the 1.1 update nearing release for Steam," wrote Stairway Games. "We have no idea how to get this update out to ot?her platform players as we don't have the backend permission on console platforms to push updates out." They can only handle the Steam ??backend at this point in time. Hopefully, that changes soon.

"We've been in communication with our lawyer since we ??found out about the restructuring on social media to figure out how to navigate this new situation," exp??lained the developer.

Coral Island is a great game to play if you're looking for a Stardew Valley alternative. Unfortunately, it seems hindered by its current situation, and a Coral Island Switch port seems impossible now.

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I'm an efficiency monster. Min-maxing, goal-setting, and achievements �they’re all part of my milestone-driven playstyle in most games. My ?quest for powerful builds or ideal stats often adds a layer of challenge that games don’t demand, but I rarely deviate?? from the strategy. Coral Island makes optimization impossible though, and I think I love it.

Starting out

The only things I really knew about Coral Island were ?that it involved farming and had extensive romance options. I went in with a few specific goals: romance a certain villager, create a profitable farm, and beat the game. Get in, get out.

Right off the bat, I realized my to-do list wouldn’t be so easy. I needed to speak to the carpenter, but their store was closed for the night. Okay. I tried to visit the general store instead. Nope, it’s also closed for the night and closed on Wednesdays. Who closes their s??tore on a Wednesday? So, I decided to return home and get some farm work done instead.

I opened up my map, looking for a way to fast travel to my farm from the town. Failing to find anything resembling fast travel, I looked online to see if I was just missing it. As it turns out, the feature unlocks by p??erform?ing specific tasks that activate waypoints. For the time being, I would be hoofing it. I trudged home and went to bed.

The next day, I resolved to meet as many villagers as possible to find the one I was looking for. In Coral Island, villagers you haven’t met yet are marked on your map as question mark icons. I found myself chasing down each question mark icon, periodically op??ening my map ??to see where a villager had gone when I failed to find them. There were dozens of them, and they appeared to wander quite a bit. I hadn’t even unlocked any waypoints yet, so there was no easy way to catch up with someone I wanted to meet.

At this point, I turned off the game in frustration. It felt like Coral Island was actively preventin?g me from making? progress, directly in conflict with the part of me eager to set my own frantic pace.

“It’s just farming.�/h2>

I turned to one of my friends, who has been playing Coral Island since its alpha stages. He was surprised when I described how frustrated I was, as the exact things that made my experience so unpleasant were the things he enjoyed the most. The stores closed at (mostly) reasonable hours, mimicking realistic business hours. The NPCs moved around an??d led lives of their own, like actual people. He didn’t mind walking around and exploring the world before unlocking fast travel??.

Most importantly, he assured me there was no time limit to any objective in Coral Island. It didn’t matter if it took a few more days to introduce myself to everyone. It didn’t matter if the crops I ??chose to grow weren’t optimal for ??profits. “It’s just farming,�he said, “Relax.�nbsp;

Relax? I’ve got romance brewing, crops to grow, a village to please �how do I relax?

When I booted up Coral Island again, I forced myself to ignore the main mission objectives. I watered my plants, then walked al??l the way to town to chat up my neighbors. Moving along to the beach, I gathered up some trash and then started the trek home. I tried to walk to town again, but got distracted by insects and ended my day by picking flowers. I failed to progress my main objectives, and I had yet to find the villager I was looking for.

Yet, strangely, I didn’t feel stressed about it. It turns out that when you embrace the idyllic lifestyle of Coral Island, the ?game is…actually pretty relaxing. I still wish there was one automatically unlocked waypoint in the town for easy fast travel, but I didn’t mind walking when there was so much to collect along the way. I’m spending more time on my farm, just clearing the junk out of my plot of land. Sometimes, I chat with NPCs just to see what they have to say. And maybe one day, I’ll progress the story and find the love of my life, but that can wait.

Learning to relax

I don’t think Coral Island was created for people like me, who derive satisfaction from efficiency. But I’ve learned to appreciate the peaceful sim for forcing me to take a step back. Maybe things don’t always need to be optimized to be fun. Now that I have no goals, I’m free to do whateve??r I want in whatever time frame I want. It’ll be hard for me to give up my min-maxing habits anytime soon, but it turns out serenity can be nice, too.

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Stairway Games and Humble Games have launched their crowdfunded life/farm sim, Coral Island, out of Early Access and into full release. It’s currently av?ailable on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, with a Switch versi??on coming later.

Looking at Coral Island, I mostly just see a tropical Stardew Valley. Not that that’s entirely a bad thing. Stardew Valley itself was essentially just a Harvest Moon done better. What matters here is that there are 25 damned singles in this game to romance. Now, if you’re like me, you have one question on your mind now?. That mermaid princess. Can you romance her?

According to my research, not right now, but maybe later. So, you ??may want to hold off if your singular feature of attraction is h?alf-fish. Still, that’s a pretty large pool of marriage candidates.

Coral Island was released into early access last year following a successful Kickstarter campaign. In that time, it has already racked up some ?acclaim for its take on the farm ??sim genre. Beyond building your farm, you can also spelunk some caverns, help restore a coral reef, or take part in community events.

Sounds like a fun time. I was thinking of starting a new game of Stardew Valley, but I ?will probably give this one a try instead.

Hold on, can you romance the m????????????????????????????erguy? Damn, that’s not coming until later, either.

Coral Island is available now for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5. It will be coming to Switch a?t?? a later date.

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Also slated for Steam

We're seeing a resurgence of farming sims, as indie developers chase the success of Stardew Valley and extend the life of the genre beyond Story of Seasons.

Littlewood recently came out on Switch, and now, we have confirmation of another farming-centric adventure coming to the same system: Coral Island. The team recently smashed all of their Kickstarter goals and snagged a cool? $1.6 million in funding, and are aiming for a late 2022 release, with a 2021 Early Access build target.

The gist, according to developer Stairway Games, is to "reimagine" the farming sim genre, but also take notes from the classics. You'll be able to "grow crops, nurture animals, and befriend the islanders" while staving off a greedy company (like Stardew). The inaugural trailer also gives us hints of how farming will work, including the Stardew-esque sprinkler system layout.

There will be 16 romanceable characters (a child mechanic is teased), as well as 16 townsfolk, and the ability to build your own far??m, tending to seasonal crops. The "adventure" conceit comes in via diving, which you'll do to save the town and clean up the ocean, and there's a twist with support for skill trees as well.

You can find the full tentative schedule below!

Coral Island [Kickstarter]

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