An emotional and tragic backstory retelling inCoral Islandwas dampened a bit by the player’s choice of attire. The cozy game is a farming simulator with an island-living focus, featuring a beachy twist on the indie life sim genre. Like many other games of the same type,Coral Islandoffers players a choice of several romance candidates, each with their own personality and background. The closer players get to the characters, the more they find out about their personalities and histories.
Reddit userSmotherTheresagot to see a touching moment with the island’s doctor character, Yuri. However,the serious experience took an accidental comedic turnwhen the Redditor’s outfit didn’t match up with the serious mood of the situation. As Yuri bares her soul to the player by sharing a tragic moment from her childhood, the player looks completely out of placedressed in a head-to-toe goofy shark mascot onesie.
Touching Coral Island Moment Wasn’t Meant To Be Funny
Player Turns Somber Scene Into A Silly One
TheCoral Islandscene depicts the geen-haired love interest, Yuri, telling the player about a tragic moment in her past. (Beware spoilers ahead for one of Yuri’s heart events!) The character’s dialogue line reads, “When I was about 6 or 7 years old, my cousin died in my hands.” It’sa moment that’s meant to be raw and vulnerable, an atmosphere that’s ruined somewhat by the player’s derpy shark ‘fit.
Coral Island Roadmap: New Romances, Festivals, & Multiplayer
Despite being fully released, Coral Island developers have a full schedule of massive updates coming to the game in 2024, including mermaid romance.
FellowCoral Islandfans note in the comments that theythink the moment is hilarious but admit that they feel terrible for laughing at it. Reddit useraw_coffee_notells the original poster, “Thanks, the year just started and I already feel like a horrible person for laughing at this.” RedditorIroniconundrumhas a different take on the situation, joking that “she didn’t match your energy, that’s on her.”
Coral Island Moment Shows The Effect That Player Choice Can Have On Storytelling
Players Can Choose How They Engage With Cozy Games
The heartfelt moment inCoral Islandwith Yuri was probably never meant to be funny, but the fact that it ended up that way shows how muchcozy games are shaped by their players. This scene shows how the choices that players make can affect the way the game plays out,turning even pre-scripted scenes into unique experiencesfor everyone who sees them. In a way, this is part of the charm of cozy games likeCoral Island, where players can choose how they engage with the game’s mechanics and story.
Coral Islandisoften compared toStardew Valley, where players also sometimes makesilly clothing choices in pivotal momentslike marriage. But many cozy life sims, in general, walk the fine line between letting players engage in shenanigans and chaos, and guiding the game forward in an engaging way. The silly shark costume confessional in thisCoral Islandmoment is testament to why many players are drawn to these types of games, which can pull on our heartstrings and make us laugh, sometimes at the same time.
