originally played this on pc, but picked up a copy on the switch - only needed some remapping and it feels quite comfy to pick up and do a run.

not my fave supergiant - i think that might still be transistor but i'd have to replay it to confirm - nor is it my favourite roguelite, but it is nice to play for an hour or so and wind down after a long day.

because of that i'm not the type of person who feels compelled enough to want to 100% complete this game though. i don't even think i've done a full 10 clears either; i looked up the rest of the story to find out what happened and i'm happy enough with what i've invested into it but i am not overly obsessed with it like most people i know.

i'm interested in giving hades ii a chance but i hope the level variation, boon variety and combat is enough to distinguish it from this one. i'd have loved more secret bosses rather than variations on the same ones because this one feels a lot more limited than others.

i've really enjoyed playing this for the past month - with how busy and stressful holiday season is, coral island provided the ideal escape from that, with minimal commitment to the game.

i just reached winter year one and i'll wind down from it for a while so i don't burn out on it whilst i wait for future updates.

i definitely feel like they should have been allowed to delay 1.0 release until more features were unlocked and perhaps less glitches. i've been lucky to have only experienced one minor glitch where i had to use the stuck button, other than that it's been quite smooth for me but if you're interested in picking it up i'd suggest looking on reddit or discord for bugs people have brought attention to.

i also know that saving by going to bed at the end of a day is a common thing in these sorts of games, however i so desperately wish you could just manually save - i would hate to lose progress to a crash and start over, or simply be able to quit what i'm doing and come back later. i prefer accessibility over design choices in those cases.

coral island will be a hard sell for anyone that doesn't like the slower paced farming/lifestyle sim grinds ie harvest moon, stardew, animal crossing come to mind. coral island doesn't deviate from those formulas so if that's not your thing, i doubt you'll find it here.

with that said - i'm one of those people who really get invested in these sorts of games when i'm busy. it's nice to put an hour into this game each day. love the character design, especially for those of us who are south east asian there's a lot in here that feels so culturally welcoming! all the characters are absurdly attractive but that's not a criticism, i love the designs.

keen to see what the future updates have in store as well!

no matter how many times i revisit the ace attorney franchise, i really do think it continues to stand the test of time for me.

this game has an absolutely incredible soundtrack - pursuit is probably one of the most iconic video game songs of all time. the characters are memorable and it has a nice balance of humour and emotional story beats! although it is rather simplistic in design, it is so fun to revisit this one. you can really see just how much the franchise improved upon all of these core elements in the later games - and is why i think the ace attorney franchise remains so beloved by many people to this day.

honestly looking back at this one, while it's not my favourite AA game, not by a longshot, it certainly makes a statement as a debut game and great entry point for casual gamers or anyone interested in trying out visual novels.

rating sitting at a 3.5/4 for me - might amend this after i finish revisiting the rest of the series.