Islanders: New Shores is the follow-up to 2019’s gentlest town-builder

Coatsink has announced a sequel to Islanders, their pastelcore seaside town-arranger, which was the last game Alec Meer reviewed for RPS. Until he reviewed Kentucky Route Zero: Act V, a year or so later. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Alec had planned that deliberately to mess with me. But I’ll forgive him because the KRZ review is very good and thoughtful, and also because the first trailer for Islanders: New Shores is extremely calming. You can watch it below.

Scheduled for release in summer 2025, New Shores follows the same formula as the original game where you strategically place buildings to maximize adjacency bonuses and reach a certain score. As you progress through each stage, you unlock more elaborate buildings, each appearing in your inventory with a gentle kiss-pop effect that has become synonymous with the cozy gaming genre – a kind of Wilhelm Scream for creators of games featuring soft sunsets and friendly bunnies.

New Shores introduces new shores, offering “50 dynamic island generators for endless variety”. It also introduces new features, such as boons – “one-time power ups unlocked on each stage as you collect points, providing assistance that will be crucial as you tackle the game’s more challenging levels”. These boons may allow you to duplicate buildings in your inventory or replace ones you have already built, along with other “intriguing new twists” that can help with the new “advanced scoring systems rewarding clever tactics”.

Additionally, there is a new Sandbox mode with separate save files, “44 unique building types”, seven “stunning island properties”, and a detailed photo mode with various filters and a turntable camera setting. Streamers can take advantage of Twitch integration, allowing viewers to vote on building choices.

All in all, it seems like a great addition to the series. Although, I find it a bit odd that one of the islands shown in the trailer appears to have an active volcano. Did Islanders have volcanoes? I never came across any.