Exciting News: A Sequel to the Critically Acclaimed Minimalist City Builder Islanders is on the Horizon!

If you’ve ever dedicated time to placing structures in the 2019’s wonderfully tranquil minimalist city simulator Islanders, there’s a very good chance you’ve become enamored enough that a sequel may indeed pique your interest. So get ready: publisher Coatsink has unveiled Islanders: New Shores, which will launch on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC this “summer.”

To summarize, the original Islanders was a game about astutely fitting as many buildings as possible onto a small (but stunningly designed) randomly generated island – all while aiming to enhance your score by leveraging the adjacency bonuses of each structure. While that might not sound overtly exciting, its soothing ambiance and relaxed gameplay made for an entrancing experience – a management game as engaging as it was calming.

Now, let’s delve into Islanders: New Shores, a thoughtfully enhanced sequel that promises the opportunity to “explore, build, and strategize like never before.” This time, Coatsink – which acquired the franchise from original creator Grizzly Games in 2022 – has partnered with SteamWorld Build studio The Living, promoting a host of innovative features in this sequel.

To start with, New Shores introduces “boons” – one-time power-ups earned as players gather resources, used to provide an advantage during challenging levels – alongside two distinct modes of play: High Score and Sandbox, each with its own save files. Additionally, there are mentions of 44 unique building types and seven island characteristics, along with a photo mode featuring its own filters and a rotational camera. You can catch a glimpse of New Shores’ gameplay in the trailer above.

A specific release date for Islanders: New Shores has not yet been announced, but it is on the way.