ISLANDERS: New Shores

About ISLANDERS: New Shores

ISLANDERS: New Shores is a single player casual city builder game. It was developed by The Station and was released on July 10, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Welcome to ISLANDERS: New Shores. Build your island retreat in a calm, minimalist world with exciting new features that keep the classic charm while inspiring fresh creativity.

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Reviews

97%Audience ScoreBased on 854 reviews

gameplay58 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Extremely relaxing and cozy city-builder with a unique blend of puzzle and strategy elements, offering a calming and meditative gameplay experience.
Significant improvements over the original Islanders game, including more variety in buildings, island types, and new mechanics such as the boon system, which add strategic depth without compromising the game's accessible nature.
Beautiful minimalist art style combined with soothing soundtrack and satisfying sound effects create an inviting aesthetic and atmosphere; the game also runs well on various platforms including Steam Deck.

The gameplay can become repetitive or stale after extended play sessions, with limited variation in island layouts and a somewhat predictable building pack system.
Some players find certain challenge modes and achievements excessively difficult, possibly alienating casual players seeking a purely relaxing experience.
Camera controls are limited, reducing visual perspective options, and certain UI elements could be improved for ease of use, such as building selection and pack management.

gameplay
180 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32% positive mentions, 66% neutral mentions, 2% negative mentions
The gameplay in this sequel builds expertly on the original's simple yet addictive city-building mechanics, introducing substantial depth with new buildings, island types, and the innovative boon system that enriches strategic choices without losing the relaxing, chill vibe. Enhanced visuals, refined scoring interactions, and expanded variety keep the gameplay engaging over extended sessions while preserving the original’s minimalist, meditative appeal. Although some find it similar to the first game, the thoughtful additions and improved mechanics create a more satisfying and versatile experience for both new and returning players.
- “The gameplay centers on placing various buildings across a series of procedurally generated islands, with each placement earning points that unlock new structures and further islands to explore. This variety ensures that the gameplay remains engaging over extended play sessions, as players continuously experiment with different building combinations and layouts to maximize their scores.”
- “There's so many new mechanics that mesh with and expand on the established gameplay loop excellently, from certain island gimmicks to single-use boons that can catapult your score far beyond what was possible in the previous game.”
- “The new devs took what was nice about the original game (relatively straightforward mechanics with room for optimization and mastery) and made it even better with some new buildings, much improved graphics, and a new boon mechanic that allows for even higher scores if used correctly.”
- “The original was good: beautiful, pleasant, clever, but it had a tension where it felt your options were often frustratingly simplistic in the face of how complex the core of the gameplay puzzle was.”
- “I wish you could leave neutral reviews as this is basically the same as the original with some minor cosmetic improvements and gameplay additions.”
- “Between the two, the sequel has a few improvements and gameplay enhancements that might appeal but also takes away the relaxing simple nature of the game.”
graphics
104 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51% positive mentions, 46% neutral mentions, 3% negative mentions
The game features a charming minimalist art style with vibrant, soothing visuals that enhance its relaxing, cozy atmosphere. Upgraded graphics introduce more building types, varied island biomes, and enhanced animations, making it visually richer than its predecessor while maintaining a clean and calming aesthetic. Overall, the gorgeous visuals paired with a tranquil soundtrack create an inviting environment that beautifully complements the strategic yet leisurely gameplay.
- “The visuals here are absolutely gorgeous, everything fits with the artstyle, and it all comes together so you can just stare at your island civilizations for hours on end.”
- “They leaned into the mechanics that made the first one strong, addressed nearly all the pain points that were present in the first one, added a bunch of fun new mechanics, new artwork, more animation that works together really well, lots of interesting biomes with drastically different color palettes.”
- “The minimalist art style is instantly recognizable, marked by clean lines and vibrant colors that create a calming visual atmosphere, while a soothing original soundtrack accompanies the experience, enhancing its meditative quality.”
- “Graphics - smoothed boxes.”
- “It works fine, despite having to play with low quality graphics.”
- “Graphics are simple but cute, the music is relaxing.”
music
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42% positive mentions, 54% neutral mentions, 4% negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its calming, soothing, and cozy qualities, featuring gentle, chill, and ambient melodies that enhance the relaxing and meditative atmosphere. While some find it repetitive or overly familiar, the soundtrack overall complements the visuals and gameplay beautifully, making it a standout aspect that many players keep on throughout their sessions. A few minor criticisms include occasional repetitiveness and a buggy music manager, but the soundtrack remains a key factor in the game's charm and immersive experience.
- “The soundtrack is absolutely perfect.”
- “Soundtrack: this game has a 10/10 soundtrack with over 90 minutes of runtime and they have additional island ambiance like bird calls or waves crashing.”
- “It's a wonderful cozy game that sports a gentle, smooth soundtrack and really satisfying sound effects that scratch the right spot in your brain to give you a nice little dopamine hit.”
- “The gameplay of the sequel involves many more choices, including which type of island you go to next, boons and which ones to select, a panoply of new buildings and mechanics (seems to me about twice as many buildings.) The music is also different, and I'm afraid to say it, but not in a good way.”
- “If there's one thing that is a slight downer it's the music... it's only a couple of tracks and some parts being standout or attention grabbing enough leads to it getting very repetitive after a while.”
- “Only major flaw is that the music manager is either buggy or just not very well executed; it will on occasion cycle tracks before the current one is done, sometimes to loop the track that was already playing.”
replayability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33% positive mentions, 42% neutral mentions, 25% negative mentions
The game offers high and nearly limitless replayability through its randomly generated islands, varied challenges, and added features like boons and biomes that deepen strategic options without overwhelming players. While not a radical departure from its predecessor, it expands on the original's strengths with new game modes and progression rewards, making it a rewarding and engaging experience for both casual and dedicated players.
- “Its replay value is limitless as every island is a new one to explore with challenges on its own that make you think differently about every city and structure you place.”
- “Makes you concentrate and relax at the same time, high replay value like the first part but with extra depth (boons) that is giving you more options but not a headache.”
- “Lovely game, played the original for years as stress relief, and the new additions of biomes and boons only increase the replayability and enjoyment.”
- “There have also been requests for additional game modes and an even broader variety of building types to extend replayability and creative possibilities.”
- “The addition of specific challenges and in-game progression rewards, though, are the greatest additions, because they can really extend the replay value, something that was very lacking in islanders.”
- “If you're expecting a radical departure from the original, you'll be disappointed, but if you're looking for a budget cozy game with lots of replay value, this is definitely worth it.”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40% positive mentions, 30% neutral mentions, 30% negative mentions
The game is praised for its significantly improved optimization, running smoothly even with numerous structures and delivering better performance than the original. It maintains a balance between cozy gameplay and a challenging optimization experience, with great performance across platforms like the Steam Deck. However, some note the lack of flow optimization or dynamic environmental interactions.
- “I didn't experience any performance issues even when placing numerous structures, so props to the devs for making this run smoothly.”
- “New shores is simply the best version of that game, adding significantly more variety in a much better optimized package.”
- “There is no flow optimization nor dynamic interaction from the environment.”
- “And aside from all that, the game looks so much better than the original, while somehow also being more optimized.”
- “New shores manages to improve every single aspect of the game - the models, the soundtrack, the performance, everything is so much better.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60% positive mentions, 40% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game features a charming and calming atmosphere, enhanced by cute, minimalist visuals and a soothing soundtrack that create a meditative experience. Its varied island biomes, vibrant colors, and engaging building interactions add depth and continual interest, making the world feel lively and inviting. Overall, the atmosphere is both relaxing and richly immersive, significantly improving upon the original.
- “Cute and atmospheric visuals continue, with more of everything - building types, their looks ('skins') that you unlock through progression, more island types with their own quaint biomes; more mechanics, way more interactions between buildings.”
- “There's more variety in the islands and the atmosphere, and I love to imagine things about my islands based on what I'm building.”
- “The minimalist art style is instantly recognizable, marked by clean lines and vibrant colors that create a calming visual atmosphere, while a soothing original soundtrack accompanies the experience, enhancing its meditative quality.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67% positive mentions, -34% neutral mentions, 67% negative mentions
The story is simple and could benefit from more depth or varied objectives to prevent monotony. While the whimsical, storybook-like visuals add charm, the gameplay lacks engaging narrative elements or meaningful quests to enhance the overall experience.
- “I do wish Islanders would make it easier to choose the shape of buildings and stuff for more aesthetic value, or maybe add some more specific objectives or optional quest style objectives as it gets a bit recycled and monotonous.”
- “The visuals have a storybook-esque, whimsical quality to them, after all.”
- “A simple storyline could really push this over the top.”
- “I do wish the game would make it easier to choose the shape of buildings for more aesthetic value, or maybe add some more specific or optional quest-style objectives, as it gets a bit recycled and monotonous.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
Grinding in the game is often seen as tedious due to cramped island spaces requiring precise placement, and some resource packs feel unusable or inefficient depending on the island's environment. However, the overall slow pace allows for a peaceful building experience, appealing to players seeking a more relaxed, cozy gameplay.
- “Islands are often too cramped, forcing pixel-perfect fits that feel tedious, not chill.”
- “Don’t surface packs that are point-penalized or unusable on the current island (e.g., farming/hops/sand on winter).”
- “It's a very cool game (kinda slow), I have a very peaceful time building especially when I want to get away from farming and more mainstream cozy games.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game's humor is light and playful, often involving amusing numerical or incremental aspects that add a fun, entertaining element.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
The game's stability is generally solid, but the music manager has notable bugs, occasionally skipping tracks prematurely or looping the same track repeatedly, which affects the audio experience.

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Critic Reviews

80%Critics’ scoreBased on 7 critic reviews

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Play Times

38h Median play time

71h Average play time

24-95h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 7 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

ISLANDERS: New Shores is a casual city builder game. Common tags for ISLANDERS: New Shores include turn-based, indie, score attack, colony sim, cozy and others.

ISLANDERS: New Shores is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 71 hours playing ISLANDERS: New Shores.

ISLANDERS: New Shores was released on July 10, 2025.

ISLANDERS: New Shores was developed by The Station.

ISLANDERS: New Shores has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked ISLANDERS: New Shores for its gameplay but disliked it for its story.

ISLANDERS: New Shores is a single player game.

Similar games include ISLANDERS, Dorfromantik, Pan'orama, Reus 2, Preserve and others.

ISLANDERS: New Shores

Platforms

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Reviews

gameplay

graphics

music

replayability

optimization

atmosphere

story

grinding

humor

stability

Critic Reviews