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Developer Seed Sparkle Lab has announced that cozy, anime-inspired life simulator Starsand Island will release on Steam and Xbox next week. Early access is set for February 11, with the full release for Nintendo Switch 2 and PS5 coming in summer 2026.
The anime-flavored life stimulator game will be set on an island paradise akin to Animal Crossing and Tomodachi Life. It’s here you craft your own settlement, befriend some capybaras, and defeat intimidating creatures as you watch the seasons pass.
As you explore the island, often on skateboards, you can meet 15 different unique NPC characters à la Stardew Valley.
As promised by the developer, “each NPC has unique personality traits and a profession that reflects their character.”
Your new paradise
All these features and the adorable anime aesthetic suggest that a fulfilling island life is waiting for us. While there are plenty of different features, the biggest draw is by far the unique NPC characters.
The Animal Crossing New Horizons Switch 2 version added plenty of new features to Nintendo’s trademark life simulator. But despite its new additions, it lacked any new villager interactions.
The adorable villagers of Animal Crossing typically have rotating dialogue that you’ll see time and time again when speaking to them. By contrast, Starsand Island seems to promise fully fleshed-out characters to interact with in its vibrant anime-inspired world.
This isn’t all, as Seed Sparkle Lab has also stated the full release will bring “multiplayer, dating, and even more ways to enjoy island life.”
While the early access build comes equipped with plenty of features as is, this suggests that there is plenty more still to arrive in the full release. Until then, we can start building our settlements and meeting the colorful cast in the early access version next week.
Speaking for myself, I can’t wait to visit Starsand Island and see if its roster of characters meets these lofty promises from Seed Sparkle Lab.
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