The player must first introduce themselves to local animal residents and run several errands for them, giving you an introduction to farming and the variety of things you are able to do in your new hometown. Pressing on from the tutorial, Castaway Paradise really begins to exhibit it’s resemblance to the cherished simulation titles from which it’s inspired.

A prompt remains on the bottom right-hand side of your screen throughout playing, offering a helpful reminder should you become confused with the game’s button-mapping at any point.

The tutorial is brief thanks to the simplicity of the easily accessible inventory and tool menus that are navigated with little effort via the triangle, square and “options” buttons. A tutorial segment kick-starts your adventure, guiding you through the very basics of the game. Here you are greeted by the islands’ anthropomorphic mayor and local resident, Viktoria who immediately takes you under her wing as her assistant.

Whilst sailing, a freak storm occurs, frantically stirring up the waves which wash your character upon on the sandy shores of Castaway Paradise. This Dutch indie studio have fabricated a charming life-simulation title that adopts fan favourite elements from inspirations such as Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon and attentively strings them together, forming in turn a game that will ease your cravings, at least for the time being. For those hankering for an Animal Crossing-esque fix as Nintendo continue to taunt us by not releasing the widely commended and utterly adored community simulation title on Switch, stay your shaky hands as Stolen Couch Games are here to soften the blow – enter Castaway Paradise.

Castaway paradise ps4