Coral Island, Venba, and Thirsty Suitors

Play them on…
Coral Island: PS 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows (Steam Deck YMMV)
Venba: PS 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Windows (Steam Deck OK)
Thirsty Suitors: PS5, PS 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, Windows (Steam Deck OK)
Current goal: Catch up on smaller games I missed

It’s the nature of my job here at Kotaku to be consumed by one game for a long stretch of time. Games like Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur’s Gate 3 occupied much of my time this year as I wrote guides diving into all the nitty-gritty of those very dense games. Because of that, I didn’t get to play a lot of the smaller games that I used to devour before I got here.

So I’m playing catch-up before we head into GotY discussions. I’m playing Venba on my Switch, which is making me realize just how little I know about cooking, and how Doordash was probably a crutch during the pandemic when I should’ve been learning more about how to make my own food. Coral Island has already sparked an internal crisis as I try to decide which of the fine-ass men on its island I’m gonna marry. And I’m hoping to marathon Thirsty Suitors this weekend.

There are too many games out right now, and 2023 was such an overwhelming feast that a lot of smaller games fell through the cracks. I’m basically done playing big stuff for a while, and all I really care about is checking in on things I can wrap up in a weekend while checking in on all my possible husbands on Coral Island in between. — Kenneth Shepard