<s>
Islanders	B-Application
(	O
stylized	O
in	O
all	O
uppercase	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
casual	O
city-building	B-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
German	O
indie	O
game	O
studio	O
Grizzly	O
Games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
initially	O
released	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
on	O
4	O
April	O
2019	O
,	O
and	O
support	O
for	O
macOS	B-Application
and	O
Linux	B-Application
was	O
added	O
in	O
June	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
version	O
for	O
consoles	O
,	O
titled	O
Islanders	B-Application
:	O
Console	O
Edition	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
on	O
11	O
August	O
2021	O
and	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
on	O
26	O
August	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
console	O
version	O
was	O
published	O
by	O
Coatsink	O
,	O
who	O
announced	O
on	O
23	O
May	O
2022	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
acquired	O
Islanders	B-Application
from	O
Grizzly	O
Games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Islanders	B-Application
,	O
players	O
earn	O
points	O
by	O
strategically	O
placing	O
buildings	O
from	O
their	O
inventory	O
onto	O
a	O
procedurally	O
generated	O
island	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Islanders	B-Application
was	O
developed	O
over	O
seven	O
months	O
while	O
the	O
members	O
of	O
Grizzly	O
Games	O
were	O
completing	O
degrees	O
in	O
video	O
game	O
design	O
at	O
HTW	O
Berlin	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
developers	O
were	O
inspired	O
by	O
a	O
mutual	O
love	O
of	O
city-building	B-Application
games	I-Application
,	O
and	O
chose	O
to	O
embrace	O
simplicity	O
in	O
designing	O
Islanders	B-Application
because	O
of	O
the	O
limitations	O
of	O
working	O
with	O
a	O
small	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critical	O
reception	O
of	O
Islanders	B-Application
was	O
generally	O
positive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2019	O
,	O
Islanders	B-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
top	O
twenty	O
best-selling	O
games	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
intentionally	O
omits	O
many	O
features	O
common	O
to	O
city-builders	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
resource	O
accumulation	O
,	O
traffic	O
management	O
,	O
and	O
technology	O
research	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
their	O
third	O
year	O
,	O
Tyroller	O
joined	O
Grizzly	O
Games	O
and	O
development	O
began	O
on	O
Islanders	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
of	O
Islanders	B-Application
began	O
with	O
a	O
three-week	O
process	O
of	O
researching	O
,	O
prototyping	O
,	O
and	O
refining	O
several	O
concepts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
team	O
was	O
inspired	O
by	O
their	O
mutual	O
childhood	O
interest	O
in	O
city-building	B-Application
games	I-Application
like	O
Anno	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Settlers	I-Application
,	O
and	O
SimCity	B-Application
,	O
which	O
they	O
enjoyed	O
but	O
found	O
complicated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Seeking	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
streamlined	O
experience	O
focused	O
solely	O
on	O
building	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
decided	O
to	O
move	O
forward	O
with	O
the	O
concept	O
that	O
became	O
Islanders	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Schnepf	O
compared	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
building	O
a	O
city	O
in	O
Islanders	B-Application
to	O
be	O
"	O
just	O
like	O
growing	O
a	O
garden.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
found	O
that	O
having	O
new	O
levels	O
each	O
time	O
they	O
played	O
kept	O
their	O
experience	O
entertaining	O
without	O
extending	O
development	O
time	O
,	O
so	O
they	O
decided	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
process	O
for	O
Islanders	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
,	O
which	O
uses	O
the	O
Unity	B-Application
3D	I-Application
engine	O
,	O
was	O
initially	O
released	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
on	O
4	O
April	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
updates	O
added	O
new	O
island	O
types	O
and	O
new	O
buildings	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
seaweed	O
farms	O
and	O
monuments	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
new	O
gameplay	O
features	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
photo	O
mode	O
that	O
removes	O
the	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
elements	O
to	O
allow	O
for	O
uncluttered	O
screenshots	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
final	O
major	O
update	O
was	O
made	O
in	O
June	O
2019	O
,	O
adding	O
support	O
for	O
macOS	B-Application
and	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
a	O
sandbox	O
mode	O
which	O
removes	O
the	O
scoring	O
mechanic	O
and	O
provides	O
the	O
players	O
with	O
an	O
unlimited	O
selection	O
of	O
buildings	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
undo	B-Application
button	O
to	O
allow	O
players	O
in	O
original	O
game	O
mode	O
to	O
remove	O
the	O
last	O
building	O
placed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Islanders	B-Application
:	O
Console	O
Edition	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Grizzly	O
Games	O
in	O
collaboration	O
with	O
Coatsink	O
and	O
released	O
in	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
version	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
11	O
August	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Versions	O
for	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
were	O
released	O
on	O
26	O
August	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Backward	B-General_Concept
compatibility	I-General_Concept
allowed	O
those	O
versions	O
to	O
be	O
played	O
on	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
5	I-Device
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
Series	I-Device
X	I-Device
and	I-Device
Series	I-Device
S	I-Device
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
23	O
May	O
2022	O
,	O
Coatsink	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
acquired	O
Islanders	B-Application
from	O
Grizzly	O
Games	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
eye	O
towards	O
creating	O
downloadable	B-Protocol
content	I-Protocol
,	O
releasing	O
versions	O
for	O
additional	O
platforms	O
,	O
and	O
possibly	O
developing	O
a	O
sequel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critical	O
reception	O
of	O
Islanders	B-Application
was	O
largely	O
positive	O
;	O
it	O
received	O
an	O
aggregate	O
score	O
of	O
82/100	O
on	O
Metacritic	O
,	O
which	O
uses	O
a	O
weighted	O
average	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
commercially	O
successful	O
as	O
well	O
:	O
in	O
April	O
2019	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
top	O
twenty	O
highest-selling	O
new	O
releases	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
his	O
full	O
review	O
,	O
Luke	O
Plunkett	O
called	O
Islanders	B-Application
"	O
pure	O
city-building	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
reviewers	O
found	O
that	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
strategically	O
placing	O
buildings	O
reminded	O
them	O
of	O
carefully	O
directing	O
falling	O
blocks	O
in	O
the	O
puzzle	O
game	O
Tetris	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewing	O
the	O
console	O
version	O
in	O
2021	O
for	O
Nintendo	O
Life	O
,	O
Roland	O
Ingram	O
wrote	O
"	O
Islanders	B-Application
is	O
an	O
elucidation	O
of	O
how	O
games	O
build	O
meaning	O
from	O
abstract	O
systems.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Ryan	O
Young	O
of	O
The	O
Indie	O
Games	O
Website	O
discussed	O
Islanders	B-Application
in	O
relation	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
lusory	O
attitude	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
psychological	O
state	O
of	O
willingness	O
to	O
play	O
and	O
abide	O
by	O
a	O
game	O
's	O
arbitrary	O
rules	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
reviewer	O
from	O
Edge	O
magazine	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
can	O
be	O
"	O
a	O
little	O
persnickety	O
about	O
placement	O
"	O
of	O
buildings	O
,	O
and	O
Alessandro	O
Barbosa	O
of	O
Critical	O
Hit	O
disliked	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
an	O
undo	B-Application
button	O
at	O
launch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
reviewers	O
found	O
it	O
frustrating	O
to	O
start	O
again	O
on	O
the	O
earlier	O
,	O
simpler	O
islands	O
after	O
a	O
game	B-Application
over	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Response	O
to	O
Islanders	B-Application
:	O
Console	O
Edition	O
was	O
also	O
positive	O
;	O
the	O
Switch	O
version	O
received	O
an	O
aggregate	O
score	O
of	O
76/100	O
on	O
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
generally	O
found	O
that	O
the	O
relaxed	O
gameplay	O
and	O
low-poly	O
graphics	O
translated	O
well	O
to	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
in	O
both	O
docked	O
and	O
handheld	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
many	O
found	O
the	O
controls	O
did	O
not	O
translate	O
well	O
to	O
game	B-Device
controllers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
critics	O
have	O
drawn	O
comparisons	O
between	O
Islanders	B-Application
and	O
later	O
minimalist	O
building	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
console	O
release	O
of	O
Islanders	B-Application
,	O
many	O
compared	O
it	O
to	O
Dorfromantik	B-Application
,	O
a	O
tile-based	O
city-building	B-Application
game	I-Application
released	O
in	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
reviews	O
for	O
Townscaper	B-Application
,	O
a	O
low	O
poly	O
city-builder	B-Application
released	O
in	O
2021	O
,	O
explicitly	O
compared	O
it	O
to	O
Islanders	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Writing	O
in	O
2022	O
,	O
Geoffrey	O
Bunting	O
of	O
Eurogamer	O
linked	O
the	O
rising	O
popularity	O
of	O
games	O
like	O
Islanders	B-Application
with	O
the	O
COVID-19	O
pandemic	O
.	O
</s>
