Direct answer
Romance in Starsand Island runs through a five-heart Affection system with gifting, photos, room visits, requests, and moving in together; the collected guides list 15 named romance candidates, though the total differs by source.
Direct answer
Romance in Starsand Island works through a five-heart Affection system. Raising affection is done with daily conversation, gifts, bulletin board requests, returning lost items, and quests, and each heart level unlocks a new interaction: Gifting, a group photo, a room visit, posting Requests, and finally Move In. Romanceable NPCs are marked with a Bond label in the relationships page, and any gender can romance any candidate.
The candidate total differs by source: Eurogamer and screenhype list 15 romanceable NPCs, vg247 reports that Seed Sparkle Lab confirmed 16 (eight women and eight men, with one bachelor not yet seen), and one Switch 2 review says 14. Because sources disagree, this page lists the named candidates rather than asserting a single total.
How affection works
Conversation gives about +5 points daily, bulletin board requests give 15-30 depending on difficulty, returning lost items gives +20, and quests, especially profession certification quests for mentor characters, can give up to +50. Gifts give +15 for a loved item and +10 for a liked item; disliked or hated gifts give no points, though one Eurogamer article warns they may have the opposite effect. Exact values vary slightly between guides, and some sources add a neutral-gift value, so specific point figures are Pending confirmation.
Heart levels require cumulative points: roughly 90 for level 1 (Gifting), 220 for level 2 (group photo), 370 for level 3 (room visit and opening the chest inside), then Requests and finally Move In. Progress can be checked with the heart gauge above a character's dialogue box and in the Residents tab of the Social app, and candidates are marked Bond.
The romanceable cast
The named bachelors are Aurelis (Aureleaf Kitchen chef), Delphin (AquaBlue Outpost, Fishing Mentor, also called Francis in some versions), Graminova (Farming Mentor), Loren (Chrono Arcade owner), Sylvain (Silvan Notes music store), Youfang (monk at Bastrom Heights), and Zephyria (Exploration Club, Exploration Mentor).
The named bachelorettes are Alex (Lex Woodworks furniture), Lunelle (Ethereal Styles clothing), Neona (G-Power Bikes vehicles), Pastelle (Green Pasture Ranch, Ranching Mentor), Serena (Bloom Atelier), Solara (Community Center and the Mayor's granddaughter), Stella (Woof & Wow Pets), and Zerine (General Store, Crafting Mentor). My Time at Portia guests Gust and Ginger are reported as future romanceable characters who can be romanced but not moved in with.
Dating and Move In
An April 28, 2026 update added date activities for six NPCs (Delphin, Graminova, Zephyria, Pastelle, Solara, and Zerine), letting players pick an activity and location at Affection Level 3; the other candidates were reported to gain the option in a later update. In 1.0, dating is separate from relationship stories, with picnic, arcade, and beach kite-flying activities.
Move In is the endgame equivalent of marriage: at five hearts, the player asks the character to move in, and there is no formal wedding or children system yet. Youfang is the only romanceable candidate who cannot be asked to move in, matching the monks reluctance noted in the guides. Non-bond NPCs, including children like Momo and Bruce and characters considered too old, cannot be romanced.
SEO and source scope
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