Phew… where to even begin with this “game”?
As someone who loves fishing mini-games in RPGs and action titles, I was pretty excited because I've never played a real fishing simulation before, so logic goes: if the mini-games are fun, the whole game must be even better, right? Unfortunately… it seems not.
First impression: Cold shower
Fire up the game and – bam – you're thrown straight into the world. No intro, no story, no nothing. Just you, the stick and the void. Ok, I said, maybe the gameplay makes up for it. Unfortunately, disappointment comes at the very first step.
Character controls? Horror. Graphics? Painfully unoptimized. Not only is it visually unimpressive, but it also requires a stronger machine to even work at a stable framerate. Come on, I said, it's not all about graphics - let's go fishing.
Graphics mozda izgleda dobro na slikama, al dok gamete...
Fishing or a test of patience?
After 15 minutes of struggling with the controls I realized I couldn't even get the stick out. There is a tutorial, but it's complicated and useless - only after a YouTube tutorial did I succeed finally cast the first time. And that – 40 minutes after starting the game!
And then you realize: this is a "realistic" simulation. So realistic that fish just don't bite. Waiting between casts lasts 8 minutes each and... nothing. Realism is a great thing, but for that I have a real lake and a real stick.
This fish is certainly not spoiled….
When the fish finally bites...
I catch a few pieces - which I immediately drop on the floor because I didn't know that the net should be placed. Ok, my mistake. But then you realize another problem - there is no real feedback. The sounds fail, there is no adrenaline moment, everything seems flat and monotonous. Even the first "pull" looks like you pressed the wrong button. A fishing game can be forgiven for bad graphics, but not boring gameplay.
Da su se bar upola potrudor oko gameplay as what su kod character creationa...
Content? Basic survival level
You find a campsite, buy better gear - which is scarce and expensive. One NPC offers quests of the type "catch XY kg of fish in so many hours" or "catch such and such species". Awards? Money and exp. And that's it. There is no deeper content, no charm. Just repetitive actions in a poorly optimized package.
Guess why you'll be pressing F5 the most?
The price is salt in the wound
To make matters worse, the price is 20 euros (on discount!). For that money, you can find world-class titles on Steam, with a fishing minigame that's better than this "specialized" effort. Even free games offer more fun.
Conclusion
I don't know why the developer decided to release the game in early access this early. A year of extra work on basic mechanics would be the minimum. In this state - this is neither simulation nor fun, but frustration.
Only for the biggest enthusiasts who want to test their own patience!
A copy of the game was provided by the publisher Ultimate Games S.A. for review purposes. and PlayWay S.A.
