Fishing Adventure Review – Please bite, fish!

I remember as a young whipper “snapper” (Fish joke counter: 1), I went fishing with my paternal grandfather in the US northeast. It was a bit yucky dealing with worms and touching the fish, but I’ll always remember those times fondly. And today, I get to go fishing slime-free in Fishing Adventure, a fishing simulator in which we can fish in places like Hawaii.

I’ve never had a problem fishing in games like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley, but I get the feeling this will be slightly different. Has Ultimate Games hatched a gem, or will it smell like a rotten fish egg? I’ll be the one to fish out the details, here on SwitchWatch.co.uk!

STORY

There unfortunately is no story to Fishing Adventure. And I mean there is nothing. No backstory, no exposition – nothing. You’re just a character whose arm you get to see casting a line. I would have liked some story at least. Some tragic backstory about how your grandfather passed and left you the old fishing cabin to reawaken your passion for fishing – I don’t know. But give me something.

There are seven countries you can fish in in this game, and that could have provided for an interesting backdrop for some story. There are so many things they could have done to make it interesting. But instead, we’re left with nothing.

GAMEPLAY

Starting off, I was so thankful that they had options for the weight and length of the fish. That is to say, they had options for kilogram versus pound and centimeter versus inch. This makes this part of the game a bit easier to understand for everyone. It’s more accessible. 

Also, on the main menu, they have quest options for different countries: Poland, Germany, France, Norway, Canada, USA, and Haiti. I don’t know much about more ordinary fish that aren’t specialty fish like the leafy sea dragon, so this will be a good opportunity to learn more! Looking at the list of fish, there are some really pretty ones like the peacock bass and pumpkinseed. I’ve heard of the bluegill, but not the “black/white crappie,” which hardly sounds appealing. We’ll see what I catch and how many trophies I can rack up!

You need a license to start fishing in a specific locale. Unfortunately, that meant I couldn’t start immediately in Haiti like I wanted to. You start out with 1,000 coins, and Haiti’s license costs 14,000. It looks like you’re stuck fishing in Poland first – not that there’s anything wrong with Poland. I just would’ve liked to pick where I fished first.

Also unfortunate, the controls take some getting used to. I was unsuccessful in fishing anything up for a few minutes until I figured out how to work it. Even then, it seems that catching a fish on the line isn’t guaranteed. Once you figure out the controls, it’s fairly easy. You catch fish and have the chance to either sell your catch for money, or release it for experience points (What experience is used for is so far unclear.).

A complaint I have is how slow it is to reel the fish in. Obviously, fishing is a pastime that requires some patience, but the speed the hands move at in game is pretty slow. I wouldn’t be the fastest fisherwoman, but I’d sure be reeling faster than that.

Speaking of slow, while I wouldn’t expect 100 coins a fish, only six meager coins is pretty pathetic and makes it take a long time to earn enough to fish in other locales. To make matters worse, you also have to level up to a certain point in order to access other countries as well. This makes the game a gigantic grind-fest of epic proportions! It’ll take absolutely forever to unlock all the countries and fish there. And the money you make unfortunately doesn’t “scale” to higher level locales.

AUDIO

In terms of the audio, the main menu has some music that’s okay. Other than that, the only things you hear are the rain falling and some thunder. There really isn’t that much else to the game’s audio. Fishing is allegedly a relaxing activity. It would have been nice to have some nice, soothing music playing in the background.

Personally I don’t see what’s so relaxing about fishing, as just playing the simulator made me want to pull my hair out from waiting for the fish to bite as well as the wait reeling them in, so some music could have perhaps eased some of the tension and stress I felt just playing this game. The plot is nonexistent, and the audio might as well be.

VISUALS & PERFORMANCE

The visuals are lovely, with beautifully rendered water and backgrounds. You can see the reflections of the trees on the water. The building far off in the background in the Poland area reminds me of a historical lodge. For a game that costs less than $10, I’m impressed with the graphics. The lack of plot and audio really, really detract from this game, so it’s nice to be able to say that there is something decent about the game.

VALUE

At £8.09/$9.99/€8.99, I consider it a bit pricey for what it is. You simply cast your line and then reel the fish in. Rinse and repeat. That’s pretty much it. It’s extremely boring, in my humble opinion.

I don’t mind grinding, either, but this is pretty much all that the game is. For the price, I think you could put your money to better use.