About Fishing first impressions: Fintastically eerie

Would you be surprised if I said About Fishing is a game about fishing? The upcoming gem from The Water Museum and Playstack has an intricate, physics-based fishing system that’ll immediately hook you – but there’s more bubbling below the surface than just fishy friends.

I got the chance to dip into the About Fishing playtest this past April, and I found the game to be mesmerizing, dark, and unnerving. Here’s my first impressions of About Fishing, based on its 2.0 playtest build. This first impressions piece is spoiler-free.

Gorgeously eerie artwork

About Fishing starts with fishing, unsurprisingly. You’ll see a mermaid and a fish swimming through aquamarine waters, bobbing along peacefully before the fish starts investigating a nearby hook.

This is where you’ll take control of the player character, being tasked with wrestling the fish from the water as it desperately tries to swim away to safety. It’s quite a startling contrast to the previously serene scene, and it sets the tone effectively for what’s to come. 

As much as including my experiences as a vegan in reviews does make me cringe at myself a little, I found seeing the escape attempts of the fish to be poignant, and I’d be curious to know if folks who eat fish found the animations to be impactful at all.

Unlike most other fishing mini-games, it was clear that the fish knew they were in harm’s way and wanted to flee for their lives. This intensity sat smartly against the beautiful art style and the peacefully eerie mood on the island. 

Once you’ve successfully yanked the fish out of the ocean, you’ll be able to walk the main character – a little kid with a fishing rod that’s taller than them – across the sand-strewn waterfront and towards a character who appears to be their grandfather.

The initial conversation with the grandfather figure gets strange immediately, with him asking the player what their trophy’s name is, and telling them about an old friend who used to swallow a particular type of fish whole out of frustration.

The stakes are then set; you’ll need to fish up another handful of critters in return for some tasty, orange curly fries, figuring out the physics-based fishing system and avoiding snapping your line or getting it tangled up in the rocky sea floor.

The fishing system does take some time to get used to – you’ll need to aim your line, cast and guide the hook, wait for the fish to bite, then angle the poor beast as you drag it out of the water.

It’s a unique fishing minigame, and I enjoyed how deliberate it felt; it wasn’t just “click a button and get a fish”, there was real thought behind the mechanics. 

Tactile fishing, with Resident Evil bag-tetris

As a long-time Resident Evil geek, the quickest way for a game to get my attention is to throw zombies at my face. The second quickest way for a game to get my attention is to introduce a unique inventory system, which is what About Fishing did.

Once you gain access to the tackle box at the beginning of About Fishing, you’ll need to carefully place your catches and keep them organized to make the most out of your inventory space. Each fish takes up a different number of squares at different angles, making for a simple inventory puzzle. 

Progressing through About Fishing means finding far more than fish below the surface of the water.

I won’t spoil exactly what you’ll fish up, but there’s more than carp and tuna in the island’s strange waters, and things take an eerie turn fairly quickly in the game. About Fishing gave me vague horror vibes at first, but it ended up being more of an atmospheric mystery with some startling elements.

Visually, I adored About Fishing. The art style is wholly unique, with unique models for each type of fish, and I found the water to be particularly enchanting. Each scene underwater felt breathtaking to watch, and I kept hoping for more opportunities to explore the seafloor.

The character models had an uncanny valley vibe to them, with piercing eyes and faces stretched over polygonal frames. I loved them – it made cutscenes and character interactions feel ever-so-slightly creepy.

I didn’t notice any quirks or bugs with About Fishing, despite it being a playtest build. Performance was generally smooth and high quality, and after some practice, I found the control scheme to be responsive as well.

If you like atmospheric, unsettling games that promise a slow-burning story and some strangely tactile gameplay, you’ll get a kick out of About Fishing. There isn’t a confirmed release date yet, but it’s worth keeping an eye out for.

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