As per the game’s Steam store page, About Fishing is wholly unique. Thankfully, its playtest might be all thatplayers might need to compel them to wishlist About Fishing, as they find themselves biting its hook and letting it reel them in.
‘About Fishing’ Is All About Atmosphere
About Fishing is developed by Kevin, also known as The Water Museum (creator of the similarly magnetic and singular Arctic Eggs on Steam), with artist Angel Perez Guzman and composer Cameron Ginex. Evocative of low-poly, PSX-style graphics and bearing uncanny, mapped faces, About Fishing isn’t easy to peg in terms of its genre and tone, aside from it truly being guided by an emphasis on intricate keyboard-and-mouse fishing mechanics.
This isn’t surprising, as Shenmue and Sega Bass Fishing were explicit inspirations for About Fishing. However, it’s also not surprising that fans would immediately assume About Fishing was a horror game, though, as some harrowing sea creature or creepy narrative twist wouldn’t be out of place in a game with an atmosphere like this one teases.
Indeed, About Fishing hints at a “long-forgotten mystery,” which could easily throw players off or catch them with their guards down if they become too immersed in fishing. This is what the latest playtest trailer achieves, ensuring that there is always a bit of tension. About Fishing’s brief description on Steam reads:
“Cast your line into calm waters and feel the quiet pull beneath the surface. Each cast brings rewards, but some things you reel in were never meant to be found.”
It Has A New Playtest Out Now
This playtest, like the previous one, allows players to familiarize themselves with these mechanics, which heavily involve the mouse as a motion controller and physics-based line casting. About Fishing even has a dash of Resident Evil 4 in it, featuring a gratifying tackle box inventory management system that is quite functionally similar to that of Leon S. Kennedy’s attaché case.
It’s possible that About Fishing is presently obscuring all that would define it as eerie and nightmarish, but that’s part of what makes its bizarre yet serene tone so transfixing thus far. It’ll be neat to see how About Fishing evolves following its playtests and what uncomfortable secrets may be lurking below the surface when it eventually releases on Steam.