Ultra Fishing

Like fish themselves, fishing games come in all shapes and sizes. You can get basic and arcade-y fishing games, and you can get ultra realistic fishing games that can make catching a basic Perch take hours. In the new release of Ultra Fishing, though, you get an authentic fishing simulator that feels very different to most of the competition out there. Created by Ugur Celik, this game has immediately gained a lot of interest. As it makes its way through Early Access, what is already visible and apparent is highly impressive.

A fishing game with a difference

One of the best parts of Ultra Fishing is the fact that the fish have such unique personalities. Like real fish, how they react to your bait will differ. In other fishing games, you might find that you are basically just dealing with more aggressive fish, or fish that seem to tear through some form of gamified strength meter. However, with Ultra Fishing, you get a game that is a lot more focused on authentic fishing.

The attitude of the fish will change, as every fish is randomly generated. Each fish comes with a behavioural pattern that is unique to their species, but still differs from fish to fish. This makes it less boring to capture the same breed of fish over and over, as even a fish breed you have caught aplenty can change.

Add on top of this the fact that you get an impressive statistics menu and the chance to earn money and thus more equipment, and Ultra Fishing does a lot that other fishing games do not. The environments are impressive, and the fact you can keep or consume your fish adds a kind of Slime Rancher feel to the fishing parts of the game.

An impressive start that still needs work (7.5/10)

That being said, Ultra Fishing needs some improvement. A major criticism is that the environments look nice, but as you fish you are unable to look around the place. You are basically fixated on what is on front of you. Anyone who goes fishing in real life will know that part of the joy is simply taking in your environment in these serene, happy conditions. The environment looks good, the sounds are solid, and the actual fishing process is fine. So, too, are the fishes – they look good and act differently which helps to keep things fresh. Sadly, there are simply too many limits to what you can do at the moment. As Ultra Fishing progresses, this is sure to change.

Pros

• High quality fishes that show their own personality and realism
• Excellent detail has gone into the fish AI, helping it to feel unique
• RPG-like systems help you to feel like your catches mean something

Cons

• Camera has to be more flexible to help you see the environments
• More work is needed to help keep the gameplay loop fresh over time