Sit back, cast that line and connect to nature once more, as the sounds of rustling leaves and birdsong fill the forest around you. Experiment with fishing techniques and upgrade your equipment to become a true fishing expert while travelling the globe. Engage with the denizens of the deep and use the skills you’ve harnessed to wrangle with challenging opponents and collect incredible rewards.
Does this sound exciting? Yes? Well, you’d best keep looking then, because I’m afraid you won’t find any of that here. A baffling Frankenstein’s Monster of a title, this is truly a test of patience and mental fortitude for anyone who might dare download it. But why? Pocket Fishing is a wonderful example of how to alienate your prospective players before the game has even begun. The first thing that appears upon starting up this game is a flat, lifeless title screen. No music, no introduction, nothing to ease you into the experience, just a fish, gawking at you. But alright, a bland title screen isn’t the worst thing in the world, let’s get into it. Suddenly one is struck by the controls, and the cursor that hovers in the middle of the screen. A mouse cursor, on a Nintendo Switch game… that moves at a snail’s pace across the menus, bound to the right stick (and you can’t change this by the way). It’s a mind-boggling decision, that certainly paints the game as unoptimized and lazy before we’ve even had a chance to start.
So why the strange choice of controls? Well upon further investigation, it turns out that Pocket Fishing is a port, and it’s a particularly sloppy one at that. What may have worked for mouse and keyboard, or even touch screen, certainly doesn’t translate well to a controller set-up. When you eventually dive in and begin spin fishing, you’re forced to perform some awkward finger gymnastics to even complete the catch. During a little cutscene (which is the same one that plays every single time) you must move both hands over to one side of the controller, hold the mouse cursor over the reel button with A, then slide the thumb stick up with your other hand, without, of course dropping your console if you’re playing handheld like me. It’s clunky and unintuitive. Why the right thumbstick even moves the mouse cursor is beyond me. The left controls the player’s movement, while the D-pad beneath turns your vision. And if these controls don’t seem unfriendly enough, steer well clear of the boat, for its maneuverability I cannot even wrap my head around.
Enough rambling about the controls, what about the gameplay? Well, there’s no intro, save for a couple of screens that faintly cover the basics, and then… start fishing I suppose. Gain experience and coins for catching fish so you can level up and buy new equipment. That is, of course, if the game actually recognizes that you’ve gained a level, unlike mine. After reaching level 4, I wanted to try a new map and buy some new gear, yet the maps were locked and the shop said I was still level 1. At this point, the bewilderment had truly set in. Yet after a few particularly deep breaths, I restarted the switch, which seemed to remedy the situation.
I tried a few new maps, which all looked fairly similar (I was in Riviere du Rempart, but the selection menu doesn’t update this fact) and after catching a few more fish found myself questioning the point of the whole experience. Is the whole aim to catch all the fish? They all seem just as easy to catch, a frankly boring trial of mashing the shoulder buttons and furiously tapping X. And all the prompts and colored bars on the screen? Who can say what they mean? Who is this game meant for?
One would have thought a game specially designed for catching fish would be more polished. I for one actually enjoy fishing in games. Whether it’s the simple but effective fishing in Stardew Valley or the universally reviled story of Big the Cat in Sonic Adventure, (I oddly love this fishing minigame with its funky catch music and emerald-swallowing frog) I always love a good virtual fishing experience. So why doesn’t Pocket Fishing induce this same feeling? Well the previous two examples, love them or loathe them, tie in with the greater world, have interesting progression and music, and tell a story through the gameplay. In one word: they have soul. Pocket Fishing feels empty in comparison, and I struggle even now to force myself to pick it back up.
I want to give this game some compliments, really just anything that might save it, but honestly, even that feels like drawing blood from a stone. The water looks alright… maybe? But even that leads me onto the topic of graphics which I haven’t even touched yet. The visuals are shockingly poor, to say the least, full of dull, flat 2-D textures that make me feel like I’m playing on a Nintendo DS rather than a Nintendo Switch (and I feel that’s even a bit cruel to the DS). This is a game released in 2024. Just let that sink in. And this isn’t a stylistic choice, mind you, this is sheer laziness at play.
If you’re looking for a rich and relaxing fishing sim experience, then there are plenty out there, but this isn’t it. Whether it’s the shop that looks like a micro-transaction hellscape (but isn’t), the confusing control scheme, or the general lack of direction, I can’t wrap my head around the choices that were made with this project. This unfortunately leads me to think it was simply a cheap soulless port, made to slurp up a few extra bucks before sinking back to the bottom of the riverbed. Yet apparently, this is a common occurrence for the folks over at Ultimate Games, so perhaps I shouldn’t be so surprised. Save yourself time and money, and support the indie devs out there who put their heart and soul into their projects, and for a lower price too! Keep on casting that line folks, there are plenty more fish in the sea.
