Deadliest Catch: The Game replicates the drama of its TV series counterpart. Furthermore, this competitive fishing simulator will test your patience as you battle the weather and your AI opponents. On top of this, once you battle past the unsatisfying controls, you’ll enjoy the moreish action.
Developed by Moonlit and published by Ultimate Games SA, this is a simulation title. Moreover, there are business elements to enjoy and a vast ocean to explore. As such, there is plenty to see and do if you can cope with the repetitive gameplay.
Deadliest Catch: The Game tells a familiar tale.
You are a Greenhorn fisherman who wishes to make his fortune. However, this is no easy task as you compete against experienced crews. What’s more, the ever-changing seas and migrating crabs will test your knowledge and skills. Yet, if you can purchase the correct gear and ride your luck, you’ll be crowned champion of each season.
This is Deadliest Catch: The Game in a nutshell. Effectively, you are asked to equip your ship with bait, pots, and tools. From here, you must use your map and knowledge to find the best fishing spots. As the money rolls in, you can invest in new equipment and better skills. By doing so, you’ll improve your haul, increase your bank account, and destroy your crabbing opponents.
The crew.
Your levels of enjoyment will fluctuate. Sadly, there is little depth and the action rarely alters. Disappointingly, you can revisit the same fishing grounds with no negative impact. Accordingly, this impacts the gameplay and the levels of realism. However, where it excels is its crew management, catching quotas, and the ever-changing weather.
At first, you can’t afford a crew! Consequently, you must undertake every job yourself. Yet, this soon changes and you can hire up to 4 people to help you out. Once this happens, you can focus on steering the boat and gambling on new locations. Your crew will load the baskets, retrieve each catch, clean the deck and sort the crabs. Subsequently, they take the sting out of the everyday chores.
The crab quota is an extremely important aspect of the game. Fines are levied against anyone that returns with young or female crabs. As such, you or your crew must examine every crab to select the right one. This rudimentary mini-game was tiresome, so I recommend getting your workers to undertake this task.
Rough seas and bugs.
Life at sea is dangerous! Deadliest Catch: The Game tries to replicate this with its brutal weather fronts and choppy seas. Annoyingly, though, the storms are all talk and no trousers. Consequently, you’ll laugh repeatedly as your boat disappears under the waves and beneath the gaming world. Additionally, your crew and equipment will remain unscathed, no matter the danger they faced.
Disappointingly, this wasn’t the only bug or issue I faced. The action is laced with problems and these hold the game back. Whether it was permanent black screens, crashes, faulty controls, or the power to teleport, it was unbelievably rough. Accordingly, it lacks a polished finish, and that was unfortunate.
Deadliest Catch: The Game isn’t pretty.
I don’t need great graphics to enjoy a game. But Deadliest Catch: The Game is borderline hideous. If I overlook the bugs and glitches, all I see are poor textures, reused assets, and a low render distance. These are problems that this genre is famous for. Therefore, it didn’t surprise me in the slightest. Moreover, the bugs and glitches are likely to be ironed out, so this didn’t bother me too much either.
The audio, on the other hand, was great. The sense of drama and anticipation can be felt at all times. Furthermore, the realistic sound effects and the ambient noises were perfect. Though the storms didn’t look great, the howling wind, beating rain, and crashing waves were fascinating to listen to. Had the developers replicated this visually, this would have been a spectacular title.
Clumsy controls.
The controls are undeniably clumsy and annoying. However, once you realise that accuracy isn’t key, you get used to the cumbersome inputs. Unfortunately, the crane is dreadful to control and baiting the traps can be tedious. Yet, once you hire a crew, you can forget these problems. Additionally, the longer you play, the easier things become. As such, the issues quickly melt away.
Unlike its peers, Deadliest Catch: The Game has limited depth. Yet, it is oddly addictive, and I lost hours during every session. The active leaderboard pushes you, and the challenging AI doesn’t give up easily. Unlike its PC counterpart, this has no online gameplay. Consequently, this will annoy some gamers.
Deadliest Catch: The Game could have been better.
I adore the simulation genre. Therefore, it takes a lot for me to be disheartened. Thankfully, Deadliest Catch: The Game does enough to keep you entertained. However, it could have been much better. The lack of depth and the current finish are not good enough. Yet, if they add more DLC and iron out the problems, this will be an exceptional title. Accordingly, despite its issues, I recommend that you buy it here! Can you become a veteran fisherman? Hire a crew, buy the right gear, and return with a hefty crab haul.
