Nice Day for Fishing is the latest release by FusionPlay, in conjunction with publisher Team17, starring the cast of YouTube comedy group Viva La Dirt League. Nice Day for Fishing is a 2D fishing (you guessed it) RPG that sees the player assume the control of Baelin. Unlike most RPG protagonists, Baelin is not on a quest for glory, vengeance or a part of a prophecy. He is a former non-playable character, whisked into adventure after the heroes of his world mysteriously disappear.
Nice Day for ehh…
The structure of the Nice Day for Fishing is fairly by-the-numbers; there is an ancient evil, NPC’s are either vendors or quest givers, and only you can do it all. The game is a sort of satire on classic pixel RPGs butstill falls into the trappings of what it is satirising. Basically every quest in the game is a fetch quest, usually involving poking around into caves and deep underwater for specific fish or other items like chests or materials. While the fishing is novel, I wish there was some more diversity and creativity in interacting with the game world. I grew tired of constantly traveling across the map collecting items for NPC’s. Saying that, the recurring quest with Bodger’s hammer comes to mind as one I enjoyed despite it literally being the same thing every time.
Fishing!
The player mainly interacts with the world by casting their trusty fishing rod into various bodies of water. While cast, you can lower or raise your line and specific equipped baits allow you to catch certain fish. Once a fish is snared, combat is initiated in which the player needs to either hold X to deal damage or spam it to deal even more damage.
However if the player attempts to attack their caught fish while it is pulling on the line, the line’s health rapidly falls until depletion, ending combat. While pulling on the line, the fish will attack the player in various patterns depending on the fish-type, with the player needing to either block or parry these attacks to reduce damage. I love the clink sound effect on the parry. On your quest you will earn equipment upgrades and learn spells to supplement the basics of fishing combat.
While initially intriguing, I found myself wanting to skip past combat after a while. Spamming the X button gets you through combat quickest but for obvious reasons, this is quite tiring. However, during boss battles, combat shines a lot more. Bosses are obviously much flashier and more exciting than regular fish, implementing more difficult attack patterns and providing more windows to execute satisfying parries.
On the Beach, Cast Away!
The game’s charming, simplistic pixel art is a big pro of the game. The world of Nice Day for Fishing is colourful and easy to comprehend. Different species of fish are easy to identify and if they’re needed for a quest, they even sparkle! The beach zone of Azerim is a highlight with its sparkling blue water, coral and sea clams. I was also a fan of the game’s uncanny semi-realistic character portraits during dialogue. It contrasts with the minimalist design of their in-world models and adds to the games strange humour. The game’s OST is also good. It’s nothing crazy, but I found myself humming along a lot as I fished peacefully. Honeywood’s theme was the standout and thankfully so because the game makes you trek across it so many times.
Verdict
I definitely would not call Nice Day for Fishing a bad game, but perfectly competent for what it is. It has no bugs or performance issues and it’s modestly priced at €19.99. If you’re looking for something simple and charming to play, this game is perfect. However be warned, that is basically all you get with this title: simple and charming. Progression is present in the game but you don’t make any meaningful choices. The plot isn’t gripping, characters aren’t very notable, you will just be fishing a lot. I can appreciate that but personally it’s just not for me.
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