No one can say that Fishing Sim World isn’t incredibly realistic. Unfortunately, this stalwart dedication to realism, alongside an abundance of bugs, makes the game a frustratingly slow slog that just inspires me to do some real fishing instead.
Fishing Sim World
Developer: Dovetail Games
Price: $39.99
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, and PC
MonsterVine was provided with a PS4 code for review.
It might be rare for people in the “early 20’s game journalist” age-group, but I thoroughly enjoy fishing. Something about relaxing outside with the occasional adrenaline burst of hooking a fish simply makes me feel at ease, which is why I was interested in reviewing Fishing Sim World. And while Fishing Sim World certainly fulfills its promise of being “the most realistic fishing simulator”, it’s debatable as to whether that idea is any fun at all.
The thing about games like Sega Bass Fishing is that, while they’re unrealistic, they’re fun for a number of reasons. Being tasked to find certain fish and having the ability to follow your hook in the water perfectly encapsulates the fun of fishing in a smaller-scale digital package. Fishing Sim World, while realistic, isn’t very fun.
You play as a custom avatar and fish from various points on land or from in your boat. It can take quite a while to hook a fish, as I found myself taking anywhere from 10-20 minutes to land one bite, even while trying different lures and techniques. There’s no hook camera either, which means you’ll be looking at your avatar as they stand in place, which gets old fast. It just isn’t fun to watch someone stand in place for twenty minutes at a time, no matter what the game is.
“Without seeing the fish you catch, it feels like you’re doing nothing at all, as it robs you of the pride that comes with a big catch.“
The weirdest thing about Fishing Sim World is how it doesn’t let you see the fish you catch in Tournament mode, even though you can see your catches in other modes. After reeling in a bite, your avatar crouches down, and the camera immediately cuts to you in casting position once again. Without seeing the fish you catch, it feels like you’re doing nothing at all, as it robs you of the pride that comes with a big catch.
Tutorials are presented in video format, with a number of different mechanics being grouped into each video. I wish there was a text option or shortened videos on single topics, as sitting through a three minute video just to learn how to net something isn’t exciting in any way whatsoever. As pleasant as it is to listen to the smooth southern-drawl of the narrator, going through each tutorial gets very old when you just want a rundown of the game’s most basic features and controls.
The three available modes in Fishing Sim World are the gloriously named “Freedom Fishing”, Tournament, and Online mode. Freedom Fishing lets you fish wherever you want just for fun while Tournament has you compete against a number of A.I. fishing enthusiasts. I couldn’t see any other players on the map, and the A.I. seemed to rack up catches incredibly fast, making Tournament mode a difficult and confusing affair. Freedom Fishing at least lets you do what you want for however long you want, so it has that in its corner.
I will say that the amount of rod, line, and lure customization is remarkable. My brother, whose fishing knowledge dwarfs mine tenfold, noted that the robust amount of customizable rod parts are all realistic and impressively detailed. This is the one category where the game’s devotion to realism really pays off all-around, as the attention to detail really is a high point.
There are a lot of weird visual issues in Fishing Sim World, from awkward camera angles and texture pop-ins to goofy glitches. My avatar would often break his wrist completely as he reeled in a catch, while the fishing line would bounce around, frequently flying through me and my boat. Casting comes with an incredibly awkward throwing animation that has got to be hard on the spine, while maneuvering the rod while it’s in the water made my avatar look like a parked Jedi knight. The models for the fish actually look pretty fantastic, but the human models look eerie and feel a console generation behind.
The Final Word
Fishing Sim World is more realistic than it is fun. If you really want to experience a 1:1 recreation of fishing in real life, maybe this game is for you. Otherwise, you’ll probably want to toss this one back.
MonsterVine Review Score: 2 out of 5 – Poor