Fishbowl Review – Memories Beyond 3 Seconds

Fishbowl is a game about routine. Controlling our protagonist, we need to make sure she eats, sleeps, and cleans throughout the day. Taking care of her is a sweet backdrop and a stable throughline to keep Fishbowl grounded. Unfortunately, between the routine of everyday life and the representation of depression, Fishbowl feels like it misses the mark.

Alo is a 21-year-old woman straight out of college who has applied for a junior video editor position at one of the more popular video content creator companies in her country. While on her probationary period at the company, the country goes into lockdown, and she’s required to work from home.

Her grandmother, known as Jaja, died sometime after graduation but before Alo joined the company. Alo’s mother, Rosa, is quickly overwhelmed by the amount of Jaja’s stuff left in the home and has packaged it for donation. Alo, thinking that she’ll end up regretting that decision, offers to take the stuff off of her mother’s hands to sift through it.

Fishbowl then becomes a game about routine. Alo spends most of her time taking care of herself by brushing her teeth, eating meals, cleaning, and working. Over the span of a month, the player becomes Alo’s caretaker as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

Taking care of Alo is simple. When the player has her perform a task, they’re presented with a small card, barely the size of a post-it note, that shows a small image depicting what Alo is doing and a command for the player. The commands change based on the task. Sometimes you’ll need to enter a three- or four-button command; sometimes it’s a moving target; sometimes you’re holding a button. It’s all very simple, mechanically.

The only other gameplay element in Fishbowl is the video editing mechanic. She logs into her computer, chats with a colleague, and the video editing game starts. On the left are color-coded categories such as subtitles and audio. Blocks move in from the right, slowly moving left, and the player simply needs to make sure the colors match. As the player matches correctly, the multiplier increases, and as it does, the game speeds up as well.

As we learn more about Alo and her past, we discover that she wanted to be a poet, but since Jaja died, she hasn’t been able to write anything without scratching out the words. I don’t think you enter into a game like this without knowing that some dark passenger to the protagonist is coming along for the ride, but Alo did not take Jaja’s death well.

Some of the themes Fishbowl touches on are depression and isolation, something many of us likely went through during the lockdowns in our own lives. I think this is where Fishbowl seems to flounder a bit. Alo is adorable, she’s friendly, she’s optimistic, and at her best, she’s a cheerleader for those she loves. Depression is treated as though it’s more of a dark creature that slips in briefly, then slips out and hangs its head above you during specific activities.

This is emphasized by a bar that appears along the top of the screen that shows Alo’s mood. When the evil spectre of depression shows up, the bar goes down. But almost every instance of self-care raises the bar. Keeping the mood bar full was downright trivial. There’s more to do throughout the day with self-care than there is to bring down Alo’s mood.

We’ve been presented with a story about overcoming depression, but, mechanically, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Alo has a supportive friend group, her mother calls her regularly, and her mother is understanding and caring. Even her bosses, who call her regularly, are just so happy to talk to Alo. The only darkness in her life comes from doomscrolling, which you can simply choose to avoid.

Fishbowl has some beautiful pixel art. When the player is controlling Alo, she has a cute, pixelated chibi style. But when taking a call, we’re given a full-screen, glorious look at the pixelated faces, and they’re stunning. I think one of the best things about Fishbowl is the art style, which jumps off the screen with its bright colors and detailed faces.

Musically, Fishbowl is served well by its soundtrack. Though outside of a few specific tracks, the soundtrack is not particularly noticeable. The tracks used during the video editing game are so much fun, though. It felt like the beat kept pace with the categories, making the mini-game that much more enjoyable.