Just Fishing

Regardless of your views on fishing, it must acknowledged that many people do it just to relax for a few hours, since it’s probably the sport that requires the most patience and the least amount of effort. However, it can be a hassle to get to a nearby fishing location, given the fact that not everyone lives near a river or a lake. Hence, virtual simulators are the way to go if you are in need of a cheap alternative.

Just Fishing is a casual fishing simulator that allows you to enjoy your favorite sport without even leaving your desk. It may not provide as much fresh air as the real thing, but there’s enough variety in terms of gear, fish and locations to make up for that. On the other hand, it’s not a true 3D experience either, so the gameplay can be a tad repetitive sometimes, given the fact that you are stuck in the same position.

To begin with, there are plenty of fish species to catch along the way, and they come in many sizes as well. You cannot catch them all with the same bait, however, so you must acquire new types of bait in order to lure different species. The fishing rods are important as well, because the cheaper ones might not be able to handle bigger fish that pull too hard on the line.

You can unlock better gear by gaining experience, which is obviously achieved by catching more fish. The bigger the fish, the more points you receive, and this allows you to get better rods and all sorts of exotic bait. It takes a while to do this, on the other hand, so just like with the real thing, you need to be patient in order to reap the benefits of your hard work.

As mentioned before, the graphics are far from impressive, mainly because you can not actually wonder around in 3D as you would expect. In fact, you are stuck in a fixed point, and this can get repetitive and boring after a while. The artwork is not bad, but it’s not brilliant either, and the resolutions are more suitable for mobile devices than they are for a modern PC.

In the end, Just Fishing is far from perfect, but that’s to be expected from a casual title that’s also free-to-play. Hence, there’s enough variety when it comes to the fish and the gear, but the actual gameplay gets stale rather quickly.