[PlayStation 5] Good Day for Fishing Assessment

Good Day for Fishing is a mixture of informal aesthetics and deep RPG mechanics. Developed by FusionPlay and revealed by Team17, the sport introduces us to Baelin, a humble NPC from the village of Honeywood. However when a participant opens a forbidden treasure chest and seemingly wipes out the web gamers, Baelin is out of the blue promoted to participant standing! Be taught extra in our Good Day for Fishing evaluation!

When the heroes of Azerim mysteriously vanish, an evil power threatens to take over the lands! Baelin the fisherman NPC should rise as much as defend the city of Honeywood the one manner he is aware of how! Nevertheless, one thing’s completely different… Baelin’s not an NPC however… an Adventurer! Are you able to deal with your new discovered duty?! Battle fish with precision timing and magic spells, improve your talents, defeat evil and rebuild Honeywood.

Good Day for Fishing from FusionPlay and Team17 kicks off within the calm village of Honeywood, the place NPCs go about their each day routines and “on-line gamers” roam round, seemingly controlling the destiny of the world. However when certainly one of these gamers recklessly opens a forbidden treasure chest, all the things adjustments. The sport world suffers a glitch, the web gamers vanish, and Baelin — as soon as simply one other villager — finds himself thrust into the position of protagonist. Baelin’s newfound autonomy leads him on a journey by means of magical landscapes, assembly quirky characters and unraveling what stays of a corrupted realm. At first look, the sport seems to be like a soothing fetch-quest simulator. The core loop revolves round fishing however with surprising depth and complexity.

The sport’s world and characters are impressed by the Epic NPC Man shorts from Viva La Filth League. However don’t fear for those who’re not acquainted with their work — I wasn’t both — as a result of the sport is fully self-contained and accessible. That mentioned, the hilarious launch trailer (linked above) presents an awesome style of their humor and the quirky fantasy world they’ve dropped at life right here.

The sport construction is quest-based, and quest goals are at all times clearly indicated on-screen and marked on the map, making certain you recognize the place to go — even when backtracking turns into a frequent (and generally tedious) chore. Particularly within the latter half, you’ll end up traversing zones repeatedly simply to return and discover an merchandise in a spot you had been a number of moments in the past.

The core gameplay loop relies on fishing, and hooking a fish is only the start. You’ll have to carry the X button to empty their HP however drop it once they flip — a defensive transfer that forces you to dam their assaults and shield your line. This tug-of-war is layered with offensive and defensive spells you unlock all through the sport. Earlier than lengthy, casting buffs in your line and debuffs on enemy fish turns into second nature. With spells neatly mapped to the D-Pad, the controls really feel fluid — making the combat-infused fishing each intuitive and satisfying. Fortunately, the sport pauses through the spell choice menu, providing you with the respiratory room to plan your subsequent transfer and fine-tune your technique with out strain. Including to the allure is the intelligent, typically hilarious dialogue. NPCs reuse strains, but it surely’s achieved with simply the correct quantity of self-awareness. A standout is the character Eugene, whose comedic voiceovers had me laughing out loud.

Sure, this can be a fishing RPG with boss fights. And sure — they’re really enjoyable. Every boss has a number of HP bars, with assault patterns that evolve as you put on them down. They’re difficult however honest, with most beatable in a single or two tries. Not robust sufficient? Grind by fishing extra to lift your stage, get some gadgets, and take a look at once more. One useful tip I found a bit too late: you’ll be able to maintain the X button to assault and maintain the Circle button to defend — there’s no must mash them like a QTE. It makes fight a lot smoother as soon as you recognize.

The world of Azerim is (very) compact and well-designed, with 16-bit aptitude and a phenomenal pixel aesthetic. There’s parallax scrolling, animated water results, and environments which can be simple to navigate (even when the sport sends you zigzagging by means of them).

One of many irritating features comes comparatively early within the sport, once you’re tasked with fishing deeper gadgets and story fish from fast-moving water currents. These sections can really feel punishing: the currents shift shortly, exact boat alignment on the floor is required to snag the goal and to make issues worse, close by fish can snatch your magnet or bait, forcing you to begin the whole sequence over (fortunately you’ll be able to maintain your bait). At concerning the midway level of the sport, you’ll unlock a greater hook that dramatically enhance this facet.

Within the remaining third of the sport, the pacing takes a noticeable dip as issues grow to be more and more grind-heavy. The final three bosses demand strong preparation — even for those who’ve diligently accomplished all of the mayor’s facet quests. Sadly, these later quests (that are your predominant supply of revenue) require an unreasonable variety of uncommon gadgets, every of which respawns solely as soon as each 5 minutes. So once you want three, you’ll find yourself grabbing the primary one, shifting the hook again to it, then placing the controller down for 4 minutes — twice — simply to maneuver ahead. By the point I reached the ultimate boss, across the 30-hour mark (in accordance with the PS5 Hub), I spotted I’d want one other 2 to three hours of this type of grinding simply to afford the required gear. It left the impression that the final stretch was designed extra to artificially lengthen playtime than to supply significant problem — and it got here dangerously near overstaying its welcome.

The sport incorporates a full trophy listing with a Platinum trophy. The listing consists of 10 Bronze trophies, 9 Silver trophies, and 6 Gold trophies so that you can work on including to your assortment as you intention so as to add that shiny Platinum as properly. A number of trophies are awarded for story development, with a bunch of trophies unlocking for fishing achievements, finishing village upgrades, in addition to merchandise assortment. Pull a fish out of the water with a single pull, parry a particular assault from a boss, or remedy your self throughout a struggle to realize among the trophies. Incomes the Platinum will probably take round 35 to 40 hours, largely as a result of hefty grind required for the ultimate few trophies.

Simply an NPC… till the world breaks.
Good Day for Fishing is a deceptively deep and delightfully quirky journey. What begins as a easy, stress-free fishing sport slowly evolves right into a full-fledged RPG — full with spells, buffs, tactical boss battles, and genuinely humorous dialogue. Whereas the ultimate stretch leans a bit too exhausting on repetitive grinding, it doesn’t outweigh the sport’s creativity, allure, and sensible design. It’s a singular catch properly price reeling in.

Good Day for Fishing is out on PlayStation 5 with a $19.99 price ticket. There’s additionally the Good Day for Fishing – Epic Version for $23.99, which incorporates the bottom sport in addition to the Legendary DLC, which provides the next:

– Legendary Rod
– Legendary Hat
– Legendary Ring
– Legendary Necklace
– 4 sails to customise Baelin’s boat
– “Overpriced Beauty Merchandise” Rod
– Ring of Dormor
– “Firm Property” Necklace
– Tinfoil Hat

Disclaimer
This Good Day for Fishing evaluation relies on a PlayStation copy offered by Team17 Software program Ltd..