Strange Shores: Social Desktop Fishing

I give it a cautious thumbs-up. It should be seen more as a neutral review than a positive or negative one, like a five and a half out of ten barely passed one. I might revisit it after a few updates over time because it has the potential to grow beyond what it is now. And don’t get me wrong, there are things I do love. Like, visually, I adore the pixelated little world, the fact that we can unlock new scenery and the lovely music that accompanies it all. But this isn’t it; it’s not there and doesn’t tickle my pickle, at least not yet.

The core mechanic is simple: you cast your line, wait for a bite and reel it in. From quirky items like various rubber duckies, to all kinds of and sometimes weird fish like a turquoise discus, some will need more clicky clicks than others to be reeled in. However, the timer vs. the clicking didn’t always feel fair or consistent in time given vs the possibility to click that many times in said given time, even with swapping bait. And at this point, I’m unsure if that’s on purpose or a flaw.
And I know, different baits can help here, but the ones I’ve fished with didn’t always feel beneficial, and there’s no way or means to buy any that’s better, since there's nothing to buy/upgrade, etc.

When you don’t feel like paying attention, there is always AFK mode to reel it in. Or attempt to, because that’s one of the points where it couldn’t satisfy me. To me, AFK feels flawed, as you’ll never be able to catch the bigger bois. And with no option to upgrade anything, it’s not a goal you can work towards either. And as an idle/clicker fan, I find that a shame. It would’ve been super neat to let it idle as a fun desktop novelty, I think it's fair to say Ropuka’s idle island is a good example of this, occasionally upgrade or change scenery and go back to idle while being there in the corner of your desktop—nice and chill.

Multiplayer mode is an option, too, but it confused me. Having a friend alongside you in there seems incredible, but why? It’s not beneficial at all. I couldn’t help him with his catches, and neither could he help me with mine. My catches don’t count for him, nor do additional bait I find, nor do his for me. So, pretty much, you’re just standing there together. Being your own potato, you could be just as well solo since there’s not really a point or goal to potato together.
However, I do think it’s cool that AFK mode is coming to multiplayer, too, hopefully with some other changes over time.

Lastly, I find it a bit of a shame I don’t have a proper compendium. It’s super cool to see the fish, occasional items, and bait we’ve caught so far, but at no point do I know which ones I am missing or how many, which again feels like it leaves me a little in the dark…
And yet, I don’t have the heart to outright thumb it down because, like I said, I think it has the potential to grow in more than one way. Not all is lost. It does look cute with its pixelated style, etc. But we’ll see what the future brings, assuming I spot an update and not completely forget about this one.


Usually, I would have two screenshots here, but sadly enough, the game wouldn’t let me take any. So you’ll just have to take my word for it that some quirky items and some of the fish are really hilariously funny.

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Thank you!

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A rudimentary desktop fishing game that took it upon itself to reimagine the iconic northern pike...

On paper this sounds nice. An minimalistic multiplayer fishing game that you can glance at while doing something more important in your life. However, when active in a multiplayer game you have to be active since all the actual fishing is done by a mindless clicking that can be enhanced by various lures.

The artwork is mid, the various bycatch goes from charming to bland and even though I can see some effort being put into this, it lacks a sense of progression. I had hoped for a more soothing experience instead of this odd spot of having a gameplay in which you need to stay activated and hammer away at the mouse in hopes of getting a really mangled depiction of a pike.
Conclusion: Functional, but very barebones. I would give this a neutral score if I could and there are far better games out there at the asked price point.

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I'm a player from its original play test here on steam, and from the very first minute I could already say I absolutely love this game! What sets it apart from other idle games is most definitely that you can co-op with other steam users, are able to place the game in any corner of your screen, alongside the very whacky, humorous things you are able to catch (catch the word "things", not "fish") that just give me a good laugh xD

The new AFK mode is great to really sell that idle game core, but it's not enough to catch the bigger fishes, so it's not a game to let be completely idle. The ratio of catches is still high, though, so I don't pressure myself to catch every single big fish as they don't come that often anyway. The added lures which you can catch also just fishing are great for increasing your chances at catching those bigger fish though, so I love that! I also love how quick the developers act on the community's concerns and suggestions! Makes me excited for the future of both this game and the team making it!

The music is nice and the sfx just the right amount of repetitions to notify you of any catches. Though if both aren't your thing there's an option to mute them, too! The art is *chefs kiss* and definitely one of the reasons the game hooked me. Love the game loads!