Summary
Conventionalfishing gamesand fishing simulators have a very specific dedicated market that prioritizes accuracy and competition above creativity. The same cannot be said of horror games based on fishing. Fishing simulators make great fodder for horror games. The quiet anticipation of fishing juxtaposes beautifully with the intense horror of an ambush from the deep.
Fear of the ocean and fear of what lies beneath the surface of the water is only one element of the horror that fishing horror games capitalize on. The isolation of fishing and the strangeness of aquatic lifeforms add to the uncanny dread that fishing can cultivate. Whether players are looking for hours of dedicated fishing and an in-depth story or five minutes for a short sharp shot of aquatic horror, there’s something on this list for everyone.
8Fish N Chat
Citation Is Needed On These Fish Facts
Fish N Chatis anextremely short gamewith some genuinely spooky moments. It is set inside a fishing multiplayer game that seems to be concealing something terrifying. The thick fog and the strange-garbled voices of fellow fisherman do a lot to create a sense of unease in the early game.
The strange lack of boat noises, lack of direction, and the way the boat moves around the lake may be an issue for some players. Bs, but it definitely mimics the90s PCchat game aesthetic the developer was going for. There is a gentle absurdist humor dispersed among the horror.
7Mourning Tide
Stay In The Circle
With no context, the player finds themselves in thefirst-person perspectiveon a rusty fishing boat. The atmosphere is grim, but there is little indication of what lies ahead in this short horror experience. It’s pretty smooth sailing for the first few catches, then the fisherman begins to pull fish with human faces out of the water.
The noises that come from the ‘fish’ are truly disturbing, and the human faces embedded within them are harrowing. Unfortunately, sometimes fish will not spawn if too many opportunities are missed. The gameplay is simple yet extremely challenging.
6Generic Fishing Game
Have A Nice, Relaxing Time
Have a spare 10 minutes and looking for an unexpected challenge? Players who love reverse bullet-hell-stylegames like anUndertalepacifist runcould do far worse thanGeneric Fishing Game.The initial rudimentary graphics and simplicity of the mechanics belie the strange game that literally lies beneath the surface.
Generic Fishing Gameis a clever subversion of simple in-browsertitles from the Flash games era. This has been a common trope on itch.io in the past few years, and when executed well, it acts as smart, meta-textual humor. All that being said, this is just a relaxing generic fishing game. Don’t worry about it.
5Fishing Vacation
You Caught A Shoe!
Fishing Vacationis a short horror game with 8-bit graphics that mimic the style of a cheapGame Boy game. The player is invited on a fishing vacation with his friend, but when they arrive at the cabin they will be staying in, they find signs that something terrible may have happened to the previous occupants.
The fishing mechanic requires a fair amount of button mashing, which is appropriate for the style of game it is going for. It has multiple endings, and it is absolutely possible to finish a playthrough without discovering the truth about the cabin and the lake. One of many fishing horror games to come out of the 2020 Fishing Horror Jam on itch.io, and there is a free demo available.
4Lake Facade
Who Do We Worship?
Lake Façadeis aPS1-style horror gameabout a newcomer arriving at an unfamiliar lake and uncovering the Eldritch mysteries that lie behind its façade. When one of the ‘fish’ talks back, everything begins to unravel. It is very reminiscent of the H.P. Lovecraft short storyThe Shadow Over Innsmouth.
Lake Facadeis less scary than many of the games on this list. It has simple fishing mechanics; the sound design is appropriately unsettling, and the environment is easy to navigate. Just don’t press the escape key at the wrong time, or it will shut down completely and all progress will be lost. It’s ‘Name your own price’ on itch.io and an expanded version is due to be released on Steam soon.
3Wretched Depths
Take A Peak Below The Surface
InWretched Depths,the player character, Sam, is drawn to the obviouslyTwin Peaks-inspired townof Twin Pines to go fishing. Apart from the eerie atmosphere, things seem normal at first. The guy at the local bait shop seems friendly and will buy fish and sell the equipment Sam needs to catch different fish.
The fishing mechanics are simple and easier to navigate than many of the others on this list. As Sam’s fishing expeditions take her to deeper depths, the below-water view of fishing becomes increasingly terrifying. This is where the sound design really shines. It’s worth playing even just to experience the soundscape alone.
2Normal Fishing
Pixelated Lovecraftian Vibes
In the tradition of horror fishing games,Normal Fishingpurports to be just a relaxing fishing game, but it is unlike anything else of its kind. The game has a delightfully weird and uncanny aesthetic, and the dialogue is often purposefully stilted — especially the dialogue of the fisherman’s ‘loving’ mercenary and increasingly strange wife.
It is a surprisingly extensive demo that introduces a tantalizing amount of world building and mystery. The fishing mini-games are diverse, extremely fast-paced and engaging, and the narrative is filled withdark and offbeat humor. To discuss it much more would give too much away. Suffice to say it is a must-play that goes in a very unexpected direction.
Not only isDredgethe best fishing horror game out there — it was also one of the best releases of 2023. Period. The fishing mini-game is easy to master, and the inventory management element requires players to prioritize certain types of fishing spots. There are five distinct biomes on the map and a weird and wonderful array of fish to log in the fisherman’s encyclopedia.
The horror narrative is one of amnesia, isolation, and Eldritch horrors. The nameless fisherman arrives at Little Marrow with no memory of his past. In between the fishing game play, his tragic past is gradually revealed, andhe must decide how far he will go to recover his lost love.
