He was just a simple fisherman. A real simple man. Likes to fish. Likes to say, “Nice day for fishing, ain’t it?” And it is — a nice day for fishing. Ain’t it. The man is an NPC in an online adventure game. When a magician comes to town and severs the server’s connection to the internet, something unexpected happens: the NPC becomes the main character. But, he’s still stuck in his programmed loop: “Nice day for fishing, ain’t it?”
Nice Day for Fishing adapts the Viva La Dirt League video series, which apparently features this character in their videogame skit videos. These have not been considered for this review, in an effort to provide an alternative outside take.
The outside take is that this game is pretty good and interesting without context. It’s funny, not too complex, and wraps fishing in an endearing turn-based RPG combat system.
The gameplay loop goes: grab supplies from the shore (nuts, worms, onions, new poles, hats, etc., etc.) then go fish. As the line goes down, the lure attracts fish based on what’s on the hook. The worms, endearingly, are taken from Team17’s Worms series, as they’re the publisher. There’s a good range of fish across a few fishing holes, which vary based on the depth of the water.
The reel-in system is the main focus of the action. You mash the button to reel in, then stop and do a quick parry-based game for the fish’s combat phase, before going back to tapping or casting “spells” that help bring the fish up. It’s so simple but ultimately, fun and effective.
The game doesn’t go too far beyond this simple formula. It’s full of cute flavor text and probable in-jokes from the video series. One helpful NPC keeps losing his hammer down the same damn well and you’ll have to keep going and fishing it out, and he’ll keep promising it’s the last time. Which brings us to the point of the cyclical gameplay loop.
Nice Day for Fishing is about videogames that feel like limbo. It uses fishing, as a cozy but repetitive task, to show how our character is locked into an eternal cycle of fetch-quest fulfillment. But it does all of this well. It’s a delightful little diversion but ultimately, that’s about all it is. Whether you’ve caught the online video series or not, it’s a good catch, and the gameplay loop is appropriately sticky. It certainly is a nice day for fishing. Ain’t it?
7/10
Reviewed on Steam Deck