Nice Day for Fishing, the RPG where the fish fight back.
Nice Day for Fishing was developed by FusionPlay, an indie studio that isn’t known for making big RPGs. They had mostly worked on smaller, less serious games and VR experiments prior to this one. They did something strange and strangely good here, though: they took the cozy fishing mini-game trope from hundreds of RPGs and made a whole game out of it.
But instead of being a relaxing activity, fishing turns into your main weapon, your way of fighting, and your only way to stay alive. What began as a joke about NPCs and how fishing works turned into an amazingly well-written and touching adventure about a hero who comes from the most unexpected place.
You play as Baelin in Nice Day for Fishing, a humble NPC in Honeywood, a fantasy town that looks like an MMO. Wake up, fish, and maybe say hello to the main character as they walk by on their way to kill the Demon King. That’s his simple life. But everything changes when there is a magic bug. The server crashes, the real heroes disappear, and all of a sudden, Baelin is the only “player” who can still do anything.
Honeywood is destroyed by a huge monster, most of the non-player characters (NPCs) disappear or get scattered, and Baelin ends up being the main character, not by choice but because they have to. Baelin sets out to rebuild the town and defeat the evil that now threatens the land. He has his rod, a kite full of strange bait, and a lot of energy.
Nice Day for Fishing is an RPG where fishing isn’t the only thing that you do. Yes, the game is centered around fishing, and in order to make progress, you need to know what to catch and how to catch it for every big quest and battle. Baelin looks for rare fish, treasures, and magical items in forests, along the coast, in caves, and underwater ruins.
You pick bait, cast your line, and wait to start Nice Day for Fishing. But it opens up quickly. The bait system works well, but some fish only show up at certain times or in secret places that can only be reached with certain lures or rods.
Your center is the town of Honeywood. After you destroy it, you’ll gather the parts you need to rebuild it. When you restore buildings, NPCs like blacksmiths, merchants, and quest-givers become available. You fish to get better gear, get better gear to catch better fish, and so on. It’s a great loop. It makes what you do more important than just catching things for fun.
In Nice Day for Fishing, fishing isn’t passive. When a fish bites, the game changes into a battle where each player takes a turn. You have to do something different to block, parry, or counter each fish’s attack while slowly reeling it in. Some fish move quickly and jerk, while others move slowly but hit hard. Boss fish? Think of a boss from Zelda meeting a SeaWorld escapee.
A lot of magic spells are also used in this. You’ll be able to temporarily freeze a fish, make your line stronger, or heal your rod in the middle of a battle. Because these spells use stamina, timing, and skill management are very important. The tension between keeping your gear in order and reacting to attacks from fish gives the game a unique and fun depth.
What’s impressive is how deep the fishing battles are. Even though it’s not quite Sekiro, it’s really fun to read attack signs and counter at the right time. Around the end of Nice Day for Fishing, the fish become more aggressive and trickier, making you feel more like you’re in a full-on boss rush game than a relaxing fishing simulator.
Still, Nice Day for Fishing is not without some problems. It can be hard to cast, especially at the beginning. When you’re trying to land your line in a very specific spot, you may have to micromanage the position and recast more than once. Fish can only move from left to right, which can make encounters feel a little fake, and some fish that move more slowly make things take longer than they need to.
You can move through this game like in an RPG. It takes Baelin experience to level up, which he gets by doing quests and catching fish. As you level up, you can get better spells, stronger gear, and new kinds of bait. The power, length, and durability of your rod all affect what you can catch and how far you can cast. Even the bait you use matters. Some fish don’t like certain lures, and others won’t bite until you get better gear.
Nice Day for Fishing cleverly mixes XP with exploration, so there isn’t much grinding to do. It’s always possible to get a new fishing area or an upgrade for your town, and there’s always something new around the corner. Also, when you go to a new area, there are often new puzzles to solve, like changing the flow of water to get your line into hidden caves.
The game has a very warm and cartoony look to it. Before it was destroyed, Honeywood was bright and colorful, and the surrounding areas were quite different, featuring misty mountain lakes and glowing underwater ruins. Fish have a lot of emotion, and each one moves in a way that matches its fighting style.
Even though it’s not the most technically advanced game, it does a great job of capturing the whimsical and slightly silly feel it’s going for. The interface is clean, and it’s easy to see what’s going on in battle, which is very important because some fights can be jerky.
I really enjoy the music in Nice Day for Fishing. Baelin’s theme has the silly charm of a Saturday morning cartoon, and each area has its own easygoing melody that slowly changes into something more dramatic as you get to the end of the game.
The sound effects used in battles—rod creaks, fish splashes, and magical whooshes—make the encounters feel more real. There isn’t a lot of voice acting, but when it does happen, it’s cute, and the dialogue is funny. Even though Baelin doesn’t talk, the way people talk about him is funny. He’s just a guy who wants to fish, but now he’s fighting things from the afterlife.
Not many games take a joke idea and turn it into something really fun. Nice Day for Fishing is one of those games. It could have been a quick parody or a cute idea that was stretched too thin, but it’s a full RPG with heart, depth, and, yes, fish.
Nice Day for Fishing combines funny, creative combat with the fun of exploration, all wrapped in a package that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still values your time. Some parts of the game are annoying, like casting spells slowly and doing the same thing over and over, but they’re easy to forget when the game keeps surprising you with secret caves, crazy boss fights, and touching moments from its non-player characters.
