Reverse Fishing Review (PC)

I’m flopping about like a fish out of water, up dung creek without a paddle or an aquatic vessel to guide me back to the coastline — and I’m weirdly loving the lack of H2O. I can’t breathe, and I sure as heck cannot swim. So, where do I go from here? I’ve two options: I can either brave the asphalt and jackknife like a clock, or I can aimlessly flail these frail fins until something—anything decides to sweep me away from this god awful predicament and into the nautical world. I’m at a loss, truly, and I’ve begun to lose track of how many times I’ve lost faith from the severe lack of progress. But this is, for better or worse, Reverse Fishing, and it seems that I have no choice but to bite the bait and, you know, deal with it.

Suddenly I’m back in that darn bowl, bludgeoning my bauble head against the rim of the glass in the hopes that it’ll miraculously roll forward and plummet into a safety net of aquatic delights. Yet, having already been in that situation, and having learned a valuable lesson about patience and self discipline, I am oddly inclined to believe, come hell of high water, fish are arguably the most stubborn protagonists in gaming history.

At first, I wanted to believe that Reverse Fishing would make an effort to loosen up the slack and paint fish as cooperative and competent. But annoyingly, that image never saw the light of day. I wish that it did make more of an effort to change my perception of fish, but honestly, I don’t think it could have cared any less. Strange, that.

Come Hell or High Water

Reverse Fishing is of a similar tidal force as I Am Fish — but with fewer bowls and vomiting humans, and a lot more DIY construction and false hopes of finding gratification in a sea of unforgivingly bitter obstacles. The idea, however, is mostly one and the same: a fish strangely finds itself out of water, and with the worst possible chance of finding its way back, desperately tries to return. And that’s essentially where you come in—at the verge of the prophetical bowl, and unapologetically suited and booted to drag the fish back to the shore by any means necessary. The rest, as you can imagine, is a doddle. Well, sort of.

Reverse Fishing describes itself as a rage game — and for good reason, too. True to its word, the game offers its niche clientele the opportunity to take to the reins (or fin) of the wayward fish, and effectively launch it across an oddly barbaric spectrum of obstacles. But, there’s a catch: the objects that appear in Reverse Fishing aren’t designed to hold your hand as you navigate the primrose path; on the contrary, they’re created to test your loyalty, patience, and your sense of direction. In other words, it has little to no interest in keeping you afloat, but it has the ultimate goal of wanting to capsize you long before you begin to make so much as a lick of progress. And to think that we pay for these experiences.

Fin

If you’ve ever played a rage game before, then you’ll be “pleased” to hear that most things that make up Reverse Fishing are as equally painstakingly complex. From the oversized gaps to the annoyingly narrow launch platforms, the irritating placements of certain objects to the general lack of competence of the fish — Reverse Fishing is, for better or worse, an absolute nightmare to navigate. But that isn’t to say that it’s not enjoyable; in fact, the first fifteen minutes are a lot of fun — especially when you’re learning the ropes and coming to terms with the predicament. But then the reality hits like a freight train. The world suddenly hates you, and everything in it no longer wants to be your friend. That’s when Reverse Fishing sheds its true colors.

There isn’t a lot to learn here about the mechanics. In short, you can flip and flounder your fins, and make the occasional jump. Learning these controls isn’t the problem; it’s figuring out how to time jumps correctly, and deciding whether or not to take an online course in anger management before proceeding with the game, in general.

Luckily, there are only five levels to flop through, so the actual chances of reaching a point where you disgracefully pull the hair from your scalp is surprisingly low here. And these levels are oddly fun, all things considered. Sure, the visuals are a little on the lighter side of the scale, and the stages aren’t in possession of anything particularly impressive. But if you, like me, enjoy intense obstacle courses that favor comical value over graphical fidelity, then it’s unlikely that you’ll find the lack of vigor to be a major problem here.

Verdict

I Am Fish was enough to push me way beyond boiling point, and so, you can imagine my surprise when I just so happened to stumble into the next best thing. Well, I say next best thing as is if I’m trying to dress it up as a well-needed tribute to a cult classic, when in reality, Reverse Fishing is nothing of the sort. True to the nature of rage games, Reverse Fishing could not care less about you or your hopes and dreams of ever reaching the checkered flag, and it does all in its power to ensure that you fail to flap your fins at any given opportunity.

To paint it in black and white, you probably won’t “enjoy” Reverse Fishing. If anything, you’ll tolerate it, and you’ll most likely wind up hating not only fish, but the nautical world, in general. Yet, if you like the idea of being subjected to a cruel punishment in which you have to endure stupidly tricky situations with all odds against you, then you will probably find something to love about Reverse Fishing. But if it’s a simple Fall Guys-like bonanza that you’re desperately looking for, then boy, stay as far as humanly possible away from this coastal sphere.