Whisker Waters Review (Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Switch & PC)

When Underbite Games invited me to board a wooden vessel and embark on a “whimsical fishing journey” in its latest fantasy RPG hybrid adventure, Whisker Waters, I couldn’t help but take its paw and accept, for I had never seen or heard of such an unusual nautical expedition before, let alone one that merged feline friends with the art of angling. Don’t get me wrong, I had made a few friends amongst the cattle folk that fleshed out the likes of Animal Crossing and Dreamlight Valley, all of whom shared a similar passion for the pastime, but I had never really taken it upon myself to set out and accompany them on one of their deep-sea adventures. That, apparently, was a journey only the so-called Whisker Waters could hold the bragging rights to.

Whisker Waters is all about angling; specifically, the lengths one would take to reach the perfect anchor point in which the rarest species flourish and thrive. In this game, you take control over a cat, whose sole purpose is to embark on epic adventures across the vast open seas and dockside quarters to catch, catalog, and ultimately chronicle the lives of the fish folk. It’s a fishing game at heart, true, but it’s also a fantasy RPG that features a hearty amount of quests, activities, and other social elements, too. And that’s barely scratching the surface, to be fair; it has a lot more than that. However, for the sake of adding a bit of context over the matter, we’ll take it back just a notch.

Hook, Line & Stinker

It goes like this: you are, in spite of your best efforts to mirror the gestures of a human, a cat, and one whose primary purpose in life is to catch—you guessed it—fish, as well as cater to the odd request as provided by a slew of villagers and other needy folk who occupy the boroughs and its surrounding lakeside utopias. It’s a simple gameplay loop that, while mostly comprised of the same pattern, has a substantial amount of mini-games to shovel through, all of which contribute to the overall process of discovering, hooking, and documenting various aspects of the journey and the species that flesh out the open waters. But, even then, this isn’t to say that an alluring gameplay loop is enough to overshadow the technical faults — of which there are more than I’d like to admit.

As it stands, Whisker Waters is almost too clunky to handle, and it’s made all the more frustrating to navigate due to its aggressive camera system and frequent technical jitters. Graphically, it isn’t terrible, but it is difficult to admire a lot of the landscapes and hallmark attractions due to the sheer scale of these design choices. Again, these aren’t necessarily things that can’t ever receive the tender love and care they so rightfully deserve; a couple of post-launch patches ought to do the trick, for sure. But it is a problem, alright, and it does take a lot of the fun out of the overall journey, thus making what could be a lengthy journey a bite-sized segment of motion sickness and tedious tasks.

You’re on Your Own, Puss

Whisker Waters has quite a few fetch quests in it—tasks that either involve you collecting fruits and other items around the world, or speaking to another villager between overarching narrative points. As it is an RPG, of course, a lot of these tasks often mean having to explore a great length of one of several plains—a feat that isn’t quite as easy as it sounds, given the lack of hand-holding that the game offers right from the get-go. As far as all of that goes, it’s easy to get lost in Whisker Waters, and doubly as difficult to decipher who to talk to, and where to go for your next objective. Annoyingly, the map markers are next to non-existent, too, and so, to actually make some level of progress, you first need to make time to explore and find your bearings. Much easier said than done, mind you.

Gameplay-wise, there isn’t a huge amount to fret about; it’s merely the case of traveling far and wide, collecting items, and catching fish. There’s a bit more to it than that, but for the most part, it doesn’t go much beyond the basic routine of running fetch quests and aimlessly roaming around whilst searching for the next “major” story beat. Was it so repetitive that it started to feel a little monotonous? In ways, yes, but the mini-games that it had were, in all fairness, enough to keep me invested, if only for short periods of time before the headaches soon became apparent — to the point of making me want to disembark and venture out to another shore.

While I was only able to play Whisker Waters in short bursts, I was able to absorb just enough to keep me coming back for another round. Well, most of the time.

Catfishing 101

I will say this: Whisker Waters is a very, very cute RPG, and its character models are arguably some of the greatest features in the whole game. The fact that you can also create your own cat and tweak its appearance to match your chosen personality, too, is a boon in itself, and it certainly brings out a lot of the better colors of the palette, despite being apart of a canvas that’s mostly opaque. Moreover, as it allows you to choose from countless fur patterns, waistcoats, hats, and other accessories, it does allow the overall role-playing experience to shine a little brighter — if only in short bursts. Its overall aesthetic, too, is evidently cozy and wholesome, which is enough to tempt any lover of the genre into boarding its vessel and sticking around for a nautical expedition or two.

There are other pros to this, too: the fact that you can explore some pretty beautiful landmarks, both on land and out at sea, too. In a true open-world-like fashion, you can hop aboard your boat and venture out to uncover the secrets of some mysterious locations, as well as forage for supplies and other natural rarities, too. Needless to say that it is, all things considered, a good-looking game at its core, and it’s a crying shame that so many potential players won’t be able to experience a lot of it due to the current state of its world, warts and all. But, as I said earlier — there’s still hope yet, and it’s only a matter of time until the creators address the issues. Here’s hoping, anyway.

Verdict

While Whisker Waters does provide a sturdy substrate for that angling itch of yours, it doesn’t quite do the genre justice, as it’s more or less a half-baked mess that harbors one too many technical problems to be anything even remotely playable. Don’t get me wrong, it is cute, and it is certainly cozy, but it’s also lauded by numerous flaws that make it difficult to enjoy.

Aside from the janky controls and camera setup, Whisker Waters does actually provide a good concept, and it’s a shame, really, that a lot of it isn’t visible due to the sheer shoddiness of it all. For that reason alone, I have to agree with the lion’s share of the critics and say that the game, at least in its current condition, just isn’t worth pouring several hours into. Not yet, anyway. With that said, it does have the potential to be something much, much better, and I’m only hoping that the creators behind it find the time to make the necessary adjustments to bring out its glossier features in future updates. Until then, I’ll stand by my decision and keep the tackle at bay, if only until the next wave of hot fixes have been introduced into the framework.

The question is, should you pick up a copy of Whisker Waters whilst it’s currently making its rounds? Well, it depends on whether or not you succumb to motion sickness easily, or if you’re able to gloss over the technical issues and focus on the positives. With that said, if you’re the sort of gamer who enjoys nitpicking, then you might struggle to substitute the negatives for positives. To that end, I’d suggest coming back in a few months, after the devs have tightened the loose screws and combed out its matted whiskers.