Ridiculous Fishing - A Tale of Redemption Review

By , on March 18, 2013
Last modified 11 years ago


Ridiculous Fishing - A Tale of Redemption
Download on the AppStore
4 out of 5

PROS

  • A great sense of progression.
  • Silly, yet engaging. Jaunty music.

CONS

  • Your lure acts kind of like a magnet, and it can be hard to avoid fish when trawling the depths.

VERDICT

As ridiculous as its name, Ridiculous Fishing is simple, fun, and should keep players happy until they've seen everything the game has to offer.


  • Full Review
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Ridiculous Fishing is kind of the iOS gaming equivalent of a super group. It's created by Super Crate Box's Vlambeer, Unify and Bit Pilot's Zach Gage, and Greg Wohlwend of Hundreds fame. Quite a team for a simple little game about fishing, but then Ridiculous Fishing isn't really about fishing, it's about redemption. If that premise sounds a little ridiculous to you, I think that's the point.

We've played this type of 2D fishing game before. You cast your line with a tap, and then it travels downwards, tilting around all the fish (because if you hit one, your line comes back up). When your line has reached its maximum depth or you hit some seafood, the line returns, and it's here that you want to snag as many sea creatures as possible. The more you snag, not only the more money you will receive, but the higher in the air the fish will fly when it's time for snapper skeet shooting. That's right, upon reaching the boat again, the fish will take flight as you pull out your firearm and go to town. The larger fish will fly higher, and the more of these larger fish you have, the more towards the heavens they will rise in what is a pretty superfluous yet entertaining meta game.

You take this money and of course you visit the shop. Now the shop is self contained in game (no in-app purchases here), and its wares are priced in such a way to create a great sense of progression as you travel from location to location, and increase your fishing prowess. Now progression to a new area is measured in catching a certain number of different species in each location, and to achieve this you will need to buy better lines, guns, and all manner of other utilities, but grinding is kept to a minimum, and with the core gameplay being quite enjoyable, is never really a concern.

The only downside really aside from the simplistic nature of the game is that it can be difficult to avoid all the fish on the way down. Early on you buy a chainsaw lure that can dice up fish on your way to the depths but you want to use it sparingly, and most times when you realize you're going to need to engage it, it's already too late. This aside though, there's a reason that writers and critics online are buzzing about Ridiculous Fishing. It's got a great sense of humor, solid progression for a simple iOS title, and the core play is quite enjoyable. It's an easy recommend.

Screenshots

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