How To Fish

How To Fish looks like a relaxing fishing sim but plays like a shooter with gills. Players describe it as Doom with gills, and the nickname fits once you are holding a weapon and a big fish is swimming straight at you. The setup is simple: you drink, you crash your boat into a small island, and the only way home is to learn how to fish.

Stranded With No Gear at the Start of How To Fish

You begin with no gear and no weapons, which is the first surprise for anyone expecting a quiet pastime. Fishing itself is simple: cast the bait, wait and reel in the catch. Early in the game the small fish are your income, and every sale pushes you toward a better rod and your first real weapon.

Beginners usually underestimate the physics. Everything wobbles, tumbles and collides, so a clumsy cast can end with you in the water. The larger fish also fight back, which turns what looks like an easy catch into a short brawl.

Solo players are fully supported, since all content works in single player. Playing alone is slower and quieter, though, so expect a steadier pace and fewer disasters.

The Catch, Kill and Sell Loop in How To Fish

Everything in the game runs on a short progression loop. Money is the engine, and the way you earn it is blunt: catch it, kill it, sell it. Once you grasp that, the question of how to make money fast mostly becomes how quickly you can handle bigger fish without dying.

1. Cast your line and reel in a fish.
2. Finish it off with a knife, brass knuckles or a firearm.
3. Sell the fish for cash.
4. Spend that cash on better rods, weapons and gear.
5. Complete quests and beat the boss to unlock the next island.

The loop is relaxing on its own, and many players say they could repeat it for hours. That is the secret behind the game’s pull: the catching stays fun while the weapons escalate around it.

Trick Shots, Rare Variants and Fish Gambling

Trick shots are the fastest way to earn bonus money. Landing a difficult hit pays more than a clean kill, so players start chasing wild angles and bouncing shots instead of the safe option. This is where the physics comedy shines.

Completionists get their own goal in the rare variants. Every kind of fish has a rare version, and hunting all of them pushes you to revisit waters you thought you had finished.

Then there is gambling, which uses fish rather than real money. It adds an optional risk to the economy and suits players who enjoy turning a good day into either a fortune or nothing.

Bosses, New Islands and Late-Game Weapons

Quests and boss fights form the path from island to island. Each new island brings more dangerous creatures and better gear, so the tension shifts from simply catching a fish to surviving what swims beside it. By the time you reach the later islands, the water feels far less friendly than it did on the shore where you crashed.

The weapon list climbs fast, from knives and brass knuckles to firearms and explosives like dynamite. Players often point to the Assault Rifle as close to the strongest weapon in the late game, which makes saving up for it feel like a milestone.

Not everything has to go perfectly. Many deaths come from your own mistakes, and the game seems to like it that way, treating each failure as part of the joke.

Co-op Chaos, Revives and Rough Edges in How To Fish

Up to four players can team up, and that is where the game turns into pure chaos. Friends crash into each other, fumble throws and set off explosions nobody planned. The revive mechanic is among the funniest in any co-op game and regularly makes whole groups laugh out loud.

The game is not without flaws. Controller support needs work, because menu options are hard to read and changing sensitivity is clumsier than it should be. Players using a Steam Deck will notice this most.

The core loop is also repetitive by design. If you want deep systems or a long story, this will feel light, but if you want silly fishing with friends and a bigger gun every hour, it delivers.

How To Fish turns a simple idea into a loud, physics-driven adventure where each boss, each island and each upgrade from knife to Assault Rifle raises the stakes. Bring a few friends, keep your bait ready and enjoy the chaos.