Nice Day For Fishing – Shockingly good and fun
Nice Day for Fishing — Shockingly good and fun
“Nice Day for Fishing” sounds boring, but it’s actually quite good.
The game comes from the Viva La Dirt League universe — the YouTube channel known for poking fun at gaming tropes through their sketch series. They’re from New Zealand, with their own particular brand of humour. They’ve built up their own video-game world, and this title expands on that setting. It’s set in the small pixel-art town of Honeywood.
The developers are FusionPlay (Germany), with Team17 (UK) — yes, the same Team17 behind Worms — acting as publisher.
So what sort of game is it? It’s a 2D RPG fishing game with a pixel-art style — think 16-bit nostalgia with a modern polish. You play as a fisherman in Honeywood who ends up protecting the town after all the adventurers (the “players”) vanish. It’s charming throughout, from the music to the sound effects, many of which are lifted straight from Viva La Dirt League videos.
It’s quite a short game, but that works in its favour. It takes something usually treated as a throwaway side quest — fishing — and turns it into the main mechanic. The actual fishing is a mini-game that mixes in its own spells, blocking, and parrying mechanics. It’s simple, but surprisingly engaging, with buffs, debuffs, and little twists that keep it interesting. Fighting bosses uses the fishing mini game too!
The concept is simple, but it’s executed really well. Like many great indie projects, it keeps its scope small and focuses on creativity over scale. We don’t know how much it cost to make, but it clearly reuses sounds and animations smartly. There are plenty of fishing games, but nothing quite like this. I’m not sure if it’s been profitable yet, but it’s obviously made with love — full of references to Viva La Dirt League videos, yet completely enjoyable even if you’ve never heard of them. Some reviewers who didn’t know the channel still really liked it.
From what I’ve seen, it’s been a pleasant surprise. It seems to be selling decently too — about 61 k copies on Steam, and I’d guess roughly double that once consoles are factored in. Not bad at all for a niche indie title.
It fits into the ongoing trend of simulation/RPG hybrids doing well — smaller games with personality succeeding in a crowded market where big-budget studios are trapped chasing impossible returns. Indie developers are taking the risks AAA studios won’t. The industry feels split between big sequels and established IPs on one side, and small studios being far more creative on the other. The innovation really is coming from the indie scene.
I wasn’t expecting much from this one, but it’s silly, light-hearted, and genuinely fun. I’m only about a third through so far, but I’m hooked. Indie games are having a moment — even in a sea of competition, gems like this still manage to shine through. I don’t play enough indie games; perhaps I should. There’s one big RPG on my mind I really ought to buy, but for now, I’ve got a small backlog to clear.
By the time you read this, I’m hoping winter gives me the excuse to work through it.
Nice day for fishing — and a nice day for playing video games too.