Tides: A Fishing Game Review

Smooth Sailing Ahead

Do you need an escape from the hustle and bustle of life through the compact nature of your mobile device? Well, then take out your boat or barrel and grab your fishing rod in Shallot Games’, Tides: A Fishing Game.

Freedom To Fish

Tides: A Fishing Game keeps it simple and to the point from the beginning. Make a character and go to islands to collect the fish that inhabit the area. This game doesn’t offer much of a story. However, it does give players the freedom to do what they want or follow milestones that provide rewards. You can hire people to collect gold on the hub island or build a small array of structures that offer cosmetic items or new boats. As you collect gold from fish, you can spend it on unique totems which unlock new islands. These new islands offer new fish to collect and other things like pets and money chests. Tides also allows players to get out of their boat to fish on land or collect additional items. This feature really gives the game that extra sense of freedom and exploration.

Even if this is a fishing game, it does offer some Idle elements which help with progression. You can build docks that are occupied by fishers. Fisherman and pets can be upgraded to provide you with more money over time. While in the hub, you can also get new boats using the pearl currency, which is provided at a reasonable rate. Each boat has a different speed and can hold a specific number of fish. I found the barrel to be my favorite boat for how silly it is and for its large fish capacity.

Simplicity and Stuttering

Although this game does have a lot of good going for it, a few minor issues keep it from being perfect. The main issues come from the game’s performance and character graphics. Framerate fluctuates during play, which becomes a minor annoyance. Cosmetics are collected only through the premium currency of pearls. Although there are plenty to choose from, it does become a grind to collect them all, incentivizing purchasing pearls. Your character will also have a couple of visual bugs, possibly due to clipping from the hair or just being viewed at specific angles.

Beyond these issues and the premium currency, which is optional for the players, the art is simplistic and pleasing. The hub island is easy to travel through and the art compliments the game’s relaxed and simplistic style. The fish follow this with a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Overall, if you look past a few minor issues, this game offers a fun and peaceful experience that we could all use, especially today.