Cast n Chill

I absolutely hate fishing in real life because I was never any good at it, but I love this game. Such a relaxed and yes, chill game that has great ambience, simple game play that is just challenging enough to make it all worthwhile. If this is a cozy game, sign me up for more.

Peak game

fish with doggie :)

An interactive screen saver. Quite literally; You don't need to be present to play this game, it plays itself once you set it to idle. So set it and forget it and collect your fish and make money. A very simple game that can be played with keyboard, mouse or gamepad. It's very relaxing with its visuals and music, cast n chill.

My two favorite childhood hobbies were fishing and gaming. Back then, the gaming tech was all 2D pixel art on 16-bit hardware so this game manages to somehow combine those summer nostalgia experiences for me of going on a fishing trip in the day and hitting the nearby arcade at the boardwalk at night. So I probably do have a bias towards 2D games and fishing before I get into the rest of this review. My original expectations for this game weren't very high. I read descriptions of this as an "idle" game where it is basically a screensaver you run in the background and that it has no skill. While that can be the case if you choose to run it in "idle mode" it is also a proper game with actual gameplay mechanics and it can be both fun and challenging. In the arcade and Dreamcast I was a big fan of Sega Bass Fishing. That game was much more immersive with a rod and reel with force feedback and no other fishing game I've played since has been as fun. Cast and Chill is the first fishing game I've actually enjoyed since then. It is simple to pick up and play. You select a rod, lure, and cast. Reeling is just a single button but there is some skill in using that and what combinations to gear to use. The game doesn't try to be too technical with specific lure techniques and long wait times but still has enough of that feel of what it is like to land a fish with each species having a different strategy. On my home PC I play this with a 8bitdo Pro 2 controller and the force feedback and it is the best way to play. This is the standout feature. You can feel all the little bumps, tugs, and drags which make all the difference from just a basic game. While this game also works on the Steam Deck, the control haptics aren't as strong as a gamepad so you don't get that same level of immersiveness unfortunately. The touchpads shake slightly but not strong enough to feel the different vibes for different fish. Still a nice game to have as a portable. Aside from that, the artwork is well done. The fish are all real species even though there are some Atlantic/Pacific fish in the same ocean, but I can overlook that since we're in a fictional setting. The point is, there is a lot of attention to detail in this game and sometimes that's what separates average from great. For the price, I would have considered this just as an idle screensaver to keep my oled from burning in, but it turned to also be the best fishing game I've played next to Sega Bass Fishing.

Beautiful music, beautiful bit scenery, beautiful fish, and a trusty dog <3

It's a chill game about catching fish, so I got what I asked for. It has beautiful graphics, and catching the fish itself is a lot of fun. Most anybody would probably enjoy it.