As a sport, fishing is one of those pursuits where the appeal is difficult to grasp if you have never tried it. After all, the naysayers might posit, what’s so fun about standing in one place for hours on end, in the hopes of catching something that you will most likely throw back into the water afterward?
However, this line of thought completely misses the point of what makes fishing so worthwhile. Fishing is an incredibly peaceful and soothing pursuit, one that allows you to be at one with nature in an incredibly intimate way, all while using your mental strategies to grab the catch of the day.
That’s why the genre of fishing-themed games has proved so consistently popular among fans of the sport. Whether your fishing hobby just isn’t enough, or you are simply nowhere near a good fishin’ hole, here are some quintessential classics of the fishing genre in gaming.
Fishing Planet
Fishing Planet is a completely free-to-play game available on PS4 and Xbox One, which takes you to painstaking recreations of some of Earth’s most stunning fishing spots for a spot of the old sport. This is a hyper-realistic fishing simulator that requires total immersion to get right. There are no flashy prizes or cutthroat competitions here, just pure fishing, solo style.
Sea of Thieves
The Windows and Xbox One game Sea of Thieves were originally meant to be a swashbuckling pirate adventure game, but that did not last long. After a lackluster reception to the main story, fans quickly realized that the real hidden gem within the game is the fishing minigame, which manages to be in equal parts challenging, immersive, and absolutely hilarious. This was definitely a minigame created by fishing fans.
Fishin’ Frenzy
If you’re looking to kick things up a notch and try something different, you could always indulge your love of fishing by playing a real-money online slot game dedicated entirely to lovers of the sport. We’re talking, of course, about the popular Fishin’ Frenzy slot, which allows you to step into the shoes of a talented angler to catch exotic fish that are worth real cash prizes. Strike it lucky and win up to 2000x your original stake on a single catch.
Fishing Clash
If you’re looking for a mobile fishing game with a strong element of real-world competition, then try out Fishing Clash, another freebie game that makes its money from the purchase of virtual fishing equipment, some of which goes for $99 a rod. The game takes you fishing in some of the world’s most unlikely locales, such as the traffic-laden Yangtze River or the gator-infested Florida Gulf to catch more fish than your fellow players and rise up the ranks to win real prizes. Only serious players need to apply.
If you like fishing, you’ll definitely love playing any of the classic fishing games listed above. True to the original sport, these games offer the same type of relaxation, self-reflection, and appreciation of the natural world that fishing does, so give them a try today.
