Hello and welcome back to my blog!
My quest for unique games recently led me to discover "Cast N Chill," a cute little fishing title. Its beautiful pixel art immediately caught my eye. I'm a huge fan of pixel art aesthetics, and I'm always happy to see more games adopting this visual style.
At its core, it's a fishing game where, as the title suggests, you can have a pretty chill and relaxing time. You simply enjoy the atmosphere and calm soundtrack while casting your hook and seeing what bites. It's not overly realistic like Call of the Wild: Angler (which I tried but didn't enjoy). You don't need to overthink the mechanics; most of the game is very easy to understand visually. For me, fishing simulators should be relaxing, not confusing with unnecessary mechanics, and this one perfectly fits that description.
The first time you open the game, you're greeted by a relaxing, calm, and gentle background music that perfectly complements the beautiful pixel art and animations. The design is minimalistic yet very charming, never boring. There aren't any hour-long tutorials; instead, the game gently teaches you one thing at a time. The very minimal HUD is a refreshing choice for a simulator. I play a hunting simulator with almost no HUD elements, and it feels more connected to nature with fewer distractions.
While that particular hunting game isn't optimally designed for minimal HUD, Cast n Chill clearly is, with its design philosophy built around this approach.
The fishing mechanic initially appears very simple: you cast your line, wait for a fish to bite, and then easily reel it in. However, you soon begin to understand deeper mechanics. Not all fish are interested in a specific type of bait, and the largest ones are typically found in the depths. Your rod type determines which baits you can use, while its strength and length allow you to catch bigger fish.
While these mechanics add significant depth to the gameplay, they aren't confusing. If you're unsuccessful in catching a fish or if a fish isn't interested in your bait, the game provides subtle hints, so you know what's not working.
The reeling mechanic is also smartly designed. You can't just reel in a fish as soon as it bites; they try their best to escape. If you exert too much strength against their efforts, they can get away.
A good strategy is to let bigger fish struggle and tire themselves out. Only when they're facing you and moving closer should you start reeling them in. This might take some practice, but it's very satisfying, and I suppose it's similar to what real fishermen do? I wouldn't know, as I've never gone fishing in real life.
Once you've caught enough, you can head to the dock to sell your fish. There, you can buy many helpful items, including licenses to new locations, new rods, bait, or even a better boat.
You can also choose to upgrade your rods and boat at this same location. The person selling these fishing essentials is the only NPC I've interacted with in the game so far. I haven't bought a license for a new place yet, but if you donate a coin to his donation jar, he might tell you about a new fishing spot.
The encyclopedia shows all discovered species and the type of bait they require, which is super handy for choosing the right bait. As it's a new game, I expect more content to be added soon.
This is truly such a charming little game. I admire the locations and visuals so much. Moving in the boat and seeing the parallax effect between all the different background layers is incredibly satisfying.
My favorite part of the game is the transition between day and night. You can change the time of day to dawn, dusk, or night, and the animation for this transition is just beautiful. You can notice how the entire environment seems to reflect the sunlight. This must be hard to implement—all the reflections, subtle color changes, and that gorgeous sky. Isn't it just stunning?
I'm genuinely enjoying this charming fishing game. The music is incredibly relaxing, perfectly setting the mood, and the beautiful pixel art, combined with some thoughtful mechanics, truly makes it a great title. With DLC and other content planned, I'm excited to see how it evolves. What are your thoughts on games that offer this kind of peaceful, evolving experience?
Until next time...
