Luna’s Fishing Garden: A Delightful New Fishing and Building Game

“The water is a dark flower and a fisherman is a bee in the heart of her.” – Annie Proulx

Overview

Luna’s Fishing Garden is a short, cosy fishing and building game. Players take on the role of Cassie and catch fish, trade items and create a dream garden by cleaning up, planting flora, and bringing animals to the curious archipelago.

This game is being reviewed as part of the Indie Game Collective (IGC) Showcase.

Gameplay

Luna’s Fishing Garden sees Cassie complete quests for the various animal characters that she meets, whether it is cleaning the islands for Luna the fox or collecting specific fish for Jellybean the seal. As various tasks are completed Cassie is able to clear more of the storm’s residual fog and explore further, encountering more characters along the way. Anything collected, from scrap to fish to flora can be sold for currency (leaves) which can, in turn, be used to buy specific trees to plant or water objects to place amongst other things.

Fishing is a major part of the game and can be set to either relaxing or challenging mode. The former simply requires the player to reel the fish when it is calm and release when it struggles whereas the latter needs the player to line up a vertical bar with the fish until a meter fills up. This provides a more difficult approach for those who want it but means that causal players can also enjoy the game too. In addition, while the game’s standard controls require a keyboard and mouse or controller, there is also a mouse only mode to further increase the game’s accessibility.

There is definitely an idler aspect to the game as most farming items have a timer dictating how often they can be harvested such as the tamarillo tree which has a 95-second turnaround. There are a number of quests requiring specific quantities of one item which in turn requires the player to either constantly redesign their garden space to make room for multiple instances of the same tree or to simply be patient. It is possible to place creatures that will collect items for you, however, these items will be instantly sold and cannot be handed in to quest givers.

Narrative and Styling

Luna’s Fishing Garden begins with protagonist Cassie being whisked away by a tornado. She wakes up on an island belonging to Luna the Fox in an archipelago the storm has wreaked havoc upon. By completing tasks and tending to the area Cassie can clear the fog from the islands, bring animals back to the area and restore the power of Gaia! The game’s narrative is largely delivered through its well-written dialogue from distinct characters, all with their own clear personalities.

The game features some beautifully vibrant pixel art brought to life with simple but jolly animations and eclectic characters; minimal but cute sound effects also help to increase immersion. The soundtrack is a very twee and upbeat collection of familiar looping electronic tracks (think Stardew Valley or The Sims).

Summary

Luna’s Fishing Garden is short for this style of game and can be completed in 3-5 hours. Overall it is a delightfully relaxing game and while it may not appeal to hardcore farming sim fans it is easy to recommend to players of all ages due to its engaging narrative, family-friendly feel, fun characters, low-pressure gameplay, and very reasonable price.

For more fishing antics check out this list of titles that include fishing mini-games!
Five Different Fishing Mini-Games!

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