Sea Fantasy Arrives With a Novel Twist on the Absurdly Popular Fishing Theme

As triple-A games continue to test how expensive they can be (rumors are that GTA VI will arrive as a $100 game) and more and more arrive in an unsuitable state, indie games have rightly been given much more attention. Of course, people have long been happy to explore creative, lower-cost games, but some very high-profile success stories have only emphasized the value of indies in recent years.

Hades, Dave the Diver, Dredge, and, of course, Balatro have exceeded expectations by being fun, inventive, and characterful games. One theme that has long proven to best be served as a small-scale game, a side feature, or a mini-game is fishing. While Dave the Diver tapped into this very well, the new indie game Sea Fantasy, which arrived earlier than anticipated, is putting an enticing new spin on the formula.

Indies on the Rise While the People Crave Fishing Games

Indie games boomed in 2024. After relatively steady growth from 2018 to 2022, following a mild dip in 2023, they soared in 2024. As the global indie games market report relays, full game revenue for indies went from 31 percent of the total Steam share to 48 percent last year. Units sold also burst up from 49 percent of games sold to 58 percent. People are more interested than ever in testing the waters of indie games.

On top of this, casual gaming is enjoying all-time highs, predominantly because of the prevalence of smartphones. When it comes to a challenging sport of variety, fishing perfectly ticks the boxes for casual gamers. The Steam player chart for fishing games is loaded with indie creations, including Stardew Valley, Russian Fishing 4, and Dave the Diver. As shown by the mixed reviews on Call of the Wild: The Angler, fishing seems to be better suited to smaller experiences.

Perhaps this is why it’s so popular as a mini-game, a feature of an indie game, or even the premise of an online slot game. Among the spotlight online bingo games and slots, fishing is running riot. Three Big Bass games, Fishin’ Frenzy, and Big Catch make up a third of the most popular games. These slots are all about the fishing bonus. Players look to land the angler and the fish symbols with cash values to reel them all in for an enhanced win.

Keeping it Simple but with Depth and Variety

The allure of fishing and why it’s so beloved as a mini-game or a core mechanic of an indie game or slot game is that the activity itself is fairly simple and casual, while there’s a range of outcomes and surprises that follow. This is the angle that Sea Fantasy not only does very well but manages to put another spin on. The debut game from Japanese indie team METASLA even uses fishing as a combat mechanic.

Tasked with saving the world in a gorgeous pixel-art format, you set out to catch Sea’Az, looking to hit the gauge at the right moments to damage and wear down the creatures and reel them in. However, there are plenty of different Sea’Az in this world, which have their own powerful special moves to influence the gauge and your angle of attack.

To help with this, the game is set as an open-world action RPG. Between outings, you’ll get to create new fishing rods and hooks from the Sea’Az that you catch, enhancing your approach. You also switch characters between the angler, Rod, and Axel, who you can use to remove obstacles and take on the other monsters of the open world. Then, you’ll encounter ancient bosses, which require the skills of both to conquer.

Sea Fantasy launched on Steam on January 7, having originally been scheduled to arrive in February, earning hundreds of very positive reviews in its first couple of months. Its unique spin on fishing and gameplay depth makes it a worthy entry at a time of high interest in fishing games and a strong run for the indie gaming space.