Whisker Waters, a casual fishing RPG with some fantasy elements from developer Underbite Games and publisher Merge Games, has just been announced alongside a gameplay trailer. It showcases the central fishing mechanics, NPCs to befriend, character customization and unique settings.
Whisker Waters doesn’t have a concrete release date yet, but it is “coming soon”. It will be available on PC, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5, with no word on an Xbox port. You can watch today’s reveal trailer on the Merge Games YouTube channel:
Cats are almost a guaranteed hit, regardless of genre. But the central premise of Whisker Waters cleverly justifies all the cats, and the gameplay loop intentionally dedicates more attention to fishing than most indie RPGs.
Many RPGs seem to toss in fishing as an obligatory afterthought. But today’s Whisker Waters trailer gives interested players a glimpse of some finer details. You’ll need to consider the time of day, bait preferences, depth, flow, and more.
And according to the game’s official Steam page, “each fish has its own unique behavior”. Hits like Stardew Valley, which is coming to Xbox Game Pass Core tomorrow, are charming and offered lots of different species. But they lack this kind of effort in the fishing mechanics.
Whisker Waters’ Steam page also mentions an interesting variety of obstacles to overcome, like fish getting stuck or tangled. Players will also need to contend with whirlpools, and pay attention to jump peaks.
While these features emphasize timing, it’s still incorporated thoughtfully. These are very creative, simple ways to expand fishing without making it needlessly complicated. Whisker Waters has a very cute and friendly appearance, akin to Animal Crossing. So, it would benefit from being as accessible and casual as it looks.
Whisker Waters will have a semi-open world, so it’s a shame it doesn’t support co-op, but it’s probably thematic. Its niche angle and adorable imagery have serious mainstream appeal, so hopefully it adds an Xbox port later on to reach all major platforms.
You can read more about Whisker Waters, Merge Games, and other upcoming indies by checking out the rest of our news section.
