Fishing minigames are something of a meme at this point, appearing in many games out of the blue and tasking you with catch 10 bass to complete an achievement, or, even worse: move the story further.
But despite this grim background, fishing in video games can be very fun! Better yet: it can actually be worth your time, for many reasons. Perhaps the activity is really engaging, perhaps it yields valuable resources, or lets you feel like badass (read on, you’ll probably see what we mean by that).
For clarity’s sake, we split the list into two sections.
In the first, we take a look at games that are actual fishing simulators. We won’t tell you which one is the BEST fishing simulator out of those, but we will tell you which one isn’t all that serious about the gig!
The second part is about fishing bits in games that are about something completely different, but put in the options for immersion, fun, or gameplay diversity.
| Game | Released | Genre | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Fishing: North Atlantic | 2020-10-16 | Simulation |
 | Ultimate Fishing Simulator | 2018-08-30 | Simulation |
 | Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag | 2013-11-19 | Adventure |
 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | 2019-11-05 | Adventure |
 | Sea of Thieves | 2018-03-20 | Adventure |
 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition | 2016-10-27 | Adventure |
 | ARK: Survival Evolved | 2015-06-02 | Adventure |
 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo Switch) - Nintendo Key - NORTH AMERICA | 2020-03-20 | social simulation |
 | Far Cry 5 | 2018-03-27 | Action & Shooter |
 | Pokémon Sword & Shield Expansion Pass | 2020-06 | adventure |
 | World of Warcraft Time Card Prepaid 60 Days | 2004-11-23 | MMO |
 | The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition Deluxe | 2009-06-16 | RPG |
 | The Sims 3 | 2009-06-02 | simulation |
 | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GOTY Edition | 2002-04-29 | RPG |
Without further ado, let’s dig into our list of games where you can go fishing!
Fishing: North Atlantic
| Release date: | 2020-10-16 |
| Genre: | Simulation |
| Developer: | Misc Games AS |
To kick off the simulator section of the list with something with scale, let’s consider Fishing: North Atlantic for a moment. Unlike many other games on the list, this one is like a gamified version of one of the commercial fishing shows you can see on TV. You begin with a small boat, but as you progress and earn money you’ll be able to upgrade to bigger vessels with more options opening up.
There are 29 ship in the Enhanced Edition, and they have support for many types of fishing, including harpooning and lobster traps. If you’re really into trawling, it’s an option as well. Your fishing operation takes place on a vast map based on Nova Scotia, including six ports for when you need to weather a storm or offload what you’ve caught.
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Ultimate Fishing Simulator
| Release date: | 2018-08-30 |
| Genre: | Bit Golem |
| Developer: | Simulation |
Let’s leave the tumultuous waters and head over to a lake, shall we? Ultimate Fishing Simulator has a very bold title, but the 90% approval rating on Steam (at the time of writing) suggests there might be something to it. UFS is much more in the tone and vibe of spending a day or a weekend at the lake and fishing for fun, be it from the shore, or a boat, or even ice fishing.
The game features two modes, normal, and Realistic, for those who seek deeper and more accurate simulation. Of course, you decide what to do with your catches, you can turn them into trophies or catch and release. There’s even a level editor, in case you’re seen all that the pre-made maps have to offer and want to try something new.
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The Catch: Carp & Coarse Fishing
| Release date: | 2020-07-30 |
| Genre: | Simulation |
| Developer: | Dovetail Games |
Don’t be misled by the title, in The Catch: Carp & Coarse Fishing, there are over 30 different fish species for you to go after. If that’s not enough, there are even boss fish, in case you want an additional challenge. There are also 5 different fishing locations for you, including Malaysian Pearl Lake and even urban fishing in Rotterdam, for a break from the usual natural settings.
Of course, The Catch: Carp & Coarse Fishing also provides you with plenty of equipment to use on your fishing trips, with licenses from more than 20 manufacturers, so there’s a good chance you’ll find your favorite. There’s also an even better chance, that you’ll have to use every tool at your disposal to catch every fish in the game.
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Fishing Planet
| Release date: | 2019-11-04 |
| Genre: | Simulation |
| Developer: | Fishing Planet LLC |
Fishing Planet is a free-to-play game, but despite having many DLCs, it also has a very robust core offering, while downloadable content mostly adds cosmetics and boosters. If you’re interested just in a fishing simulator, then you’re in for a treat, with almost 200 fish species, plenty of fishing locations, and dynamic weather and day/night cycle to add extra realism to your experience.
Fishing Planet also features multiplayer options if the solo experience doesn’t excite you. Depending on your position, the game’s numerous DLC might be a significant downside, but if you’d love to still experience Fishing Planet’s gameplay with a more straightforward expenses, check out The Fisherman – Fishing Planet from 2019, it’s paid up-front with only three DLCs.
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SEGA Bass Fishing
| Release date: | 2011-03-04 |
| Genre: | Sport |
| Developer: | Cavia |
Sure, SEGA Bass Fishing is very old by video game standards, having released in 1997, but it deserves this spot for a few reasons. First of all, it’s still quite fun. It’s also easily available on Steam. And, finally, it provides a neat way to shift away from serious simulators towards more minigame-like fishing. SEGA Bass Fishing definitely leans more towards arcade, lighthearted, fast-paced style.
The basic idea, is that first you must match a lure to the fish you want to catch, and once it takes the bait you must maneuver so that the line doesn’t snap. On most stages, except the last one, you’re expected to match a certain total weight fish. A possible downside is that this game does look like it came out in 1997, so if you can’t stand old graphics, it might not be the right pick for you.
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Sea of Thieves
| Release date: | 2018-03-20 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Rare |
Rare’s Sea of Thieves gives its players a chance to take part in the great adventure of being a pirate. You can Explore of the uncharted waters, complete dangerous missions, and fend off other pirates waiting for an easy loot – those are only a few of the things you will experience throughout the game. All that with a crew made of sometimes questionably skilled online individuals.
As a mostly water-borne game, SoT lets players fish. There’s even a trading company/quest giver The Hunter’s Call dealing in sea creatures. You can hand your catches raw or cook them to receive even more gold. Fishing in SoT is simple: after casting the line with bait, it’s all about careful maneuvering and reeling the animal in until it’s safely in your hands.
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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
| Release date: | 2016-10-27 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Bethesda Game Studios |
The fifth installment of the Elder Scrolls series takes the player to the northern reaches of Tamriel. There, among the hilltops and mountain ranges of Skyrim, the great dragon Alduin awakens and threatens to destroy the world. As the legendary Dragonborn, the player embarks on the quest to put an end to the dragon’s threat.
The vast open world of Skyrim offers plenty of optional activities. That includes fishing. The land is filled with rivers, lakes, and streams inhabited by all sorts of fishies. Although the original game requires barehanded fishing, the later edition included the option in a more comprehensive manner, with fishing supplies etc. There’s also the third option, in the form of the mighty Fus Ro Dah.
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ARK: Survival Evolved
| Release date: | 2015-06-02 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Studio Wildcard |
ARK: Survival Evolved takes you to a mysterious island, and subjects you to a murderous survival test. Not only do you have few resources, you also must manage your degrading stats like thirst and hunger. To make things worse, the island is inhabited by prehistoric animals who would love nothing more than to take a bite from your in-game avatar.
The easiest way to fend off hunger is to find to craft a fishing rod and enjoy a lovely fishing afternoon in the form of a straightforward Quick-Time Event. Aside from juicy fish meat, you can find crafting blueprints, apparently eaten by the fish. What was that saying? “Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day, give a man a fishing rod, and he’ll learn construction.” Or something like that.
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Far Cry 5
| Release date: | 2018-03-27 |
| Genre: | Action & Shooter |
| Developer: | Ubisoft Montreal |
Hope County had become a home to a dangerous cult, led by the charismatic Joseph Seed. As a rookie deputy marshal, you’re sent with a team to arrest him, but the mission goes sideways. Left stranded on the enemy territory, with little chance of rescue or calling for backup you must work together with the locals unhappy with the cult to dismantle father Joseph’s operation.
Surprisingly, for all the bad that’s going on in Hope County, the place has some decent fishing spots, far from the guerilla warfare going on all around the county. The player can unlock various rods and baits – some of which purchased in gun stores, others requiring specific missions. Luckily, the game offers the player various skills that can make fishing a whole lot easier.
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Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
| Release date: | 2013-11-19 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Ubisoft Montreal |
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is considered one of the best installments of the series thanks to one of the most extensive open-worlds in the series, a fan-beloved protagonist, and the naval gameplay that set the standard for similar games. As Edward, a young pirate captain, gets involved in the Assassins-Templars war, he discovers that he might have missed his true purpose…
One of AC IV’s most prominent side activities is hunting giant sea creatures, such as sharks, whales, and orcas. Harpooning in Black Flag isn’t for the faint of heart. The animals don’t take kindly to being poked with sharp sticks and will retaliate to destroy your whaleboat. The pride in catching the beasts, and the profits it brings, makes all of it worth the risk of getting mauled.
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Pokemon series
| Release date: | 1996-2019 |
| Genre: | RPG |
| Developer: | Game Freak |
For over 20 years, the world of Pokémon has been inviting players to catch and train these mysterious creatures. Over generations of consoles, players explored several regions of the Pokémon universe capturing various types of the growing roster of monsters. Some Pokémon could only be caught in specific regions and biomes. This is especially true for the water-dwelling Pokemon.
The player could, of course, catch’em all… if they came prepared for the task. The ways of catching a water Pokémon vary from generation to generation. Often, fishing requires just a rod and a body of water. However, some titles in the series made the task a little bit harder, including minigames and limited fishing spots. And after all that you might still catch a humble Magikarp.
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The Sims 4
| Release date: | 2014-09-04 |
| Genre: | Simulation |
| Developer: | The Sims Studio |
Above all else, The Sims 4 is a life simulation. And life, as we all know, is complicated, and sometimes we need to unwind with a pleasant pastime. The Sims 4 lets the characters do that in many ways, including the subject of this piece – fishing. The developers went as far as to make becoming the master fisherman one of the sims’ aspirations. Talk about thoroughness!
Fishing in The Sims 4 depends on many the sim’s expertise affected by things like appropriate traits or spending time studying. Even just spending more and more time fishing helps sims become more proficient at it, and with time they’ll start to catch fish faster. The fish caught by the sims can be cooked for dinner with friends or as a part of home decor. Nothing brightens the room better than a specialized aquarium full of goldfish.
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Animal Crossing: New Horizons
| Release date: | 2020-03-20 |
| Genre: | Simulation |
| Developer: | Nintendo EPD |
Escape the hardships of your real-world live and enjoy the mundanity of living on a small island, tending to your garden, and meeting with friends. Animal Crossing: New Horizons helped many people survive the peak of the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic – cooped up under strict lockdowns, the players could live their lives in the virtual worlds of cute animals.
Like most social simulation games, New Horizons features many different side activities, including fishing. With a fishing rod and a bait, you can approach water and begin forcefully inviting a fish to visit them for dinner. The fishing mechanics are simple enough that even young players will grasp them quickly. All that remains is enjoying the time spent catching all sorts of water animals.
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World of Warcraft
| Release date: | 2004-11-23 |
| Genre: | MMORPG |
| Developer: | Blizzard Entertainment |
Azeroth awaits its hero to deal with the dark forces brewing in the heart of the land. Equip your most powerful spells and arm yourself to the teeth to take on the evil forces rudely interrupting the regularly scheduled grudge match between the Horde and the Alliance. and…wait, where are you going? No, leave that fishing rod! There’s no time for…oh, fine, whatever.
The interesting feature of fishing in WoW is that the player can fish not only in water and not only for the actual fish. There’s a variety of liquids to dip the rod in, from rivers of hot lava to pools of metallic mercury. Your catches can be used to feed the player (with increased healing and buffing properties when cooked!) or the hunter pets.
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Red Dead Redemption 2
| Release date: | 2019-11-05 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Rockstar Games |
At the end of the 19th century, the Old West was slowly going away. This changing world is the setting of Red Dead Redemption 2, the latest game from Rockstar and a prequel to the excellent Red Dead Redemption. As Arthur Morgan and the other Van der Linde gang members try to find their place in the changing world, the player gets to experience a bit of life on the American frontier.
Out in the open world, you’ll be able to partake in various frontiersman activities, including fishing. It’s one of the quickest ways to get some decent grub, which keeps Arthur’s stats high. Better yet, catching and releasing fish increases your honor. It’s a perfect way to recover good karma after we accidentally trampled over the sheriff of Valentine or killed a bystander during a shootout.
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Many fish(ing minigames) in the ocean
This ends our fishing excursion. Did any game catch your interest and you’re ready to reel it in? Hopefully so!
Of course, this is just the tip of a huge iceberg of fishing activities in video games, and we’ll surely cover more in the future!