These games can hook you instantly, pun intended. But the options for consoles are pretty similar to one another. Fishing games are often part of the simulator genre, just like hunting games.
Selecting Games On PS4 And PS5
Because the title is self-explanatory, we don’t need many rules to select games on the list. Moreover, there’re not many games available for the sport. Still, we’re keeping an eye on various key characteristics. Namely, we’d want games that either stand from the crowd or deliver a set of refined gameplay for realistic gameplay. And as I said, fishing games are mostly realistic sims. Others include arcade elements, open-worlds, or multiplayer.
Fishing Games On PS4 And PS5
Fishing Sim World: Pro Tour
Fishing Sim World: Pro Tour is at the top of the list. It is the most popular PlayStation fishing game and is also an advanced and cheap fishing simulator. Also, it features tons of DLCs and bundles if you like the game. You can play alone or online. Multiplayer admits up to four players in closed competitions. You decide the rules, such as rounds, time limit, and species to catch. And if you play alone, the experience revolves around playing in tournaments. The offline tournaments take you to 10 distinct locations. As you progress, you can get gear from 50 real-life brands, like RidgeMonkey and Korda. And your goal is to catch the 29 fish species, each featuring behaviors, and habitats. The mechanics are easy to understand. You play in a third-person perspective. You select a fishing spot, launch the rod, and control the reel speed. You can also activate the “Troll Mode” and select different rods according to the situation.
Fishing Sim World: Deluxe Edition
Fishing Sim World is similar to the “Pro” version regarding mechanics. The setting is wider, though. You travel across the U.S. and Europe to experience an extremely detailed fishing simulator. The mechanics are easy, and the experience is relaxing. This gamer is easily the quietest of the bunch. There’s nothing complex to learn and no economy to manage. Instead, you select a map, go to a fishing spot, and have a calm time in virtual nature. Even though the action is subdued, you can learn neat skills to catch the bigger fish. Some of these animals can offer a trophy and action segments that make it more rewarding. Also, the animals, habitats, and challenges are different depending on the map you find. We recommend the Deluxe Edition, as the standard game is no longer available on the PlayStation Store. The bundle offers various deluxe boats, hooks, baits, rods, shirts, hats, and more specialized gear.
Fishing: North Atlantic
Fishing: North Atlantic offers a commercial fishing experience in the North Atlantic Ocean. The setting is between Canada and Scotland, which offers a vast expanse of sea life, treasures, boats, and gear. This game is the sequel to Fishing: Barents Sea. AS before, you play as the captain of a fishing ship. So, you can explore the ocean, fish, buy gear, customize your boat, and more. All of the mechanics work with realistic mechanics. You play in first-person perspective, and mostly, you’d be roaming around your ship. You command the boat, select fishing spots, manage the engines and light, etc. You also have a team of fishers, as well as machinery. You manage these elements with various in-game menus. And as you fish, you can trade your cargo to keep improving your boat and gear.
Fishing: Barents Sea Complete Edition
Barents Sea is the first part of the saga, so it features similar mechanics but less powerful graphics. The Complete Edition adds all the available DLCs (King Crab and Line and Net Ships). You play as the captain of a fishing ship. From a first-person perspective, you can steer the ship, manage the engines, check the GPS, and go to any location you want in an open sea. The setting is around the Norwegian sea. Your goal is to find the best fishing spots with your grandfather’s boat. You can sell the ships you catch for money to improve your boat and your gear. Lastly, you manage various systems within your ship and other crew members. The managing game plays a key role during fishing segments, environmental challenges, and trips.
Fishing Planet
Fishing Planet is a free-to-play first-person fishing simulator. It’s a multiplayer-only game, so you can’t play it offline or without a PlayStation Plus account. Moreover, the game will constantly ask you to buy the premium account, which could be a nuisance for free players. That said, you join servers with up to 64 players. Then, you select your map, but each “travel” costs money. Moreover, each map has its own species and weather. You also need to buy licenses to fish each species on the map. Across all maps, you’ll find over 170 fishes. Each has its own behavior and habitat. And when you fish them, they feature weight and a price. You can sell them to buy your permissions, pay for your travels, and get fishing gear. Overall, the title looks gorgeous, plays great, and features a lot of fishing locations. For example, you can fish on kayaks, motorboats, lakes, and ponds at night or during the day. Alternatively, you can compete with other players alone or as a team.
Pro Fishing Simulator
Pro Fishing Simulator is a straightforward sports fishing simulator. It aims to please both veteran and amateur fishers by offering beginner and advanced gear and techniques. There’s even a comprehensive in-game tutorial. The game delivers nine open-world areas. The developers used real-life places worldwide to create the settings, so the maps look like the Colorado Black Forest or the Corcega islands. Alternatively, you can face over 100 challenges and weekly and online competitions. You can dominate six fishing techniques through different game mechanics. These include fishing with hooks, on boats, with a net, with different kinds of baits, and more. Lastly, there’re over 79 fish types, each featuring realistic behaviors and intelligence levels. There’re also hundreds of real-life gear from brands like KastKing, 13 Fishing, and Strike King.
Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adventure
Real Fishing is a visual novel fishing adventure. You join your friends and go through a summer fishing journey as you bond, learn, and meet new places. That said, it’s also a simulation, but its blend of elements makes it unique. The adventure’s cinematics are visual novels. You see your character interact with your friends and the story plays out in front of you. But then, you play in first-person perspective when it takes you to fishing spots. You’ll start fishing with simple in-game tutorials. But as the game goes on, you’ll be able to improve your skills. Additionally, you’ll be able to change and improve your gear, such as hooks, rods, and decoys. Lastly, there’re “battles” against some of the bigger fishes. These are intense struggles and tug-of-war moments where you must prove how much you have learned.
Legendary Fishing
Legendary Fishing is a blend of a realistic fishing game and an arcade. In particular, the game rates every catch with a scoring system, so the competition is against you. Here, you play with a first-person perspective. But rather than seeing the hook from above the sea, you actually control the hook above the sea. Then, you move, lure the fish, and catch it through various game mechanics. The game includes over 20 types of real fish, like the Royal Salmon. And as you play, you can unlock gear, missions, challenges, maps, and more. You also have various skills to improve your chances. Lastly, you can play alone or co-op with up to four people. Either option can happen in three game modes or across the main playtime with 80 missions to face.
The Catch: Carp & Coarse Fishing
Carp & Coarse is a third-person fishing simulator game. The game happens in matches, either online or offline. The multiplayer aspect supports 4 people on the server, but you need the PlayStation Plus subscription to join on the console. Then, the game features a hefty interface to customize and study the area of each map. You get to change and see the map, the setting, the type of environment, and the difficulty level. Similarly, you see the time of day, weather, and other environmental conditions. The campaign takes you to several maps to collect small and big fish worldwide. There’re over 35 different specials featuring different difficulty levels. There’re also “boss” fishes on each map, forcing you to refine your abilities. The gameplay is slow-paced, though, which is to expect. You choose the fishing spot carefully, and you have to determine the proper time of day and weather to choose. Then, take the perfect gear, which you can buy and upgrade, and take your time to capture your prey.
The Fisherman: Fishing Planet
The Fisherman is a sports fishing title. It’s perhaps the most complex because it blends specific item stats, a tough in-game economy, and various fishing tactics and strategies. The game thrives on its interface, as it’s, in fact, the focus. Through a wide menu screen, you select your mission, customize your gear and shop items, and select various game modes or maps. The items have a ton of specific stats, such as durability, recovery, capacity, and weight. The stat system, plus the fishing mechanics, delivers a realistic simulation. The simulation starts on the “Shop” menu, as you must buy fishing licenses for each map you visit. That said, the worldwide map features areas in various countries, such as the Czech Republic, Russia, and the USA. Lastly, you select a location within a map and play from a first-person perspective. There’s not much you can do aside from launching the rod and waiting patiently for your prey.
Rapala Pro Fishing: Pro Series
Rapala Fishing is a first-person fishing simulator. It offers relaxing playtime, easy-to-learn mechanics, and gorgeous realistic graphics. Also, the experience happens via its campaign mode. You play as an amateur fisher, and your goal is to rise through the ranks of the sport. The brand “Rapala” is looking to sponsor a great fisherman, and you can fill the role they need. You play in a third-person perspective on tournament missions. In each tournament segment, you must find and catch a different fish. Mostly, you drive a boat or hike to the spot where you would find the fish. There’s a timer, though. So, after driving the fish, you need to catch your prey as fast as possible. You aim the rod, select the strength (like a bowling game), and launch the hook. Then, you see the hook below the sea and move it to catch the animals you need.
