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rynlingFishy
https://i-choose-paradise.itch.io/fishy
Fishy is a horror-themed “wholesome” visual novel that takes about twenty minutes to finish.
You play as a sweet middle school girl who’s spending the night at an aquarium for a friend’s birthday party. The problem is that she’s deathly afraid of the ocean, and it doesn’t help that there’s mild friendship drama afoot. She gets separated from the group and wanders into a restricted area, where she encounters fish that aquarium guests are never meant to see.
The game’s art is fantastic, and there’s one panorama in particular that’s both genuinely gorgeous and genuinely super creepy. Aside from the spooky fish, the art captures the magical atmosphere of what it might be like to spend the night in an aquarium. The character designs are lovely as well.
The writing is competent, but the game seems to be aimed at the same audience as its preteen characters. In its determination to be wholesome and teach the player a positive life lesson, the story doesn’t really create a sense of tension, dread, or even character development.
The lack of any real darkness or specificity makes the experience of the player-character somewhat confusing, at least to my adult sensibilities. Like, what exactly is the source of the friendship drama? Why is the player-character afraid of the ocean? Is there something going on in her life that makes her prone to attacks of social anxiety? Why does she react to this situation in such an extreme way? Is she having a legitimate psychotic break?
The game’s message is that having a prosthetic limb is cool, actually, and that’s great. Prosthetic limbs are in fact cool as hell. Twenty minutes is the perfect run time for this game, but it isn’t quite enough time to tie all the various thematic threads together. There’s the player-character’s anxiety + her relationship with her friends + her fear of the ocean + the potentially haunted aquarium; and then, on top of that, there’s the positive message about disability positivity. It’s a lot.
I always appreciate writing that reaches for a goal it doesn’t quite achieve, of course. In this particular case, however, I think the story might have been more compelling and meaningful if it weren’t trying so hard to be wholesome. For example, the story would make much more sense if it were clear that the player-character’s friends were actually mean to her, or if it were clear that she has a history of anxiety regarding her prosthetic arm.
Honestly, though – the writing isn’t bad. Rather, I just spent a lot of time thinking about what didn’t quite work and what I would have done differently, which is always a good sign that something has potential.
Also, I have a bit of a crush on the girl in the friend group who knows all sorts of disturbing facts about the ocean and doesn’t mind bringing them up at (in)appropriate moments. I want a whole game about Weird Fish Girl and whatever her damage is. She’s wonderful, and I love her.
All in all, Fishy is a fun game with a few spooky scenes, and it’s probably okay to share with younger kids. The hand-drawn art is appealing, and the story goes to some interesting places in a relatively short amount of time. And it’s free to play, so no complaints there.
https://i-choose-paradise.itch.io/fishy
Fishy is a horror-themed “wholesome” visual novel that takes about twenty minutes to finish.
You play as a sweet middle school girl who’s spending the night at an aquarium for a friend’s birthday party. The problem is that she’s deathly afraid of the ocean, and it doesn’t help that there’s mild friendship drama afoot. She gets separated from the group and wanders into a restricted area, where she encounters fish that aquarium guests are never meant to see.
The game’s art is fantastic, and there’s one panorama in particular that’s both genuinely gorgeous and genuinely super creepy. Aside from the spooky fish, the art captures the magical atmosphere of what it might be like to spend the night in an aquarium. The character designs are lovely as well.
The writing is competent, but the game seems to be aimed at the same audience as its preteen characters. In its determination to be wholesome and teach the player a positive life lesson, the story doesn’t really create a sense of tension, dread, or even character development.
The lack of any real darkness or specificity makes the experience of the player-character somewhat confusing, at least to my adult sensibilities. Like, what exactly is the source of the friendship drama? Why is the player-character afraid of the ocean? Is there something going on in her life that makes her prone to attacks of social anxiety? Why does she react to this situation in such an extreme way? Is she having a legitimate psychotic break?
The game’s message is that having a prosthetic limb is cool, actually, and that’s great. Prosthetic limbs are in fact cool as hell. Twenty minutes is the perfect run time for this game, but it isn’t quite enough time to tie all the various thematic threads together. There’s the player-character’s anxiety + her relationship with her friends + her fear of the ocean + the potentially haunted aquarium; and then, on top of that, there’s the positive message about disability positivity. It’s a lot.
I always appreciate writing that reaches for a goal it doesn’t quite achieve, of course. In this particular case, however, I think the story might have been more compelling and meaningful if it weren’t trying so hard to be wholesome. For example, the story would make much more sense if it were clear that the player-character’s friends were actually mean to her, or if it were clear that she has a history of anxiety regarding her prosthetic arm.
Honestly, though – the writing isn’t bad. Rather, I just spent a lot of time thinking about what didn’t quite work and what I would have done differently, which is always a good sign that something has potential.
Also, I have a bit of a crush on the girl in the friend group who knows all sorts of disturbing facts about the ocean and doesn’t mind bringing them up at (in)appropriate moments. I want a whole game about Weird Fish Girl and whatever her damage is. She’s wonderful, and I love her.
All in all, Fishy is a fun game with a few spooky scenes, and it’s probably okay to share with younger kids. The hand-drawn art is appealing, and the story goes to some interesting places in a relatively short amount of time. And it’s free to play, so no complaints there.
