Deadliest Catch: The Game
- April 14, 2020
- 4Fishing
- 5h median play time
Deadliest Catch: The Game had the almost admirable ability to make me not want to either take up crab fishing in real life, nor to find out what the eventual endgame of its videogame counterpart was.
Get on Steam"Deadliest Catch: The Game" is a fishing simulation based on the popular TV show. Players take on the role of a crab fisherman in the Bering Sea, braving harsh weather and treacherous waters to catch Alaskan king crab. The game features realistic fishing mechanics, boat customization, and the opportunity to build your own fishing empire. Success requires strategic planning, precise timing, and the ability to adapt to changing conditions on the sea.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox
Reviews
- The game captures the essence of the Deadliest Catch TV show, making it enjoyable for fans.
- The graphics and ocean physics are well done, providing an immersive experience.
- The gameplay can be fun and relaxing, especially when you get the hang of it.
- The game is riddled with bugs and crashes frequently, making it frustrating to play.
- The tutorial is broken and lacks clarity, leading to confusion for new players.
- There is a lack of content and replayability, with only one season available and repetitive gameplay.
- stability95 mentions
- 1 % positive mentions
- 1 % neutral mentions
- 98 % negative mentions
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous users reporting it as a "buggy mess" that is often unplayable due to frequent crashes, glitches, and unresponsive controls. Many players express frustration over the lack of updates since 2021, leading to a sense of abandonment by the developers. While some acknowledge the game's potential and enjoy it when functioning, the overwhelming consensus is that its current state is riddled with issues that significantly detract from the overall experience.
“Smooth running and no glitches, Alienware m17.”
“They have completely abandoned the game, leaving it a buggy mess.”
“Game is buggy as all hell, waste of money... good luck making it a full season without it bugging out, locking up, or crashing your PC.”
“The game is not only very buggy but it's actually broken and becomes unplayable, wasting your save game.”
- gameplay52 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, featuring solid ship and crab-fishing mechanics that can be enjoyable and addictive when functioning properly. However, numerous technical issues, including bugs, poor animations, and frustrating mechanics, detract from the overall experience, making it feel incomplete and often unplayable. While the game has potential with its realistic water mechanics and resource management aspects, many players find it repetitive and lacking in depth due to missing features and a limited scope.
“The strategic aspect of managing resources, maintaining your ship, and optimizing your crew's performance adds depth to the gameplay, making every decision feel consequential.”
“When the game works, it's great and a lot of fun, with a good challenge, and some fun mechanics.”
“Overall gameplay is a good concept; I never got bored and was always ready to flip another pot.”
“No multiplayer or co-op, and the mechanics break constantly, whether it's a crab pot on deck that has something simple wrong with it that you as a crew member cannot fix, or the game just deciding to prevent you from interacting with...well...anything on your boat.”
“I came across multiple bugs in the first 30 minutes of gameplay... it's unplayable in its current state.”
“The game is missing a lot of needed mechanics.”
- graphics46 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the attention to detail in water and boat visuals, while others criticize the overall quality as outdated and lacking polish. Many users note that high-end hardware is necessary for optimal performance, yet even at maximum settings, the graphics can feel subpar compared to modern standards. Overall, while there are moments of beauty, significant improvements and updates are needed to meet player expectations.
“The attention to detail is nothing short of extraordinary, capturing the essence of the Bering Sea in stunning graphics and realistic soundscapes.”
“Absolutely love this game, I like to play this when I want to chill, great graphics and game mechanics - a must for all Deadliest Catch fans.”
“The graphics and water effects look good; it just needs more content and polish.”
“It felt like I was playing a game from Roblox; the graphics were not impressive, yet the performance was terrible.”
“I'm baffled how this game runs my PC harder than a AAA title, yet has the graphics from a PlayStation 2.”
“I wasn't very fun and it wasn't pleasant to look at as the visuals are very basic, and the game still crashed on me a few times... who am I kidding - it's just awful.”
- grinding20 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 90 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight that the game is heavily grind-focused, often leading to a tedious experience, especially in tasks like crab sorting and baiting. While some players appreciate the game's potential and find it a decent time killer, many express disappointment over its repetitive nature and lack of engaging goals, suggesting that it could benefit from improved mechanics and more diverse gameplay elements. Overall, it appeals primarily to fans of grind-heavy simulation games, but its current execution leaves much to be desired.
“It is the 'grindy' game I was expecting, I was just expecting more to it for the price.”
“Its a shame, this game could have been a lot of fun and something I really got into, and instead it's just annoying and tedious.”
“They have focused on tedious micro-management tasks like crab sorting instead of being captain of a boat and the duties that involves.”
- story14 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around sailors and fishermen facing harsh conditions while on a mission to catch crabs and survive, which adds a layer of depth to the simulator experience. However, players express disappointment with the execution, noting issues like unclear mission objectives and a lack of engaging plot elements. Many suggest that enhancing the narrative and incorporating multiplayer elements could significantly improve the overall experience.
“Sailors and fishermen, in harsh conditions, are on a mission to grab and catch crabs and survive, sometimes avoiding even death.”
“Perhaps adding a story to the game would be fun as well.”
“But aside from that specific situation, most players will find this game to be disappointing, and that is not the developers' fault; there is a story behind this game.”
“The plot or story elements are lacking because it is a kind of simulator game.”
“The missions are grayed out and can't be done.”
- optimization10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with players reporting significant performance issues and poor graphical fidelity, often likening it to lower-quality games. While some users experience decent performance on high settings with capable hardware, many others struggle with frame rates and system requirements that are not accurately specified. Overall, the game appears to be in an unfinished state regarding optimization, detracting from its otherwise promising gameplay mechanics.
“The strategic aspect of managing resources, maintaining your ship, and optimizing your crew's performance adds depth to the gameplay, making every decision feel consequential.”
“- overall, the game feels pretty well optimized even on 'fantastic' settings (with a 1070 ftw gpu, 16gb ram, and an outdated 4th gen i7 cpu).”
“At its current stage of development, it can struggle with a few minor performance issues here and there, and the realism with crew roles and a couple of other things aren't really there yet.”
“For sure there are some it depends on your PC mostly, due to bad optimization - the system requirements aren't specified correctly as on a medium PC setup you can't have good FPS numbers with high settings.”
“It does have its bugs, optimization, and localization issues.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
Replayability in the game is generally viewed as lacking, primarily due to limited customization and progression options, which diminishes the incentive for multiple playthroughs. While the multiplayer experience adds some social value and excitement, many players express frustration over bugs and save issues that hinder long-term enjoyment. Overall, while the initial playthrough can be enjoyable, the lack of depth and complexity in gameplay mechanics leads to a consensus that the game offers little reason to return after completing the first season.
“Whether you're working collaboratively or competing head-to-head, the multiplayer experience enhances the replay value and adds a social element that keeps the excitement alive.”
“After release, the game is better and more playable; however, I am hoping they will fix all the bugs and add the ability to get a bigger boat to allow us to keep up with the AI boats that get double or more the crab in the second season. A multiplayer mode would be nice, either same boat or as a team getting more crab, lots of options for the future to allow us to enjoy this more.”
“Overall, I enjoyed the hours I spent in this game, and may even come back to it eventually hoping to find a more playable experience that you can sit and grind while doing other stuff that doesn't require very much attention, while not having to worry that all progress will be wiped by a random bug.”
“After release, the game is better and more playable; however, save games not working after an update caused the loss of a few seasons. Many bugs (that are attended to pretty well) persist, and the Steam achievements have stopped counting (only need 4 more that appear to never be finishable). I am hoping they will fix all the bugs and add the ability to get a bigger boat to allow us to keep up with the AI boats that get double or more the crab in the second season. A multiplayer mode would be nice, either same boat or as a team getting more crab, with lots of options for the future to allow us to enjoy this more.”
- music5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been criticized for being ambient and repetitive, lacking any significant connection to the DC universe, with no recognizable themes or characters represented. Reviewers noted that the background sounds are somewhat corny and the overall audio experience feels underdeveloped, primarily consisting of waves crashing rather than engaging music.
“Music is ambient and repetitive; not a lot of work went into it so far.”
“Background music is a bit corny and the equipment sounds need a little work, but not a deal-breaker.”
“No music, let alone any theme song, so all you hear is waves crashing.”
- monetization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization of the game is heavily criticized, with users labeling it a scam and a cash grab, suggesting that developers prioritize quick profits over delivering a polished product. Many feel that the game is unfinished and that Steam is filled with similar low-quality offerings.
“Steam should remove this game as it's nothing more than a scam and a cash grab at this point!”
“Bottom line: we all want to love this game due to the show, but it's a cash grab with developers that want the fast cash for the buy, but drag their butts on fixing and finishing the game.”
“Steam is becoming abandonware city with so many of the games in my collection being half-finished piles of cash grabs.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is described as liminal and somewhat depressing, with some players noting a lack of depth and grit in the graphics. However, others find the overall atmosphere enjoyable and engaging, suggesting that future updates may enhance the experience further.
“Recommended by a friend, I really enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the game. It's a great game to kill time, and I'm looking forward to upcoming content :)”
“The game sucks and the atmosphere is liminal and depressing.”
“This game is really good, but it's lacking in atmosphere and grit. The graphics are not quite there, and there are a few bugs present. It seems like there is nothing to strive for apart from topping a captain leaderboard.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely absent, with players noting a lack of the witty, sarcastic elements found in previous installments. Instead, the experience is marred by numerous bugs and gameplay frustrations, leading to a sense of disappointment rather than amusement. Overall, the game's humor fails to engage, leaving players feeling frustrated rather than entertained.
“The humor in this game is a delightful mix of witty dialogue and absurd situations that keep you laughing throughout your playthrough.”
“I love how the game incorporates clever puns and unexpected jokes that catch you off guard, making even the most mundane tasks entertaining.”
“The sarcastic humor really shines through in the character interactions, adding a layer of charm that makes the game feel unique and enjoyable.”
“This has so many bugs it's not funny.”
“The jokes fall flat and feel forced.”
“I expected a lot of laughs, but it was mostly cringeworthy.”
