Desktop Fishing

About

Desktop Fishing is a single player casual sport game. It was developed by Ostend Games and was released on June 16, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

A mysterious algae infestation is spreading across the waters, threatening the fish population. Your goal? Rescue as many fish as possible before it’s too late! You can style your frog however you like, with a wide range of outfits, accessories, and colors to create your perfect fishing buddy! You can catch over 50 different types of fish – and with a bit of luck, you might even …

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 216 reviews

graphics5 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Adorable and charming desktop idle game with a cute customizable frog companion that fishes quietly in the corner of your screen.
Relaxing and cozy atmosphere with beautiful hand-drawn art style, diverse fish designs, and a soothing ambient soundtrack.
Developers have been responsive to feedback, adding features like full idle mode and auto-opening chests improving the gameplay experience over time.

Not a fully true idle game initially; frequent interruptions require player input to continue fishing, which can be annoying and time-consuming.
Long grind and time-gated progression for achievements, with some very rare fish and achievements taking hundreds or thousands of hours to obtain.
Lacks certain quality-of-life features such as toggling 'always on top' window mode, and occasional bugs like losing progress, UI clunkiness, and frog displacement issues.

graphics
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
46%
9%
The game's graphics feature a charming hand-drawn art style with warm, soft colors and gentle animations that create a cozy aesthetic. Players appreciate the cute designs, varied customization options for characters, and humorous, creative fish descriptions, all contributing to an inviting visual experience. Some minor technical issues may occur, but overall the artwork is widely praised as beautiful and appealing.
- “The hand-drawn aesthetic is warm and inviting, with soft colors and gentle animations that help it blend seamlessly into the corner of your screen.”
- “The artwork is nice, I like the variety of little accessories, and I'm loving all the creative and funny descriptions of each fish.”
- “But otherwise, very cute art style and a surprising amount of customization for your fishing buddy.”
- “It may be my AMD graphics card or a game bug.”
story
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
The story is centered around daily quests that drive progression, requiring consistent play to unlock new areas and ranks. However, the narrative is seen as disappointing and somewhat hidden behind repetitive task completion, with limited daily quests slowing advancement. Overall, the story lacks depth and relies heavily on quest-based leveling rather than engaging storytelling.
- “You get missions to level up (example: catch x fish and catch x shiny fish).”
- “Each rank takes more quests to unlock, needing about 4-5 days worth of daily quests for the last push to the final rank.”
- “Story is disappointing.”
- “I found the aquarium, took me a while to realize I had to level up through the daily quests and unlock the forest region.”
- “The frog looks really good and you can buy it new clothes, but the only way to level up is by quests and you only get 2 quests a day it seems.”
gameplay
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
Gameplay offers a minimalistic, idle-style experience with light strategic elements that keep players engaged without overwhelming complexity. While some criticize its mechanics as uninspired or poorly balanced, updates have improved its idle aspects, making it more enjoyable for casual, low-pressure play. Overall, it suits those seeking a simple, relaxing game rather than fast-paced or deeply strategic gameplay.
- “These mechanics give the game a light layer of strategy and keep you checking in just often enough to stay engaged.”
- “For those who appreciate a bit of passive progression, or who enjoy the satisfaction of collecting without the pressure of fast-paced gameplay, the experience is consistently pleasant.”
- “Simple but sweet desktop buddy, with great idle mechanics, it's great for a small cheer up watching your little frog catch fish, or if you are inclined having a desktop fish tank well priced for what you get.”
- “The very design of this game's mechanics is antithetical to the genre of idlers and makes me genuinely question if the developer has any understanding of it beyond the most surface-level glance.”
- “Update: now after even more hours of playing and still no update for the poor mechanics of not having a timer!”
- “Edit: as per the developer comment in response; the changes have made it considerably more of an idle game, with only 'new' and chests causing a complete stop to gameplay until interacted with - much better though there's still work to do to make it more balanced long-term for those going for all achievements, etc.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is heavily grind-focused, which some players enjoy, but many find the grinding excessive and time-consuming, with certain achievements requiring unrealistically high amounts of effort. Additionally, progress can be frustratingly lost, leading to a negative experience for some.
- “I get that the game is supposed to be grindy (which I enjoy), but after 700 hours I’ve only caught about 21,000 fish – one achievement asks for 100,000.”
- “Was a really good game till after 20 hours of hard grinding, then losing every bit of progress and needing to hard reset. Will be uninstalling, and I recommend if you don't want to get invested then don't get this game.”
- “The game is built around idle grinding.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is lighthearted and charming, with funny characters like the frog and amusing, creative descriptions that add a playful and enjoyable touch to the experience. Players appreciate the cute, whimsical elements that bring a smile despite the game no longer being supported.
- “This funny little frog and his fish will save my undergrad degree, I know it.”
- “The artwork is nice, I like the variety of little accessories, and I'm loving all the creative and funny descriptions of each fish.”
- “Very cute and funny!”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is highly praised for its excellent optimization, running smoothly with minimal performance impact and no reported issues.
- “Arguably the best thing to exist since sliced bread, genuinely awesome, with so far minimal performance cost!”
- “It runs smoothly and I haven't encountered any issues.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the game to be very cute and emotionally wholesome, evoking positive and heartwarming feelings.