Fishdom
- October 6, 2016
- Playrix LLC
- 3h median play time
"Fishdom is a single-player simulation game with thrilling maritime-themed puzzles. Experience beautiful underwater graphics, a humor-filled atmosphere, and a memorable soundtrack, but be prepared for some grinding, bugs, and occasional annoying ads. The game offers a highly emotional and immersive experience in a vibrant aquatic world."
Reviews
- Great animation and beautiful visuals with lots of colors and variety.
- The game offers cool objectives for each level and includes mini puzzle games for extra rewards.
- The game is fun and addictive, providing a relaxing experience.
- Frequent ads and forced mini games detract from the main gameplay experience.
- Levels become increasingly difficult, often requiring purchases to progress.
- Recent changes to the gold pass have made it less rewarding and more expensive.
- monetization1,970 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- 5 % neutral mentions
- 90 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has received significant criticism for its misleading advertising and aggressive in-app purchase strategies. Many players expressed frustration over the disparity between the gameplay shown in ads—often featuring engaging mini-games—and the actual experience, which primarily consists of a match-3 format similar to Candy Crush. While some users appreciate the absence of intrusive ads, they feel compelled to make in-app purchases to progress, leading to perceptions of the game as a cash grab. Overall, the consensus is that the monetization model relies heavily on deceptive marketing tactics and encourages spending to overcome gameplay challenges.
“This game is supposedly free, but the only way to be able to clear more than a few levels a week is to buy a lot of in-game purchases.”
“In-app purchases are low cost but not always necessary to enjoy the game.”
“The option for in-game purchases is there, but you can easily play this game without spending any money.”
“The ads lead you to believe the gameplay is different.”
“The game is nothing like the ads or the pictures provided.”
“The advertisements show the game's premise to be solving puzzles to save the fish in various situations.”
- graphics511 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive a mixed reception, with many players praising the beautiful visuals, vibrant colors, and charming animations that enhance the overall experience. However, there is significant criticism regarding recent updates that have altered the art style, leading some users to express disappointment with the new, more cartoonish graphics compared to the previous designs. Overall, while the graphics are often described as stunning and engaging, the inconsistency in style and the perceived shift towards a more juvenile aesthetic have frustrated a portion of the player base.
“Great animation and beautiful visuals.”
“Beautiful graphics, real like fish, corals, etc.. great gameplay, can get challenging.”
“The graphics are beautiful and the fish, plants, and decor for the various aquariums are cute and fun.”
“I used to play for hours which was relaxing after work but now I find myself quitting after just a few moves because the graphics are so terrible!”
“They have completely changed the graphics of the game pieces and now they look horrible and it makes the game unbelievably boring and infantile.”
“The new graphics are pathetic, what?”
- gameplay260 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this mobile game has been widely criticized for being misleadingly represented in advertisements, with many players expressing frustration that the actual experience primarily revolves around a basic match-3 mechanic rather than the diverse puzzles shown in ads. Users report that the game often feels rigged to encourage in-game purchases, with a heavy reliance on power-ups and a stamina system that limits playtime. While some players find the graphics appealing and the gameplay addictive, the overall sentiment leans towards disappointment due to the disconnect between advertised and actual gameplay.
“Beautiful game, easy gameplay, fun, challenging and I can't get over all the different puzzles and mini-games!”
“The gameplay is fun, challenging, and rewarding in many ways with Fishdom.”
“Great gameplay, and actual mini-games to play.”
“The gameplay shown in ads is a tiny fraction of the levels, and the match-three ones quickly become so luck-based that boosts are required to pass just about all of them.”
“Deceptive gameplay is deliberately designed to get you invested and playing, and then the paywall hits after about 50-60 levels without a fuss.”
“The gameplay is completely different from the advertisement; it is just a simple tile match game (candy crush style).”
- stability212 mentions
- 1 % positive mentions
- 2 % neutral mentions
- 96 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with frequent reports of glitches, freezes, and crashes that disrupt gameplay. Many players express frustration over losing progress, lives, and in-game purchases due to these technical issues, particularly following updates. While some users report occasional smooth experiences, the overwhelming sentiment highlights a need for urgent fixes to the persistent bugs affecting the game's performance.
“Despite this, this game is quite fun; I have had no glitches or lags during the game so far.”
“No glitches or lagging.”
“For once it doesn't play up; the app has no glitches, and bonus - it makes me think lol.”
“Tired of the glitches...smh what a waste of time and money.”
“The game has been virtually unplayable for at least the last week, with constant glitches, freezes, and quits.”
“Every time an update, for the last few months, the game has glitches and now it crashes and throws you all the way out of the game.”
- story98 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect has received mixed reviews, with many players expressing frustration over the overwhelming number of quests and side missions that detract from the main gameplay experience. While some appreciate the engaging graphics and storyline, others feel that the narrative has become convoluted and repetitive, often forcing players to navigate through lengthy story segments before they can enjoy the core puzzle mechanics. Overall, the shift towards a more story-driven format has led to dissatisfaction among players who preferred a simpler, more straightforward gameplay experience.
“Good graphics, nice storyline, fun puzzles, and engaging characters.”
“I love this game! I'm somewhere around level 4000+. I do wish that there was an option for us to delete special aquariums and that the storybook aquariums were put to better use or could also be deleted after the challenge was complete.”
“This game is pretty cool, fun to play, and they have lots of creative levels and different storylines to keep it fresh. It's not repetitive, and you don't have to spend a bunch of money to move up in the game if you don't have a lot of extra cash to spend.”
“The game has spiraled downward over the past year... it has turned into a story game, like Homescapes.”
“Every time I log in, there are at least three events you are forced to click on and go through the story for before you can do anything else.”
“While fun, there is a highly irritating feature that forces you to click through awful little story mode segments when they are released with no opt-out.”
- humor66 mentions
- 98 % positive mentions
- -3 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is primarily derived from the quirky and funny interactions of the fish, which players find adorable and entertaining. Many reviews highlight the amusing comments and personalities of the fish, contributing to a lighthearted gaming experience, although some players express frustration with misleading advertisements and gameplay challenges. Overall, the game's humor is a significant draw, making it enjoyable despite some gameplay issues.
“The fish are funny and adorable.”
“The conversations the little fish have are hilarious.”
“I love how the fish are so positive and make me feel better with their cute and funny personalities.”
“I must quit; I have spent so much money that it's not funny.”
“The jokes fell flat and felt forced, making the game more cringeworthy than entertaining.”
“I expected a lot of laughs, but the humor was stale and uninspired.”
- music54 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players finding it relaxing, cute, and nostalgic, enhancing their overall experience. However, there are notable issues, including glitches that cause overlapping tracks and static interruptions, which detract from the enjoyment. While some players appreciate the variety and charm of the music, others express a desire for more diverse soundtracks and the ability to adjust volume settings.
“Great graphics, appealing sound effects, and absolutely wonderful music that warms my heart.”
“The music is so relaxing and peaceful, but these challenge levels suck.”
“The music is great and the graphics are so cute.”
“However, there is a glitch that causes the songs from each fishbowl to overlap each other sometimes...which is kinda annoying because the music makes me happy, but I always have to turn it down.”
“After completing a level, the sound/music either has static or cuts completely out.”
“I just wish that the background music wasn't the same ongoing all the time.”
- grinding39 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players frequently describe the grinding aspect of the game as tedious and frustrating, often requiring excessive repetition of levels to progress without spending money on power-ups. While some enjoy the initial gameplay, many find that the increasing difficulty and reliance on in-game purchases lead to a loss of interest, making the experience feel like a chore rather than fun. Overall, the grinding can detract significantly from the enjoyment of the game, with many users expressing a desire to move on to other options.
“This game which was once so enjoyable has now become tedious and annoying.”
“If it takes days of endless grinding to pass a single level due to the game's need to get you to pay for the privilege of playing, it isn't fun anymore.”
“What started out as a fun game is now just a tedious, repetitive chore with not enough moves to finish a puzzle unless you pull out your wallet.”
- emotional15 mentions
- 87 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game elicits mixed reactions from users, with some finding it heartwarming and enjoyable due to its wholesome interactivity and mini-games, while others express frustration over technical issues and a lack of engaging gameplay. Many users feel manipulated by the game's storytelling and advertising, leading to disappointment and a sense of being misled. Overall, the game has the potential to evoke positive feelings, but technical flaws and repetitive elements detract from the experience.
“The fish are so heartwarming.”
“Easy to learn, feel-good, heart-warming game.”
“This game will affect you emotionally whether you're aware of it or not.”
“It's just like Homescapes, which I got because it looked like you could set everything on fire, etc., but in reality, you just pick rug and furniture colors very, very, very slowly. The game gives you a long, boring story and never gets to the point.”
“Just another stupid matching Candy Crush game with a boring story.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Players report significant issues with optimization, particularly regarding storage space and performance, despite efforts to clear memory and uninstall other apps. While the game features nice graphics and generally runs smoothly, many users experience persistent messages about insufficient space, leading to frustration and hindering progress without in-game purchases. Overall, the optimization appears to be a major concern for a portion of the player base.
“Nice graphics, good performance and it is possible to progress without having to pay continuously - if you are careful, which is not the case for many other similar titles.”
“Graphics are very nice and the app runs smoothly.”
“Well, I've uninstalled so many apps to free up space, and I keep getting the same message every time I play. Now I have plenty of space and even optimized my phone to clear the memory. This game is the issue, not my phone.”
“I have optimized and cleared storage/cache and even restarted my phone.”
“I also played Fishdom and reloaded a few times. I was so mad I was at level 16, and now it's showing that I have to start over. I'm having problems again, telling me there's not enough room to play Fishdom. I have deleted several things, removed or stopped some games from running, rebooted several times, cleaned my storage and apps, optimized my tablet, and still, it tells me I need room. I even uninstalled and reinstalled the game, and the same thing is happening. What do I need to correct this problem? Thank you, a loyal customer.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a peaceful and serene aquarium setting, ideal for relaxation. However, the presence of a playful penguin disrupts this tranquility, adding a whimsical element that some players find charming, while others feel it detracts from the intended ambiance.
“I love to just relax with a game and enjoy the fishy atmosphere.”
“Setting up a peaceful, serene atmosphere of an aquarium... until the penguin swims in to steal the scene each time.”
“I love to just relax with a game and enjoy the fishy atmosphere, which has sadly diminished in this game for the phone.”