GONE Fishing

About

GONE Fishing is a single player and multiplayer survival action adventure game with a horror theme. It was developed by GONE Studios and was released on June 15, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

Welcome to Gone Fishing, a 1-8 player co-op horror game where players must fish together to satisfy the hunger of an ancient lake monster's never-ending hunger before each night falls. Cast your line, catch fish, and gather bait. But beneath the surface, something stirs and it's getting hungry... If you and your friends fail to offer enough fish before darkness creeps in, the creature will eme…

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93%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,051 reviews

gameplay42 positive mentions

stability71 negative mentions

Fun and unique blend of fishing and horror, offering a cozy yet tense multiplayer experience.
Active and responsive developers who frequently release updates, patches, and new content.
Engaging gameplay loop with humorous and spooky elements, best enjoyed with friends.

Game is buggy and unpolished with various glitches affecting gameplay and performance.
Poor optimization causing high CPU/GPU usage and frame rate drops on many systems.
Lack of clear tutorials or instructions leading to confusion for new players.

gameplay
116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
50%
14%
The gameplay offers a unique blend of simple yet addictive fishing mechanics combined with horror and cooperative elements, creating a rewarding and fun experience especially with friends. While the core loop is engaging and well-supported by developers, it suffers from confusing, under-polished fishing mechanics, occasional bugs, and some imbalance that detracts from long-term enjoyment. Overall, it shows strong potential with active developer responsiveness but still needs refinement to fully satisfy players.
- “Very fun and entertaining with both calm and chaotic gameplay, love the variety of map layouts and is awesome when played with friends.”
- “The variety in maps and catches keeps things feeling fresh, and the gameplay loop flows really smoothly.”
- “At the mechanical level, Gone Fishing is built around accessible but thoughtfully designed fishing systems that reward coordination and awareness. These mechanics are easy to grasp, making the game welcoming to newcomers, but they gain depth when layered with the cooperative demands of multiplayer.”
- “For a fishing game the fishing mechanics are confusing, vague, and abysmally implemented.”
- “Currently the game is leaning more towards unfun jank; it feels like the developers keep pushing "content" instead of improving core mechanics—there wouldn't be a need for a whole new map and tons of new fish had the core gameplay been better.”
- “The base fishing mechanics are not good; the updated fishing mechanics are worse.”
humor
80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in this game is widely praised for its blend of goofy, spooky, and hilarious moments, especially when playing cooperatively with friends. Players enjoy the quirky fishing mechanics, funny bait options, jump scares that are more amusing than frightening, and the entertaining bugs that add to the overall comedic experience. The developer’s evident sense of humor and community engagement further enhance the game's playful, laugh-inducing atmosphere.
- “I've have the best time fishing with friends, running from monsters, and encountering the most hilarious situations.”
- “I don't want to spoil it, but let's just say deciding which one of your friends is going to loop a crazed mama for several minutes so we can sell her baby, yelling "why meeeee" as you get dragged in the water, and wondering who big monster daddy is gonna touch after not meeting quota... is hilarious!!!”
- “It’s a super cozy/scary/funny fishing game.”
stability
73 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game is notably buggy with frequent glitches, freezes, and technical issues, typical of an early access or alpha state. However, many players find it fun and entertaining, especially with friends, appreciating the developers' consistent updates and bug fixes. While stability is still a concern, the bugs often add a quirky charm that doesn't entirely detract from the overall enjoyable experience.
- “Runs great now on my PC, but also on my Steam Deck.”
- “It is a buggy mess; in big maps the microphones will lag out or go nearly completely quiet, sometimes you cannot interact with any of the menu buttons at all, accessories clip into your field of view, you constantly get stuck on many crevices around each map and many of the creatures are lacking.”
- “Started playing after a few of these major updates dropped and so far every time I join a game the game freezes and I have to restart my PC.”
- “I understand this is an early access, but the game is a buggy mess with terrible textures and really half-baked mechanics.”
graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
60%
11%
The graphics receive mixed feedback, with some praising the unique art style, lighting, and ray tracing effects as stunning, while others cite frequent bugs, clunky visuals, and poor optimization that can severely impact performance. Although the aesthetic is appreciated for its distinctiveness, technical issues and occasional graphical glitches detract from the overall experience.
- “Now of course I had to really see what this game was packing under the hood, so I switched to DX12 and ran Lumen and ray tracing and man, this game has amazing visuals, and also didn't cause my GPU to start generating enough heat to burn my house down.”
- “This game has just come out so I was expecting a lot of bugs but it's pretty smooth and the graphics are amazing too.”
- “The visuals are stunning, especially the lighting.”
- “The graphics are a mess to say the least; the character models are intentionally awful looking.”
- “Was absolutely devouring my computer. I turned down graphics, closed other applications, my WiFi isn't too shabby and neither is my computer. I was really hoping for this to be playable because it was a little fun when it wasn't chugging my PC.”
- “For one, the game feels like it's fighting the player at every turn. The animations are wonky, the graphics are decent but also a little off. I get a bug that randomly causes a fish to yeet itself into the far reaches of the lake and become uncapturable; monsters have no explanation for their mechanics and randomly disappear.”
atmosphere
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
44%
13%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive, eerie, and dynamic quality, successfully balancing chill and creepy tones that enhance tension without relying heavily on jump scares. Players enjoy the distinct level designs, sudden shifts from calm to panic, and the fun social experience it creates, especially when playing with friends. While some find daytime settings less scary, the overall atmosphere is considered a top-tier, integral part of the game's appeal.
- “The atmosphere is unreal — quiet one second, pure panic the next — and it never stops being fun with friends.”
- “It has a chill atmosphere that can turn terrifying within seconds and is mad fun to play with people.”
- “The anxiety that slowly develops as you near the time to complete your objective, combined with the atmosphere and exploration of the map, makes this game so fun.”
- “Scares are mostly of the jump variety, but the atmosphere does get genuinely spooky in deep caves and at night.”
- “The horror elements in Gone Fishing are handled with restraint, favoring atmosphere over shock.”
- “It entices you with its eerie atmosphere, the way each level is designed feels distinct, and every new fish or bait you find keeps things interesting.”
optimization
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
56%
22%
The game currently suffers from poor optimization, causing frequent performance issues such as FPS drops, high resource usage, and jittering, even on high-end hardware. While some players note improvements with settings tweaks and developer updates, overall performance remains a significant drawback, especially in solo play. As an early access title, ongoing optimization efforts by the developers offer hope for better stability and smoother gameplay in the future.
- “With tweaking in settings, you can make the game run smoothly, and it's super fun at times to play with friends.”
- “Genuinely one of the best horror fishing games ever. My only gripe is that it takes up too much memory, GPU, and CPU; if it keeps getting optimized, that would be amazing. The developer always has updates, which is great!”
- “Performance was fixed by forcing the DX12 version of the game to run.”
- “The performance is very bad for how little goes on in the game.”
- “However, it is very badly optimized; with everything on low and a cap of 60 FPS, it uses 50% of a 4080 Super.”
- “Something freaky is going on with the performance and resource usage for system hardware in this game.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
20%
30%
Replayability varies among users, with many praising frequent updates, new content, and leaderboards that enhance replay value, while some note limited variety and bugs reduce long-term engagement. Overall, ongoing developer support steadily improves the game's replayability over time.
- “10/10 very fun game with friends; each update polishes it more. Lots of replayability with all the maps, and they also add new stuff to the older maps making them play a bit differently.”
- “Combine that with the leaderboards to showcase your best catches, and the replayability here is through the roof.”
- “Awesome game, devs pumping out content left and right and replayability getting better and better with each update!”
- “Almost no replayability.”
- “Low replay value for me unfortunately.”
- “Adding in another thing or two like that occasionally will bump up the replayability for the group I play with.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The music in the game is described as both beautiful and atmospheric, enhancing the experience, but some players find it overly somber or repetitive and wish for an option to turn it off or have more interactive instruments early on. While praised for its mood-setting qualities, the lack of music control can be a deterrent for certain users.
- “Who wouldn't want a crab thing to chase them when you steal their first egg while playing the most beautiful song on an instrument!”
- “The only issue I had was the absence of music. Sure there is a radio, but there should be a guitar you can play or something just to make early game seem more comfortable in contrast to the later days.”
- “Music: bangers, add more heat.”
- “The only issue I had was the absence of music. Sure, there is a radio, but there should be a guitar you can play or something just to make early game seem more comfortable in contrast to the later days.”
- “Be aware you cannot turn music off; for my ears, it was torture to listen to, but gameplay seemed fun.”
- “Could only manage to play tutorial before the music issue became a deal breaker for me.”
story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The story aspect is generally seen as lacking or missing, with users expressing a desire for a coherent storyline or endgame to add meaning and progression. Some appreciate the complexity in related game elements but still feel the narrative is disjointed or absent. Overall, there is a strong recommendation for the developers to incorporate a more defined story.
- “While Gone Fishing focuses more on basic resource management and maximizing returns, COD requires a higher level of game and map knowledge to complete Easter eggs for building or upgrading wonder weapons and pack-a-punch, especially for the main story Easter eggs.”
- “I highly recommend the developers add a storyline to the game where there can be an actual endgame to reach.”
- “I highly recommend the devs add a storyline into the game where there can actually be an endgame to reach.”
- “No story, just a creep watching you at all times.”
- “Everything felt disjointed and nothing felt meaningful to an overall story or progression.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is engaging and rewarding, boosted by leaderboards and stats that motivate players to catch bigger monsters. While some frustration arises from occasional glitches causing progress loss, the overall sense of urgency and accomplishment keeps players motivated, making the grind enjoyable and social.
- “I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to spend hours grinding on the first several days just to stay out a little too late and have a monster glitch allow a monster to kill you and your friend and then you have to start all the way over.”
- “These create a sense of urgency that's not overbearing or tedious, and with enough fishing you can meet the quota right at the start of the day and have complete freedom.”
- “It’s the perfect way to build hype, keep players grinding, and give that rush of finally landing something rare and massive.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional tone of the game is mixed, with some players finding it cozy, wholesome, and relaxing, while others express strong frustration and disappointment due to technical issues and unsettling in-game moments. The experience ranges from enjoyable camaraderie to feelings of betrayal and discomfort.
- “Cozy wholesome”
- “Spooky creatures that appear behind you like Vecna touching children's faces and then running away”
- “This is the game of all time; it's relaxing and fun. Me and the boys go fishing all day. Ain't nothing better than touching your boys' large fish!”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
Character development in the game features quirky and humorous designs that some find awkward but enjoyable, adding a unique charm. While the characters may not be traditionally polished, their distinctive style complements engaging gameplay elements like fishing and monster encounters. Overall, the character design contributes to a fun and memorable experience despite mixed opinions on its quality.
- “Honestly, I love the character design, enjoyed the fishing, and enjoyed getting obliterated by a monster.”
- “Stuff like character design and game mechanics.”
- “The character design is laughably bad and awkward yet the environment is stunning....the sunsets and skyboxes at night...wow just wow.”
- “A chill fishing game mixed with hilarious character designs, actually scary monsters, and the bricked cave creature.”
- “Stuff like character design and game mechanics”