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Idle Fishing Game Cover

About Idle Fishing

Idle Fishing is a single player and multiplayer casual role playing game. It was developed by AO Games and was released on May 24, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Key Features Idle and Active Fishing - crewmates fish automatically while you're away, or jump in with a skill-based mini-game for bigger rewards. Offline Progress - earn silver, ascension gold, seagull rewards, and more while the game is closed. Come back to a full haul. 1200+ In-Game Achievements - with real stat rewards, not just badges. Pets - collect, evolve, and bond with pets that provid…

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Looking for games like Idle Fishing? Here are top casual role playing recommendations, selected from player-similarity data — start with Tap Ninja, Idle Slayer or Idle Cave Miner.

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Reviews

78%Audience ScoreBased on 833 reviews
gameplay19 positive mentions
monetization12 negative mentions

  • Addictive and relaxing idle gameplay with satisfying progression systems including upgrades, boats, crews, and achievements.
  • Free to play with optional purchases that are not mandatory for progression, supporting fair monetization and generosity.
  • Regular updates and developer engagement provide new content, bug fixes, and quality-of-life improvements.
  • Excessive grind and repetitive mechanics especially late game, with very long achievement requirements that can feel like a time trap.
  • The Excavation update and similar changes shifted the game from idle to more active gameplay, causing frustration among players seeking a true idle experience.
  • Heavy use of AI-generated artwork affecting visual appeal, alongside performance issues such as high resource usage and occasional crashes.
  • gameplay

    72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    26% positive mentions, 63% neutral mentions, 11% negative mentions

    The gameplay in this idle fishing game is simple, accessible, and offers a relaxing, low-pressure loop centered around gradual progression and efficiency improvements. While it provides steady advancement and casual enjoyment with occasional interactive mechanics, many reviewers found it repetitive, lacking meaningful innovation or variety over time, and burdened by numerous real-time and pay-to-win elements that can hinder long-term engagement. Overall, it appeals mainly to fans of idle clickers seeking a cozy, easygoing experience but may disappoint players looking for depth, strategy, or fresh gameplay features.

    • “The gameplay loop begins with accessible mechanics that immediately make sense.”
    • “New mechanics appear gradually as players continue advancing, creating a steady flow of discoveries that prevents the game from feeling overloaded from the beginning.”
    • “Idle fishing is a perfect blend of “set it and forget it” gameplay with just enough to keep you invested.”
    • “Starts out good but this genre of game lives and dies through introducing more mechanics or other things of interest as you plod along but you very early come to a point where nothing new is coming and nothing will for a very, very, very long time.”
    • “Excavation is just a pay-to-progress nightmare; the whole mode has ruined the core gameplay and has ruined the daily quest board for everyone who is not spending a lot of real money on the game.”
    • “As far as I can tell the gameplay you have in the first seconds of the game is the same (and only) gameplay you'll have 100+ hours into the game.”
  • graphics

    50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    36% positive mentions, 54% neutral mentions, 10% negative mentions

    The graphics in the game are generally described as clean, colorful, and charming, creating a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere that fits the idle fishing theme well. However, many users criticize the visuals for relying on AI-generated or low-quality artwork, leading to inconsistent and primitive assets that lack polish and distinctiveness. While some find the graphics adequate or even beautiful, others feel they are bland, repetitive, or poorly optimized, indicating significant room for graphical improvement.

    • “Beautiful graphics: the serene visuals and soothing sound effects create an immersive atmosphere.”
    • “The lovely graphics, smooth background animations, and soothing background music all add to its charm.”
    • “The graphics are clean and colorful, and the gentle sounds of water and fish nibbling on the line add to the laid-back vibe.”
    • “The graphics and the mechanics are bottom-tier... imagine the gaudy, cheap plastic casing on the slot machines at the casino.”
    • “By no means a polished product & has loads of room for further development, especially graphically, with inconsistent assets/design in places.”
    • “Graphically it is even worse: catches look like AI-generated cheap assets, and the main screen and characters look like something an eight-year-old made in Roblox.”
  • monetization

    32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    9% positive mentions, 53% neutral mentions, 38% negative mentions

    The game's monetization is divisive, with some praising its fairness and optional purchases for faster progression, while others criticize it as a predatory, grind-heavy cash grab laden with overpriced microtransactions and recent pay-to-win shifts. Ads are minimal or optional on PC but more invasive on mobile, and updates have nerfed progression to encourage spending. Overall, while you can play without paying, the aggressive monetization and AI-generated art contribute to a perception of the game as a low-effort cash-in.

    • “This game is very fair with its monetization and is extremely addictive.”
    • “There is no in-game purchases; most of everything can be earned through gameplay!”
    • “Microtransactions are available for faster progression and cosmetics, but $0 is required to have fun or earn a perfect achievement score.”
    • ““Idle Fishing” is just one of thousands of non-free mobile apps polluting the “free” category on Steam, and it carries hidden, toxic monetization.”
    • “That's what this is, a cheap flashy veneer on a shallow non-game with one single purpose... to get your money through nasty mobile app microtransactions.”
    • “This was fun until the re-balance on 11/4/2024 which basically switched the game to be pay-to-win as everyone's progress was tanked by the dev to be roughly 1/3rd to 1/5th what it was in order to try to get folks to spend money on in-game purchases via 'long bonuses' which speed up growth.”
  • story

    29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    10% positive mentions, 80% neutral mentions, 10% negative mentions

    The story aspect is noted to have actual plot lines, adding some engagement, but it lacks the depth found in leading genre titles. However, the gameplay is heavily marred by pay-to-progress mechanics, especially in daily and weekly quests, which frustrates non-paying players due to slow progression and nerfed rewards. Overall, the storyline is present but overshadowed by cumbersome, monetized quest systems that detract from the experience.

    • “At least their games employ VAs and have actual story/plot lines.”
    • “What really stands out are the daily missions: small tasks that encourage you to come back each day and, almost without noticing, help you move forward.”
    • “The daily/weekly quests and few little mini games also keep you interested and logging in each day.”
    • “However, it lacks the depth in storyline found in genre leaders.”
    • “The most annoying thing is how the quests work.”
    • “"- quests or events have no real appeal for you to do them."”
  • grinding

    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 4% neutral mentions, 96% negative mentions

    Grinding in the game is a mixed experience, praised for rewarding effort and automation that eases repetitive tasks, but criticized for becoming excessively time-consuming and tedious, especially in the late game and achievement farming. Updates have introduced more grindy elements and cash shop dependencies, leading some players to find it frustrating and overly repetitive. Overall, grinding is integral but can detract from enjoyment if not balanced well.

    • “Did everything the game has up until now; everything that remains is either RNG-based or extremely grindy.”
    • “It added, roughly, 500 hours' worth of grinding to get all the achievements.”
    • “Extremely boring and grindy mechanics, characters look absolutely awful in game (and cost money to reroll the appearance of, and oddly your main character has fewer options than your hirelings?), lots of expensive in-app purchases that do not feel reasonable at all, AI art, people on forums complaining that their progress got nerfed by like half speed in the latest update (in-app purchase driving or just really bad balancing? You decide), and more.”
  • music

    21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    38% positive mentions, 57% neutral mentions, 5% negative mentions

    The music is widely praised for its soothing, relaxing, and chill ambiance, greatly enhancing the calming and enjoyable atmosphere of the game. Many players appreciate the ambient sounds and configurable audio options, making the soundtrack a standout and integral part of the overall experience.

    • “The music is so soothing and a great way to relax after a long week.”
    • “The music might be my favorite part, it's so relaxing and beautiful.”
    • “The lovely graphics, smooth background animations, and soothing background music all add to its charm.”
  • optimization

    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    21% positive mentions, 58% neutral mentions, 21% negative mentions

    The game's optimization has been a mixed experience for users, with many reporting significant performance issues and lag, especially unusual for an idle game. While some mention improvements after updates, persistent performance drops and inefficient resource use negatively impact long-term play. However, a few users have not encountered notable lag, highlighting inconsistency across different systems.

    • “Rather than remaining dependent on simple interactions, the game introduces management elements that shift attention toward optimization and long-term growth.”
    • “Nice graphics can run in background with no effect on performance.”
    • “Performance issues have been fixed.”
    • “It feels very careless and is a huge performance hog, which is very unusual for an idle game.”
    • “Game overall is good, similar to other idle games, but the lag/performance issues that appear after 10-20 minutes of playing ruin the experience for now, and changing settings does not help.”
    • “Very poorly optimized to say the least.”
  • humor

    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The humor in the game is highlighted by its absurdly expensive pay-to-win elements, quirky and occasionally awkward translations, and the adorable, amusing pets. Players also enjoy the playful irony in the game's title and lighthearted mini-games, contributing to a relaxing yet entertaining experience.

    • “The pets are hilariously cute.”
    • “Tons of funny mini-games, upkeep, etc.”
    • “It's relaxing, addictive, and has just the right amount of humor.”
  • atmosphere

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    75% positive mentions, 25% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The atmosphere is characterized by serene visuals and soothing sound effects that create a relaxing, immersive experience. The game prioritizes a comfortable, distraction-free environment, allowing players to enjoy progression at a leisurely pace.

    • “The presentation avoids realism and instead focuses on creating a comfortable atmosphere where progression can be enjoyed without distractions.”
    • “Beautiful graphics: the serene visuals and soothing sound effects create an immersive atmosphere.”
    • “Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the atmosphere while the big numbers get bigger.”
  • replayability

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    50% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions

    The game offers strong replayability through engaging contests and numerous upgrades, though users feel it could be improved by adding more dynamic and interesting content in a potential sequel.

    • “The contests are engaging, and there are numerous upgrades that significantly enhance replayability.”
    • “If they literally can just make an idle fishing 2 with a whole lot more interesting stuff popping up on screen, it would be much better and more playable.”
  • stability

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game's stability is generally solid, with minimal bugs reported, especially during fishing mini-games. Contrary to some concerns, players find the experience smooth and relaxing rather than frustrating or buggy.

    • “Seems the developer forgot that fishing is about relaxation, not stressing over buggy mini-games.”
  • character development

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Character development is noted for its surprisingly rich backgrounds, which provide depth despite the simple character design.

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Play Times

51h Median play time
241h Average play time
20-600h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 9 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Idle Fishing is a casual role playing game. Common tags for Idle Fishing include indie, cozy, relaxing, fishing, idler and others.

Idle Fishing is available on PC, Steam Deck and Windows.

On average players spend around 241 hours playing Idle Fishing.

Idle Fishing was released on May 24, 2024.

Idle Fishing was developed by AO Games.

Idle Fishing has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Idle Fishing for its gameplay but disliked it for its monetization.

Idle Fishing is a single player game with multiplayer support.

Similar games include Tap Ninja, Idle Slayer, Idle Cave Miner, Galaxy Idle Clicker, Revolution Idle and others.