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Umihara Kawase

It's truly a shame that the series didn't have any sort of presence in the west until quite recently. I feel like if the title had managed to grab an overseas audience we might've seen even more titles from the developers besides the three games they did end up releasing over the last two decades. The series certainly deserved it.
Umihara Kawase Game Cover
93%Game Brain Score
gameplay, music
grinding
93% User Score Based on 250 reviews
Critic Score 95%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

PCSteam DeckWindows
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Umihara Kawase Game Cover

About

Umihara Kawase is a single player puzzle game. It was developed by Studio Saizensen and was released on November 2, 2015. It received very positive reviews from both critics and players.

Umihara Kawase is a girl who uses a fishing hook as a grappling hook. You’ll need quick reflexes to swing your way through the branching surreal environments. Use your brains to figure out the best way through. They say fish is brain food—you’re going to need it!

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Umihara Kawase screenshot
Umihara Kawase screenshot
Umihara Kawase screenshot
Umihara Kawase screenshot
Umihara Kawase screenshot
Umihara Kawase screenshot
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93%
Audience ScoreBased on 250 reviews
gameplay26 positive mentions
grinding2 negative mentions
  • Umihara Kawase features a unique grappling mechanic that offers deep and satisfying gameplay, rewarding players who invest time to master it.
  • The game has a charming aesthetic and a whimsical atmosphere, complemented by a pleasant soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
  • Despite its brutal difficulty, the game provides a strong sense of accomplishment and progression as players learn and improve their skills.
  • The level design can be unforgiving, with random enemy spawns leading to frustrating and cheap deaths, making the experience feel punishing at times.
  • Boss fights are often criticized for being tedious and poorly designed, detracting from the otherwise well-crafted platforming elements.
  • The lack of checkpoints and the need to restart after a game over can be discouraging, especially for players who struggle with the game's high difficulty.
  • gameplay
    92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Umihara Kawase is characterized by its unique grappling mechanic, which utilizes an elastic fishing line to navigate levels and defeat enemies, offering a blend of simplicity and depth that requires skill to master. While the game presents a challenging experience reminiscent of old-school platformers, it features well-designed levels with branching paths and a "forgiveness mechanic" that mitigates frustration. Overall, it appeals to hardcore gamers who appreciate intricate mechanics and are willing to invest time in mastering the game's nuances.

    • “In addition to featuring all the core mechanics of old arcade games, such as a limited number of lives and no checkpoints or saves, it provides a genuinely challenging platforming experience with considerable complexity in its movement.”
    • “The entire game is built around the mechanic of the fishing line, and it is almost shocking how much depth and variety exist within that one seemingly simple tool.”
    • “Umihara Kawase combines airtight level design with an incredibly deep core mechanic (that crazy elastic fishing line) to create something special.”
    • “An old game with a unique mechanic that fails on its execution.”
    • “The only trouble is that it may take a while to even get a familiar grasp on how the mechanics work.”
    • “If you feel invested enough to learn every single mechanic in depth, and are fine with getting games you only come back to once in a while to see if you can beat them, or can't beat at all, this is the game for you.”
  • music
    44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally praised for its beautiful, bright, and cheerful qualities, enhancing the overall experience with a relaxing and playful atmosphere. While some users noted issues with the volume settings, once adjusted, the soundtrack complements the game's charming visuals and challenging gameplay. Overall, the music is considered a significant aspect of the game, contributing to its unique charm despite some opinions that it may not be particularly noteworthy.

    • “The soundtrack is beautiful and fits the game’s theme.”
    • “Paired with pleasant music and nice surreal visuals, it's a lovely game.”
    • “Great music, great art, great gameplay - this game has really surpassed my expectations and become my favorite platformer.”
    • “And don't forget to turn up the music in the settings, for some reason it's so low that you can't hear it by default.”
    • “Soundtrack is decent but not really noteworthy, which is good because you're going to be hearing it a lot as you make your way through 50+ levels.”
    • “Some of the most absolutely sadistic level design I've ever seen in a platforming game, definitely not for the faint of heart despite its cutesy aesthetic and cheery music.”
  • graphics
    36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are praised for their unique, surreal aesthetic and vibrant visuals that complement the gameplay, creating a charming yet deceptive atmosphere. While the visuals maintain their quality since the game's original release in 1994, some minor issues like water texture glitches have been noted. Overall, the combination of playful graphics and music enhances the experience, even as players face challenging and often brutal level designs.

    • “Really amazing platformer with a very specific charm you can't find anywhere else thanks to the graphics, music, art direction, and fish.”
    • “Each level is full of bright visuals, wonderful music and challenging obstacles and enemies to overcome.”
    • “Aesthetically, it's a great looking game in how bizarre it is.”
    • “I bought this back in 2019 as soon as I saw the SNES aesthetic (completely unaware this originally released in 1994) but soon dropped it because I couldn't make much progress past the tadpole.”
    • “Graphics and sounds are exactly the same as the Sufami version, if not extremely similar.”
    • “Don't be fooled by the cutesy graphics and laid-back music.”
  • story
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is minimal and often described as non-existent, with players focusing more on gameplay than narrative. While some appreciate the lack of overbearing plot elements and character distractions, others find it challenging to identify any clear motivation or storyline, as the experience is primarily arcade-driven. Overall, the emphasis is on fun and exploration rather than a traditional story arc.

    • “Greatest story ever told in the medium.”
    • “No overbearing story, no annoying characters, no unnecessary padding and cutscenes.”
    • “It's hard to say what the story or motivation is, but with a few good musical tracks and an interesting world to explore, it's a lot of fun.”
    • “There's no real story as far as I know since reaching an ending just brings up the credits.”
    • “UK is a purely arcade experience, with no story or any other unnecessary trappings.”
    • “Just when you conquer a challenging field, you'll be filtered by the next immediate level, and have to spend a long time in practice mode trying to get through it before you return to the story mode to try and do it for real with limited attempts.”
  • humor
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's humor is characterized as both quirky and dark, with players noting its ability to blend comedic elements with more sinister themes. A recurring mention of a "funny hat" highlights the game's whimsical charm, contributing to its overall amusing tone.

    • “It can show you both how funny and how evil this game can get.”
    • “This game sure has a quaint sense of humor.”
    • “It's pretty funny.”
  • replayability
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers high replayability, with players noting that mastering its interesting platforming mechanics enhances the fun and encourages multiple playthroughs. Each session can present different levels, ensuring that players won't experience everything in one go, making it a fantastic choice for those who enjoy challenging 2D platformers.

    • “This gives the game tons of replayability, as you won't see every level in each playthrough.”
    • “Fantastic difficult 2D platformer with tons of replay value.”
    • “Aside from that, it's a very enjoyable experience with high replay value.”
  • optimization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game has received significant performance improvements over the original SNES version, eliminating the lag caused by its heavy physics engine, resulting in a smooth gameplay experience.

    • “The gameplay overall is still exactly the same as the Sufami version, with many performance improvements.”
    • “The original SNES game suffered from lag due to the heavy physics engine, but this runs smoothly without any problem.”
  • atmosphere
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is consistently praised for its pleasant atmosphere, evoking a warm and inviting feeling that enhances the overall experience.

    • “This game has a very pleasant atmosphere and a warm feeling to it.”
  • grinding
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players appreciate that the game's progression system emphasizes skill improvement over traditional grinding for stats, allowing for a more engaging and rewarding experience.

    • “The result of this system is that you get through the game by actually improving, not by getting lucky or grinding up stats.”
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95%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

Umihara Kawase is a puzzle game.

Umihara Kawase is available on PC, Steam Deck and Windows.

Umihara Kawase was released on November 2, 2015.

Umihara Kawase was developed by Studio Saizensen.

Umihara Kawase has received very positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.

Umihara Kawase is a single player game.

Similar games include Sayonara Umihara Kawase, BZZZT, Grapple Dog, Umihara Kawase Shun, Project Earth and others.