Whisker Waters

In the crowded world of role-playing games, Whisker Waters from Underbite Games manages to stand out with its charming and utterly unique premise - a semi-open world RPG that puts fishing front and center as the core gameplay mechanic. This whimsical indie title casts you as a customizable cat character exploring a vibrant world populated by cats, bears, birds and other anthropomorphized animals.

While the fishing hook may seem like an unlikely way to base an entire RPG around, Whisker Waters executes the concept beautifully. This is one of the most creative and delightfully fresh takes on the classic RPG formula in years.

Hooked on Fishing

From your very first quest, you'll quickly discover that Whisker Waters is all about the joy and challenge of fishing. The game eschews typical combat in favor of using various rods, lures and techniques to catch fish that act as semi-puzzles to solve.

Each of the dozens of different fish species has its own unique behaviors, patterns and temperaments to learn and account for. Some conceal themselves in areas requiring creative lure casts to reach. Others are constantly on the move, forcing you to anticipate their paths. Catching the rarest and most legendary fish presents thrilling lasting challenges for even experienced anglers.

This makes Whisker Waters incredibly satisfying for both casual players looking for a zen-like fishing experience as well as hardcore gamers hungry for that "gotta catch 'em all" collection completionist itch. It strikes a perfect balance between relaxing pastime and intense strategic gameplay.

Lure of Exploration

While the core fishing gameplay is excellent, Whisker Waters is much more than just a fishing sim. It's also a full-fledged action RPG with an expansive overworld to explore across multiple distinct regions, each with their own flavor of environments, characters and lore to uncover.

As you venture from forests to snowy mountains to oceanside towns, you'll complete main story quests as well as plentiful side content. The game does a brilliant job using its fishing mechanics as the catalyst for diverse missions with narratives that build out its eccentric world.

The production values are also extremely impressive for an indie title. Whisker Waters features outstanding cartoonish visuals with gorgeous water effects, along with a memorably whimsical soundtrack featuring live woodwind and string instruments.

In that sense, the game gives off strong Untitled Goose Game vibes with its modern riff on the classic Banjo-Kazooie style of kooky anthropomorphic character design and humor. This inviting presentation makes Whisker Waters incredibly easy to get absorbed into for players of all ages.

Review: 8.5/10

While Whisker Waters doesn't quite reach the scope and ambition of genre titans like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but with its clever twist on fishing RPG gameplay, it feels more similar to titles like Animal Crossing New Horizons, and it makes it endlessly charming, addictive, and replayable in its own right.

Pros:

• Extremely creative and unique fishing-centric RPG premise
• Deep, rewarding fishing mechanics with diverse species to catch
• Charming cartoonish art style with stellar production values
• Relaxing yet strategically challenging gameplay
• Lots of side content and secrets to discover

Cons:

• Overall quest design and storytelling a bit uneven
• Menu systems can be clunky
• About as niche as game concepts come!