Real VR Fishing has recently received an update adding Together Edition, which brought mupltiplayer to the game. We took this chance to take a look at the game, with not playing it prior to this update. We have now spent a good number of hours on the river banks and out on a boat fishing alone and with others – so what did we think of the game?
Gameplay
As you would expect from the name, the main element of the gameplay is all about the fishing experience. But, what Real VR Fishing does is bring a good fishing-simulator, where you will learn a little bit about fishing if you are not a angling person. This comes down to knowing which rods, reels and baits are going to bring in the better and bigger fish in each location around South Korea – be it in freshwater, rivers or boat fishing.
Once you are out fishing, your going to need cast out your line, temp and hook the fish, then manage the tension and slack on the line while reeling in your catch. Failing to manage one of these and it’s time to say goodbye to your fish. With this in mind the game brings in three difficulty levels in Normal, Hard and Expert. In Normal mode you will get to put one some glasses that will show exactly where the fish are located and will also give you a gage to manage the tension, slack and show where to move your rod in order to tire out the fish. Hard mode removed the glasses and provides you with a radar that will give you an idea of the areas the fish are in, removes the gage and the fish will give you more of a fight. Finally in Expert mode it removes any sort of assistance to locate the fish and again the fish will take a little more to tire out. When it comes to managing the tension and allowing slack on the line in the Hard and Expert modes, this is done by colour indicators on your line – if it’s red there is too much tension and if it’s blue you have given the fish too much slack.
Outside of the fishing you are going to have to decided whether to release or keep your catch – releasing them will give you XP and keeping them will give you cash. This is something you need to take into account at first, as XP helps you level that will unlock new locations and equipment and items in the store. However, you are going to need the cash to buy your new equipment, which in turn will help you catch bigger fish – which will offer more XP or money in the long run. Overall the game has twenty-levels for you to work though in order to unlock everything Real VR Fishing has to offer. This is again where your chosen difficulty comes in, as the higher level you play it at the more XP and cash is given for your fish.
With the latest patch the team at Miragesoft have added Together Edition, this is going to allow you and up to three others head out fishing together, at any of the twenty locations on offer in the game. Since we have had access to the Together Edition from BETA to release, we have spent a good amount of time fishing with others – and until we played fishing in VR this way, we were not aware how much this was needed in VR.
Presentation
When stopping at the first location in the game, we were instantly blown away at the work the team have done to bring realistic environments to the game. Even in the Quest build of the game, they have made the water look great, and then backed this up with static panoramic photos to give a real-life look to the settings. Where you might think surely the static photos remove some of the immersion, but, what they have added additional effects and animations in the locations to make them work so well. This can be in the form of mist around the higher mountains, fireflies around the lake and flying by you on a night map, wildlife swimming or flying by to car lights moving across a bridge in the background, just to name a few. These little touches really keep you immersed in the settings. Then. what was also going to be important was the in-game models of the fish and these are all beautifully rendered and detailed, making that catch feel much more rewarding
Add to this the great use of audio, this starts with the noise of the water, the swoosh of your rod as you cast out and the sound of your reel and splashing as you battle with your catch. With the audio being finished off with the background noise for each location, from the weather effects or the ambience of the setting. Putting these together and it can be eerie at times how well it places you in that location and immersed you become.
One addition we were really taken aback by was the inclusion of an in-game MP3 player and browser, which work fantastically. Meaning if you are fishing alone or with others you can load MP3’s into your Quest and play your own music, or even better do this via the browser or even watch your favourite YouTube content creators or streamers – all while fishing.
Comfort/Controls
You can play Real VR Fishing either standing or seated, where standing will add to the immersion, Miragesoft have given a heigh adjust option. Meaning you can still be at a standing height in game even when seated – and to be honest we have played seated the majority of the time in the game and still felt immersed with the adjusted height.
You will start in your lodge as you load into the game, and in while in the lodge the game offers free locomotion, teleporting and snap and smooth turning, however, when in the game you are static in the position you start in. The main buttons you will using the game is the triggers for casting and reeling in. Outside of this your buttons on the controllers will bring up your menu and a mobile phone for those photo opportunities with your friends or your biggest catch.
Longevity
In order to get through the all the levels to unlock everything in the game, it will take around four to five hours – if you are not upgrading your equipment at every opportunity and playing on the higher difficulty levels. Then you can add to this the need to make money to upgrade your equipment, items and your lodge and your going to add many more hours to the game. But, even when you have everything you can, the slick and addictive fishing will have you going back to river banks and sea for more, and with the new addition of multiplayer it gives you even more reason to go back, relax and fish with friends.
reviewed using oculus quest
For the purposes of transparency, this review was created using a code provided by the company or their respective PR company. The use of a review code does not affect my judgement of the game.
Review Overview
VR Fishing, that can be enjoyed by anglers and non-anglers alike. Bringing with it slick and rewarding fishing, beautiful environments and use of audio, allowing you to become immersed in each of the twenty-locations around South Korea. Add to this the new multiplayer mode in the Together Edition update, which allows you and three others to fish together bringing something to VR we never knew we were missing. Real VR Fishing is a game we would highly recommend to anyone, this is must have in your Quest library.
