Nice Day For Fishing Review — Honeywood Bound

Ever wondered what the typical day in the life of a non-playable character (NPC) was like? Well, Nice Day for Fishing brings that concept to life. FusionPlay and Team17 have collaborated with New Zealand sketch comedy team, Viva La Dirt League, to convert their wacky, wild live-action world of Azerim into a video game. Fans of the Epic NPC Man YouTube series will appreciate the digital representation of Azerim, with references to the series and the overall tone and humour fans have come to expect from the group. But ultimately, does Nice Day for Fishing deliver a shrimpy, irresistible adventure, or is it a load of carp?

Nice Day for Fishing is a 2D fishing adventure that takes place within a fictional fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) called Skyscraft; the game featured in the Epic NPC Man series. One morning, Bailen, a humble NPC fisherman, is conducting his daily predetermined routines throughout the village of Honeywood, with avatars of real-world players littering the town. Until suddenly, each avatar vanishes, and with them, every real-world player on the server. After a series of unfortunate events involving some muggers named Charles and Bernard, a massive evil octopus known as Dark Lord Yz’halden is unleashed, and as there are no adventurers, it destroys the village of Honeywood and escapes into the world of Azerim. With no heroes available, it is up to Bailen and his friends to stop the Dark Lord, rebuild Honeywood and save Azerim from certain doom.

The story leans upon classic fantasy tropes, with an unlikely hero rising up to defeat an ancient evil, but the humour and tone help to deliver a charming and unique interpretation. The villain itself is ‘evil for evil’s sake’, and with very little screen time or motivation for their dastardly deeds, they became very forgettable. Fortunately, Bailen and company are charming and likeable. Aside from Baradum the sorcerer, who is intentionally unpleasant, arrogant and looks down upon everyone in Honeywood. From Fred the merchant and his wife (who openly hates him), to Bodger the Blacksmith and his misplaced hammer, and even Greg, a friendly man who loves garlic, each is delightful, and their dialogue is accompanied by a pixel art-inspired version of their real-life counterpart. Even our playable NPC hero Bailen is loveable, despite the fact he only has three lines of dialog (“Mornin”, ‘Nice day for fishin’, ain’t it?”, and “Hua ha”), with the running joke being that everyone understands him completely despite his lack of dialog variety.

If you have seen any of Viva La Dirt League’s content, the humour and fourth-wall-breaking references found within the Epic NPC series are plentiful and consistent. Most of the humour delivers, and I think fans of Viva La Dirt League will appreciate the Epic NPC Man references. As someone who had never watched Viva La Dirt League before, I still found myself chuckling at some of the jokes, though I’m sure some went completely over my head, but will be hilarious to series veterans.

The biggest issue I have with Nice Day for Fishing is the repetitive mission structure. Ultimately, the majority of quests across the dozen-hour story are simply fetch quests, with a handful of challenging boss encounters thrown in. Most missions will require you to catch a certain number of fish, obtain a certain number of items, or collect a special piece of equipment that has conveniently appeared on the map, because the quest demands it.

Nice Day for Fishing makes several references to fetch quests and poor game design, but in an effort to make fun of these practices, ends up replicating those same problems. To make matters worse, there are only four main areas that can be traversed from one side of the map to the other, and most missions will require you to walk from one end of the map to the other, over and over again. The mission design is exhausting, and the consistent fetch quests lose their comedic novelty very quickly. Nice Day for Fishing’s experience would have benefited from making the joke a few times, but then aiming to improve on the issue, rather than painting by numbers to reinforce the point that was hammered home several hours earlier. Poor mission design created to poke fun at poor mission design is still poor mission design.

Bailen is a fisherman, so it will come as no surprise that fishing is the main form of gameplay across the adventure. Initially, players can only control their fishing hook vertically as they attempt to catch their designated target, with specific bait required to catch rare sea life. Fish encounters play out in a similar fashion to random encounter battles, as you use a variety of different rods and magic spells to capture your prey. Fishing starts off quite basic, as you mash the X button to deliver damage, while paying attention to your timing when attempting to block or parry attacks. It’s important to pay attention to your target because attempting to deliver damage to them while they are on the offensive can snap the line, causing you to end the encounter and lose the fish. As you level up and discover more fish, you will unlock more spells, gain access to full 360-degree movement of the hook, and arm yourself with charms, rings and hats to improve your skills to tackle more challenging marine life.

Unlike Nice Day for Fishing’s mission design, the fish-catching mechanics become more challenging and in-depth as the game goes. While the core mechanics of fishing remain, rare fish require strategic planning to capture. Opposing fish can cause bleeding, stop you from blocking damage or remove your ability to conduct spells altogether. Attacks from your opposition can even occur more frequently, meaning you must instantly react to changing circumstances as the battle rages on. Personally, I created a strong magic build by wearing items focused on improving magical damage and increasing my stamina, allowing me to cause heavy damage early and often. These late-game fish are fun, challenging and keep fishing fresh. Boss encounters also provide a satisfying challenge, with each fight possessing three increasingly difficult phases that will constantly test your ability to block and parry correctly. These encounters turn into thrilling Guitar Hero-esque battles as you block, parry, and attack your way to victory.

Aside from underwater encounters, Nice Day for Fishing features very light platforming and a basic town-building system. Undersea currents must be navigated to find hidden treasures, rare items, or the materials needed to rebuild Honeywood. Once you have enough resources, each building within the town of Honeywood can be upgraded, providing the player with bonuses, a larger selection of items and accessories to purchase, and extra missions provided by the Mayor of Honeywood.

There are only a handful of different themed tunes throughout Nice Day for Fishing, with each track providing a cosy sound. The theme for Honeywood is clearly inspired by classic RPGs, incorporating flutes, while the coastal theme is melodic and cheerful. Battles have their own unique sound, which strongly contrasts the cosy themes, helping to emphasise the heat of battle. The majority of the game is experienced through text, but occasionally, characters will deliver a voice line featuring their Viva La Dirt League counterpart. These voice lines are great, but sadly, they are few and far between. I would have loved the entire experience to be fully voiced, especially with a talented YouTube group collaborating on the experience. The lack of additional voice lines or a fully voiced adventure seems like a missed opportunity.

Nice Day for Fishing incorporates a charming and delightful pixel art style, with vibrant visuals across the world of Azerim. The development team has also created some fantastic and wacky marine designs for creatures located within the depths of the ocean. Some look like weapons, some have clearly been inspired by real-life sea creatures, and one mimics the appearance of a hidden chest; so, beware.