"fishing"

2023 · Adventure RPG / Management Sim · PC / Steam

Dave the Diver is a charming mashup of ocean exploration and sushi restaurant management that keeps finding new ways to surprise you. The loop of diving for ingredients by day and serving customers by night is addictive in a way that sneaks up on you, and the game constantly introduces new systems to keep things fresh. Some of those systems land better than others, and the pacing stumbles when it forces you to sit through lengthy story sequences instead of letting you play. But the overall package is so warm and inventive that most players blow past the 30-hour mark without realizing it.

2023 · Adventure · PC / Steam

Dredge takes two things that shouldn't work together, fishing simulation and cosmic horror, and makes them feel inseparable. The atmosphere is exceptional, the inventory puzzle of fitting catches into your hull is oddly satisfying, and the sense of dread that builds as night falls gives routine fishing trips real tension. It runs short and the late game doesn't quite match the mystery of the opening hours, but what's here is a tightly crafted experience that does something no other game is doing.

2017 · 1-5 Players · ~20-100 min · Competitive

Nusfjord is Uwe Rosenberg at his most distilled. It compresses the resource conversion and engine building that define his design philosophy into a tight, fast-playing package that rarely overstays its welcome. The brevity that makes it so replayable is the same quality that leaves some players wanting more, and experienced euro gamers may find the decision space too familiar. But for anyone looking for a satisfying worker placement game that respects their time and rewards efficient play, Nusfjord fills that role better than most games on the shelf.