Out Fishing? What’s this now? A snooze-fest fishing sim? Kinda, sorta. You really do “fish” your way to a living in this game—but at night, the whole thing turns into a clammy horror trip.

What’s Out Fishing about?

East Asian myths have been weaving horror into the eerie side of water for ages—and H.P. Lovecraft also spun that combo into some seriously good nightmare fuel. Out Fishing by Mūn Mūn Games, however, comes from France and doesn’t cite Lovecraft, but rather Alan Wake, Mundaun, and Silent Hill as inspirations. Fair enough.

What really sets this underdog apart is something else entirely: by day, you pull on your waders and flop down—tight lines—with your rod at a lake. On the side, you cobble together a cozy cabin and useful tools, like gear that lets you fish in the dark. At night, though, things get uncomfortable, because that’s when various horrors start crawling out of their holes.

But... hold up. Let’s start right at the beginning. 🙂

A new life by the lake

Out Fishing kicks off like a “happy farming sim” à la Story of Seasons: you’re trying to build a new life at an abandoned lake, apparently somewhere in a northern biome. Except it’s “haunted by the memories of a forgotten disappearance.” Sounds cryptic, but it simply refers to multiple people who vanished in the past.

By day, as mentioned, it’s all about earning your keep by fishing. To sell the scaly goods, you just dump them into a specific crate—something we already know from the usual farming sims. But no friendly villager comes hopping over to pick up your catch. Instead, Out Fishing credits your hard-earned cash instantly.

How much of a builder the (so far) blank-slate protagonist gets to be is still unclear. Early screenshots at least show a more-than-makeshift wooden house, a tractor barn with an attached... graveyard (hey: according to Dr. Christian von Hoermann, a a 66-pound carcass supplies the soil with as much nitrogen as 100 years of conventional fertilization!), and a “lighthouse raft” under construction. So maybe fishing at night is actually worth it.

A fragile safe zone

What exactly Out Fishing unleashes at night is still mostly a mystery. But a few sneak peeks show an almost jet-black armored fish with glowing red eyes, as well as an ominous figure in a long raincoat, standing with their back to the camera and loitering inside one of your buildings.

Your camp is described by Out Fishing itself as a “fragile safe zone,” which that raincoat-guy screenshot seems to back up. Personally, I think the ghostly slacker is more of an atmospheric element; beatdowns or “physically” dangerous encounters are probably waiting off your property. Experience says so, at least.

The question now is what tools you’ll have to defend your private paradise. Current images don’t reveal much here either—but it’s definitely not just simple melee weapons. In the demo trailer (see below), for example, the hero racks a chunky shotgun, which should get shooter fans grinning. Still: Out Fishing is being marketed as a “Psychological Fishing Horror Sim,” so I’m not expecting tons of action.

What features does Out Fishing have?

Alright—and so I don’t miss any of the few info crumbs we’ve got so far, here’s a look at the official list of features:

• A slow-burn horror story told through exploration, fishing, and strange encounters, with a haunting ambient soundtrack
• A dynamic day-night cycle and shifting weather that alter fishing conditions, exploration, and the threats that emerge
• Upgrade and unlock tools, vehicles, and techniques to access deeper, more dangerous areas and uncover greater rewards
• Light survival and camp-building mechanics that reinforce tension, not micromanagement
• A hauntingly beautiful world full of clues, uncover the truth behind a forgotten disappearance through items, voices, and strange visions
• A single, horrifying goal: reel in the one thing that was never meant to be found

As for exploration: the Steam Page for Out Fishing, among other things, proudly displays the tag “Open World.” But since that tag can come from the developer just as easily as from users of the DRM platform, it’s not something to take at face value. The playable demo should tell us more—it’s supposed to drop on March 18.

Why Out Fishing is on my wishlist

As a horror fan since childhood, I’ve obviously seen a lot of horror games/movies—and the techniques and tricks that come with them. That’s why the thousandth iteration of “man/woman finds an ominous VHS tape in an antique shop” doesn’t do anything for me anymore; I need sharp, fresh meat. And yes, I’m also openly a die-hard Asia-horror devotee, which Out Fishing’s wet setting (intentionally or not) definitely side-eyes.

So I see Mūn Mūn Games’ project as a Western take on what’s essentially an East Asian horror theme, and that’s exactly what makes it interesting to me. Because sometimes a setting and story really pop when Asian and Western influences collide. Think The Ring (Ringu) or The Grudge (Ju-on). I genuinely love the originals, mind you—but it was the remakes from the US, Japan, and Germany that really squeezed everything out of the material.

Alex Nitschke

I’ve been into video games since 1982, spending 12 of those years in professional games journalism. I’ve also been developing games since the early ’90s, starting with a humble C64. Outside of code and keyboards, I’ve been a musician since 1989. Man, I have no idea how I can still be alive...

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