Welcome to our review of the game called I am Fish, it may look easy but it packs quite the punch. Free now on Game Pass too!
I am Fish is a charming, physics-based adventure starring four intrepid fish friends, forcibly separated from their home in a pet shop fish tank. Over the course of the game you join them as they swim, fly, roll and chomp their way to the open ocean from the far-flung corners of Barnardshire (the smallest county in England) in their bid for freedom and to re-unite once again.
Meet our heroes! Goldfish – cheerful, brave, and adventurous, a natural born swimmer! Pufferfish – a little slow but kind-hearted who can also puff up into a ball and roll across land. Piranha – wild, chaotic, loud, unpredictable, and loves to bite – obviously. Flying Fish – a little aloof at times but a real softy at heart, with the ability to glide through the air! These plucky heroes will leave no bowl unturned, putting their heart and shoal into the mission to re-unite!
Swim, roll, glide, chomp, flip flop, inflate, fly and bite your way through enthralling challenges. A simple, intuitive control scheme leaves no excuses should your fish perish leaving you feeling very gill-ty.
With its idyllic coastline and quaint villages Barnardshire might seem like a perfect slice of quintessential tranquility, but to our aquatic adventurers it’s alive with the very real threats presented by crossing roads, traversing rooftops, dodging deep fat fryers, avoiding wildlife including the cantankerous locals, not to mention fragile fishbowls and the very real problem that fish can’t breathe out of water.
We won’t dwell on grizzly fish death, but should your fish fall too far in whatever make-shift fishbowl it finds itself in, run out of air or generally flounder you will be popped back to the most recent checkpoint to refine your approach.
Our four fin-tastic friends will be hitching rides in all manner of ad hoc water carriers including jars, mop buckets on wheels and the occasional pint glass. Cheers! Navigating in each make-shift aquatic vehicle poses its own unique challenge, but don’t worry, the relative freedom of open water is never too far away with inviting fountains, swimming pools and err, sewers full of hazardous materials to splash around in, before reaching the final goal – the shimmering, open ocean.
Whilst I Am Fish may look like a piece of hake to play, actshoally the controls are deliberately designed to be challenging and with an additional layer of added Bossa Style controls, it won’t be like shooting fish in a barrel. Even if you are a dab-handed player, you might find yourself in deep waters – we dare you to dive in!
I am fish is really a lot sneakier than you’d expect it to be. I got snuffed 13 times on my first try at the first level. Challenging yet never impossible, seems to be the choice for this game’s difficulty. I really liked it, despite really struggling with some of the mechanics at times. I recorded some gameplay to really show either my lack in skills or how spicy the game really is. Spoiler alert, it is very spicy.
I honestly think a player must be sadistic to play this games in its Bossa mode, must be players who enjoy Souls games for sure. I do recommend everyone to give this innocent looking game a try and see for yourself how such a cute looking game can really be such a cool game.
I remember the first time I saw the trailer, thinking this game looked awesome. Finding out it was on Game Pass, added bonus for sure! Sure, I would have bought it otherwise, but this game is just another reason and another showcase to buy a game pass subscription really.
There may have been one thing I dislike about this game, but I know for sure this was intentional. The way the bowl moves, it often irritated me due to its momentum. I know this was designed to be this way, but I would love to revisit the game with a non intentional mechanic instead.
In conclusion, I am Fish is not a game to sleep on and proves once again that Game Pass is the way to go for Xbox, as a game, this is not one to ignore!
