Fishing Game: Big Catch

Cast out, wait for the line to move, and find out what took it.

Big Catch is a casual fishing game built around one thing: you never know what is on the line until it comes out of the water. The sea is not see-through, the way a sea is not see-through. All you get is the rod bending, the float dragged under, and how hard it is pulling.

HOW IT PLAYS

One finger, three moments.

Hold to wind up a cast, and let go inside the gold band to throw it further. When the float goes under, tap - and you have three quarters of a second to do it. Then hold to reel, and let go the instant it runs. Pull against a running fish and the line parts, every single time, whatever rod you are holding.

FORTY FISH

From sardines and mackerel at the harbour wall to a great white in open ocean. Every species fights differently, and every one has five stars waiting for the biggest of its kind you can land. A five star mackerel is as hard to find as a one star bluefin, so the first spot never stops being worth fishing.

SEVEN PLACES

A harbour wall to learn on. A rocky point at sunset. A lighthouse reef in turquoise water. The edge of the shelf. A wreck lying on her side. An ice shelf under cold light. And open ocean with no bottom under you at all.

Each one has its own weather, its own light and its own fish.

NOT ALWAYS A FISH

Sometimes what comes up is a boot, a rusty tin can or a rubber duck. Sometimes it is a pocket watch, a fistful of silver coins or a sunken chest worth more than a good fish. Twenty-three of them to find, and the wreck is where half of what comes up was never alive.

GEAR THAT MATTERS

Seven rods and six baits. A stronger rod takes more strain before the line goes, a faster reel shortens the fight, and each bait pulls in different fish and keeps the rubbish off your hook.

ALWAYS SOMETHING NEXT

One goal on screen at all times, and finishing it hands you the next one. Daily goals, a daily streak, a journal of every species and every piece of salvage, and awards for the things that take a fortnight rather than an evening.

FREE, AND FREE OF THE USUAL

No account. No sign-up. No in-app purchases and no subscriptions. Works fully offline, so it plays on a plane or on the metro. It collects nothing about you and sends nothing anywhere - your progress lives on your phone and stays there.

Tight lines.