But, while these two games share relaxing takes on fishing, the farming simulation RPG, Stardew Valley, is apparently stressing players out.
A Reddit user posted a gameplay video showing how stressful this mini-game can be as it shows a player taking over one and a half minutes just to catch a common fish. Reddit user fireheart1029 said, “sometimes the fishing in this game makes me want to throw my controller.” Other users have been commenting that simply watching the clip made them stressed. One user said “watching this raised my blood pressure.” While another had to skip to the end just to see what happened. The mini-game is intense compared to dedicated hunting and fishing simulation games but it does require fine motor skills. Fishing in Stardew Valley requires precise control and a whole lot of patience. Players first have to time a meter to cast the rod as far as possible. Sounds simple enough right? However, that’s where the simplicity ends for this mini-game. The player then has to place the fish inside the green bar for the gauge on the right-hand side to fill up. If the gamer can get the gauge full, then the fish is caught. The fish can escape if the gauge becomes empty. Occasionally, players will find sunken treasure while fishing and this is where it gets tricky. The player must first place the green bar over the treasure before attempting to catch the fish. This can be tricky as the fish like to swim upwards after being hooked. Catching the fish without snagging the treasure will not get an additional reward. Getting the treasure but letting the fish escape does not also get you the additional bonus. The fish that the player caught in the video is a Lingcod. It can only be found in rivers or the mountain lake during the winter season or when using magic bait. As seen in the footage, this particular fish likes to bob up and down erratically making it hard to fill up the gauge. Now, imagine trying to catch ten Lingcod during your playthrough. There is one mission that will require players to do just that. There is a mod that makes the fishing mini-game much more relaxing though. If you want to try your hand at fishing in Stardew Valley, the game is available only on PC.
