There are some things that just go with VR. Sure you can have horror, you can have space, and you can even have bar fights. But sometimes you just need time to escape. A time where it is just you and nature..time to just relax…time to fish. Yes, believe it or not, fishing and the outdoors is what many people feel is a good time to just gather your thoughts and just think. So does Publisher Advanced Interactive Gaming and Developer metricminds GmbH & CO KG allow us to reconnect? Let’s find out with Catch & Release for the PlayStation VR.
Catch & Release is first and foremost about fishing but offers much more. You start out in your boat and almost everything is interactive. You will be using both Move controllers, so make sure those are fully charged because before you know it, just you out on a lake as time goes by could never be more of the truth.
You will be using the Move button to cast your line. Just like in real fishing, you will need to get used to casting your fishing rod. Pressing the Move button too early will have you dropping the line behind you as you try to cast it forward. Not holding down the Move button will cause the line to not touch the water if you decide to just have your fishing rod in its holder on the side of the boat.
In front of you will see your black book. No not that kind. This book will give your objectives and tips such as casting your fishing rod. To your right is where you will see your bait and like in true fishing, the better the bait, the better the catch. To your left, you will also see where you brought some sandwiches. Feel free to eat them all now or save them. I do like how when in VR that you can bring food or a drink to your mouth it sounds and looks like you are eating and drinking and Catch & Release does not disappoint here.
Also, you will see a radio, drinks, and stones that you can interact with. You want to drink that can of refreshing goodness…pop it open and drink. Want to skip some stones…then you skip and see every satisfactory skip on the water like the skipping Great One that you are. Want to turn on some music while out on the lake…then turn to your favorite genre and turn it up and just relax. Too many times it’s the small things that are missed and I really want to thank metricminds GmbH & CO KG for putting all of these in here. Sadly though, if you throw the radio in the lake, there are no electric sparks that will somehow earn you a rare trophy for trying to electrocute the fish as an easy way of catching them.
One thing when you first start out you are in the shallow part of the lake and no matter what I did, I could not catch any fish. Then as I was becoming one with nature, I decided to grab the oars. To be able to grab the oars to get to move your boat to different parts of the lake and as I was moving over the calmness of everything, in a distance, something caught my eye. A moose was just walking by minding its own business.
In the boat, you will also notice a yellow book that will serve as your shop guide if you will. Do you want to buy a new hat, a new type of radio, a new fishing rod or how about some bait? It’s here for you to do so. But like life, these items cost money. So how does one earn money in Catch & Release? By fishing of course. Here is a tip that may help. You simply cannot grab your fishing rod and place the bait on the hook. Like in real life, the fishing rod is pretty long so you will need to drop the line some and have the hook come to you and place the bait on there. It is time to cast and hopes that you catch something.
Yes, you earn money by the fish that you catch, putting them in the ice chest, closing the lid to reveal how much you earned. But if you feel the part of the lake you are on is just not doing it for you, grab the oars and feel free to move anywhere on the lake. Enjoy that calming and relaxing waterfall. But as you fish and you meet the objectives, the items in your yellow shop book can be yours for that special price that you will need to earn to fish. So again just like in real life. But I do like how when you have your yellow shop book in hand, it shows a bookmark that will represent your dollar amount so you know exactly how much you have to spend.
There are a couple of things that I would have liked would be able to see a tent that you could go in and sleep and then select night fishing just to change things up a bit or even different seasons and go ice fishing and seeing your breath because it is so cold. It’s not needed here, but it’s one of those if possible to be added later on that would be an awesome type of wish list. Also, I know it’s just you on a lake, but it would be cool to see some multiplayer with other players that could be in the same boat and that way you can just talk and kickback.
The sounds are what you would expect being outside with nature. Hearing the water from the waterfall as it hits the lake to the birds chirping. It’s very calming and therapeutic. Being immersed is very important in VR and being able to escape onto a boat and either just sit on the lake and fish or just sit back and watch nature is a real bonus here.
Catch & Release does offer a lot. You get the views, nature, and it’s up to you what you want to do. If you don’t want to do the objectives, then take a break from your daily life and just be out on the lake. If you do want to do the objectives, then enjoy that as well and the unlockables that come with it. But sometimes the escape can be the greatest reward and couldn’t we all use a little more rewards in our life?
Catch & Release is out now on PlayStation VR and is also available on the Oculus Store and Steam. A review code was provided.
To learn more about the game, please visit the site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and follow them on Instagram. To learn more about Advanced Interactive Gaming, please visit their site. To learn more about Metricminds GmbH & CO KG, please visit their site.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time I have some more fishing and relaxing to do.
Mr. PSVR, September 7, 2018, theplaystationbrahs.com