GGRecon's Best Indie Games Of 2021: Moonglow Bay

Now hang on a minute, come back - we know. It's a fishing game.

You have every right to be sceptical, as when you think of the type of game that fishing as a sport can produce, you're much more likely to think of a simulator game that will simply plonk you on a lake and try to force you to be excited about catching whatever swims below. We get it, it sounds dull.

But these games have always missed something beyond the pick-up-and-fish approach, and that's giving players who might not be the most avid fishers alive a reason to care. That's where Moonglow Bay comes in, as a game about fishing that isn't really about fishing.

Moonglow Bay: Fishery Business

In Moonglow Bay, you'll play as a fisher who loses their partner, missing presumed dead, who you meet in the midst of a grief-stricken depression. As your daughter comes to dig you out of it, you'll find that your town, Moonglow Bay, has gone to rot due to your partner's absence and lively connection with the townspeople. It's up to you to find a way out of your depression by fishing, setting up your own business, and bring the town you hold so dear back to life.

The RPG is deeply charming in concept alone, but each of its moving parts make Moonglow Bay one of the most wholesome games that 2021 has to offer - wandering around the town and chatting to NPCs will inadvertently take up all of your time, and you'll have so much fun with the fishing and cooking mechanics that you'll forget why you're doing it in the first place. Every fishing excursion will offer you more peeks into Moonglow Bay's quiet narrative upon your return, so even if it ends up uneventful, you'll still have something to come home to.

Moonglow Bay: Bass-terful Work

The game's fishing mechanic, the thing that propels Moonglow Bay's gameplay, is simple enough to learn quickly, but complex enough to never let go of the opportunity for challenge. The line is toed effectively for the entire game in all of its corners, so every addition to your story and plight to build yourself up again feels truly deserved. The game is adorable, but it won't let you get complacent.

Moonglow Bay is heartwarming and engaging from moment one until the credits roll, and you'll lose more time to it than you'd expect to when you first sit down with it. It's a soft and soothing local adventure, and one you're not likely to forget in a hurry.