One key feature available in the dock is buying new boats. Thankfully I managed to make it home on the dregs in the tank.

One thing the tutorial fails to mention – and which almost caught me out, thanks to a bout of absent-mindedness – is re-fueling I received a warning while quite far out at sea. Once my fish were caught and ready for sale, the game ushered me back towards the dock where I promptly sold off my stock.ĭocks allow for various tasks to be performed, ranging from selling fish to buying boat upgrades and hiring a crew. It doesn’t take long to get to grips with the various systems at play, from laying down lines at sea to gutting caught fish (I’m terrible at the latter, it turns out). Launching into the tutorial, I found that the game manages to explain itself quite quickly and efficiently.

This, of course, reminded me of the opening to Stardew Valley where this is handled with considerably more finesse there it receives substantial narrative time and feeds into the game later, here it is mentioned and then becomes relatively unimportant. Set in the Norwegian Sea, Fishing: Barents Sea simulates weather, naval traffic, the behavior of various types of fish, day/night cycles and seasonal changes while featuring a steady progression system for improving your fishing operation.įishing: Barents Sea opens with the rather sweet, if somewhat rehashed, notion that you are inheriting your first boat from your grandfather. Released last year for the PC and earlier this month for Nintendo Switch, Fishing: Barents Sea is a fishing simulator that provides a gentle entry into the genre while offering an appealing escape into a beautiful location.

Fishing barents sea xbox one