Deadliest Catch – The Game is a truly unique and immersive fishing game which has been developed by Discovery Game Studios and published by Ultimate Games S.A. The game is based on the famous Discover show of the same name so the franchise needs no introduction in the fishing world. The game has been developed with the cooperation of the real show producers so it is exceptionally close to the real deal and provides an extremely detailed insight into one of the biggest fishing industries of the world. This is our review of Deadliest Catch – The Game in which we jump into our vessel and catch some Red King Crabs in choppy oceans.
Deadliest Catch – The Game brings one of the biggest and the most in-demand fishing experience to your virtual machines. The game allows you to have your own Red King Crab fishing business where you start off small but eventually become a tycoon in the industry with a fully equipped fishing vessel and your very own fishing crew. Together with your crew, you brave the oceans in dynamic weather conditions which include thunderstorms as well and strive to become the best Red King Crab catcher of the season. After remaining in Early Access on PC, the game is now available fully on PC.
The best aspect of Deadliest Catch – The Game is its gameplay. Normally, it works in flow but I would like to split the life in the game into two different components. One is on the land while the other one is on the sea. While on the land, you have access to different locations in the Dutch Harbor where you can make use of different services. You can head to the shop to buy more supplies for your fishing trips or head to the Bar to hire some more help for your ship. You can also sell your catch at the Processing Plant and upgrade yourself by purchasing different abilities which getting discounts to speeding up different processes while you are out on the sea. Getting these upgrades will really help you out while you are out braving the oceans for your catch.
When you are all set, you choose your shipping vessel, pick a spot from the map, and set sail to begin catching crabs. Your location where you head matters a lot in how much crabs you will be able to catch successfully during that day. There are three parameters that you have to keep in mind before choosing a spot to lay down your crab pots. These are temperature, seabed type, and seabed depth. Since the game is all about catching Red King Crabs, everything in the game is tailored around this particular crab industry including your vessel which is going to be your home away from your home so it is best to get used to different actions and activities that you can do on it.
The second phase of the gameplay of Deadliest Catch – The Game is all about your life on the sea. You catch crabs and you sell them for profits. However, catching crabs is no easy feat. but once you get used to the method, it becomes extremely fun. This is also the main gameplay phase which is extremely detailed. Everything can be done manually or after you’ve hired some crew members, you can assign each task to them separately as well. The process of catching crabs is probably the best experience you can have in a virtual world and is completely identical to how commercial fishing of crabs work in real life.
Your vessel is equipped with dual cranes and everything else required for the task. You begin your catch by using the crane to picking up the crab pot and placing it on the launching pad. There, you must prep the pot before launching it in the water. To ensure that it keeps afloat, you attach some buoys to it and hang some bait inside it as well which attracts the crabs. Once it is ready to launch, you simply throw it in the water. Once it is in the water, you must wait at least 4 hours before you pull it back. During this time, you can roam around the ship, interact with the crew, and do some maintenance on different parts of the ship. Maintenance is important if you want to keep the vessel in top working condition.
You can also sail to another spot and lay down some more crab pots in different locations during this time as well. You can do so with the fast travel option where you open up the map and choose a location or you can jump in the Wheelhouse and drive the vessel yourself. You have complete control over your vessel so it is entirely up to you how you want to proceed with the day. There is plenty of time during the crab pots fill so I mostly went around checking out the crew and laying down some more pots around before coming back to the first one to get my catch. I also learned the hard way that it is advisable to monitor and maintain your ship or else you are forced to pay your hard-earned money to fix your vessel. Once you are all set to retrieve your catch, the second phase begins which involved bringing in the catch and sorting out the crabs.
To bring the crab pot back, you have to use grappling hooks and then use the coiler to reel the pot in. Once it close enough and lifted out of the water, you have to use the winch and place it back on the launching platform. Now you can remove the buoys and store them back safely and open the crab pot and empty it on the sorting table. Now begins the fun part where you must pick up and inspect each crab from your haul. This is important because the law allows you to catch only male and mature specimens of the Red King Crabs. Fail to follow the instructions and you will have to pay a fine back at the Dutch Port to the port administrator. The fine is not implicated instantly rather when you go back to the port, you pay the fine if you try to sell a female or smaller crab in the market.
Once you have sorted out the crabs, you store the good ones in your cargo hold and release the bad ones back into the ocean. After this, you must put the crab pot back into its place using the crane, and then you are all set for the next catch. Go back and repeat the process for all the crab pots that you have laid down. Once you are happy with your catch, you can head back to the port and sell all the catch that you’ve managed. It is good to head back often because you can use the earned money to purchase upgrades for your vessel which allow you to stay in the waters for longer, purchase skills for different boosts, and hire some crew from the bar.
During the early stages of your career, you have to perform all of the tasks yourself because you do not have enough upgrades to hire new crew members. Once you’ve played the game a bit, you can hire some new crew members to make your life easy on the sea. These hired crew members will become your new family as you spend days after days on the ocean, braving the oceans in order to find the best locations to catch Red King Crabs. The crew management screen allows you to assign different tasks to your crew members. With all this said, performing all of the actions yourself surely does give a really unique experience.
Having help is good in the game but if you hire a lot of crew members, then you are literally doing nothing in the game apart from managing the crew and assigning them tasks. It does get a little boring after some time but if you continue to jump in action every now and then, it keeps the fun intact. The crew management screen is really helpful as it allows you to assign specific tasks in particular orders to crew members. It is also great to see what everyone is doing on your ship so that if someone is just sitting idle, you can assign them tasks and switch tasks between the crew members to ensure that work is balanced among them and none are getting overburdened.
Deadliest Catch: The Game is a peaceful game. It demands time and in return, it offers hours and hours of fun if you like commercial fishing games. Even if you starting fresh into this genre, the game offers a thorough tutorial at the start of the game as well as a text-based glossary of how you can perform every task in the game to get you up-to-speed with all in-game mechanics quickly. Coming to visuals of the game, it features decent special effects and the oceans really look amazing but sadly the items are not greatly detailed when it comes to observing different items on the ship. The game also tends to become extremely dark during night time. You do have a flashlight and lights on board your vessel but still playing the game is easier during the daytime in every aspect.
Final Verdict:
Deadliest Catch: The Game is an excellent game when it comes to the fishing genre. The game offers hours and hours of gameplay as you play season after season of Red King Crab fishing and try to remain on top of the leaderboards. The gameplay offers a lot of depth and different tasks for you to complete and master. If you have a couple of hours to kill, this game can easily do so with its soothing music and chilled gameplay mechanics as you explore the oceans to find the best locations to catch Red King Crabs. It is not your traditional fishing game but it really offers a unique gameplay experience as it explores one of the most expensive fishing businesses of the planet. Highly recommended if you love simulators or particularly fishing games and are looking for something that could keep you entertained for hours.
Final Score: 8.0/10
