I never thought I’d review more than one fishing game per generation of consoles, let alone two for the same system in the span of two weeks. I also never thought I’d eventually figure out that all three fishing games I’d tackle for the Nintendo Switch, despite being far from impressive, would perfectly fit different niches and appeal to different audiences. THE Bass Fishing is the best title if all you want is quick, arcade-like fishing fun. Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adventure is the best bet for those looking for a unique genre mesh, all thanks to its JRPG elements. Finally, there’s the brand new Bassmaster Fishing 2022: Super Deluxe Edition, which caters to die-hard fishing enthusiasts, being a hardcore simulator that gives no craps about newcomers.

Bassmaster Fishing 2022 aims to please a small audience with staggering attention to detail. It’s all about something I wasn’t even aware of: competitive, sports-like fishing. You know, the kind of competitive circuit where each “athlete” shows up to the event complete with a sponsor-filled jacket, cap, and so on. For fishing. Much like real fishing, it’s really slow-paced. This isn’t the kind of relaxing, laid back fishing experience. This is a deep career-focused game where you don’t just fish, but seek out sponsors, look for equipment, and man a boat throughout a gigantic lake in order to find your prey. Only then you can start focusing on the meat of the game, the fishing itself.

The game does feature multiple control schemes, including motion control support. It is, however, nowhere near as easy to learn as the gameplay present in the other two fishing games I’ve talked about in the past. If you miss the initial tutorial you’ll be lost. However, this is easier said than done because a glitch makes the Switch close the game and not allow you to retake these initial steps. Hopefully there will be a patch to fix this issue soon.

Bassmaster Fishing 2022 assumes you love fishing and have played other simulation-heavy titles in the past, making this nightmarish for newcomers. I was also deeply bothered with the sheer amount of times the game wanted me to sign up for exclusive online memberships from its publisher’s website. My man, this is a fishing sim. Let’s not overcomplicate things.

Bassmaster Fishing 2022‘s nature allows for some of its graphical and performance setbacks to be less egregious when compared to other “ambitious” Switch ports. It tries to provide players with realistic visuals, especially when you consider the sheer size of each lake you can play on, but the framerate and resolution aren’t anything worth bragging about. Thankfully, it’s a fishing game: dips below 30fps are much less infuriating than in an action or racing game. I wasn’t overly impressed with the sound department either, but it wasn’t entirely bad. Average sound effects, average voice acting, decent-at-best music. Could have been a lot worse.

Bassmaster Fishing 2022: Super Deluxe Edition is a game that gets the job when it comes to pleasing a stupidly specific niche of gamers (hardcore fishing enthusiasts with Nintendo Switches), but it’s an nearly impossible sell for anyone else. It features a lot of content and an impressive scope for a game on the system, but its gameplay is far from accessible for anyone but the most dedicated of fishing gamers. If you’re a fan of the genre, I wouldn’t even need to tell you to buy it, as you have probably pre-ordered it anyway. For anyone else, if you really want a fishing game, this is only recommended if you dedicate full time to learn its mechanics. If not, stick to THE Bass Fishing instead.

 

Graphics: 7.0 It is a very realistic-looking game for Switch standards, but this results in a poor framerate and resolution. Being a fishing game, you don’t notice these issues THAT much…	Gameplay: 7.0 Motion controls and a more complex experience are a plus, although it suffers from a terrible tutorial mode and a very slow pace, even for fishing standards.
Sound: 6.5 Average sound effects, average voice acting, decent-at-best music. There’s not a lot you can expect from the sound department in a fishing game, but this could have been a lot worse.	Fun Factor: 6.5 It’s more feature-filled and complete than any other fishing game I can think of, but its simulation-heavy nature makes it prohibitive for newcomers.
Final Verdict: 7.0

Bassmaster Fishing 2022: Super Deluxe Edition is available now on Nintendo Switch. The base Bassmaster Fishing 2022 is also available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Reviewed on Switch.

A copy of Bassmaster Fishing 2022: Super Deluxe Edition was provided by the publisher.