Anchorman is not for everyone, and I accept that. A movie that I loved to death when it hit me at the right time in life, I get that the style of humor, and madcap delivery of lines and visual gags can be annoying for some. Which is why I don’t insist that everyone I meet watch Anchorman, which I wish I had done when I was in college and alienating people as a result. I am unfamiliar with the comedy creation team of Viva la Dirt League, but I’m sure they’re excellent and have a good, healthy team of people (and I’m praying that comment doesn’t come back to haunt me). They’re hardly the first group to create a game based on their own antics, but their new title, Nice Day for Fishing, is my gateway into their world and, by proxy, their style of humor and world building.

Baelin is an NPC in Azerim, an MMORPG with a fantasy focus. When the heroes all suddenly disappear, a mysterious energy causes Baelin to become a hero…somewhat. He is very much still an NPC, and can only say his NPC phrases, but now can become tasked with different hero activities, like helping out others and rescuing the world from a great evil that’s been accidentally unleashed upon the world. Using his skills of fishing, Baelin must rebuild his beloved town of Honeywood, rescue folks near and far, and fight back against something greater than this fisherman has ever fathomed before. It’s a grand adventure, a monumental task, and, yes, it’s a nice day for fishing.

Bro, I literally cannot do anything else. I’m on it. Be patient!

Nice Day for Fishing is a pixel 2D adventure where Baelin gradually levels up through the act of fishing, as well as doing every other thing in the game. Need to find some supplies to build a new boat? Gotta fish those up. Trying to recover a gilded axe to chop down some obstacle trees? Baelin can’t swing worth a damn, but that axe head is, luckily, at the bottom of a lake. Boss monster is blocking you from moving forward and must be defeated to rescue the hapless villagers? Would you look at that, the boss is standing in water and, as such, can be treated as a fish.

As the game progresses, Baelin is able to improve his circumstances by a vast majority of intricate powerups and modifications. Being able to catch a variety of fish not only gives you plenty of gold from reselling them, but also appeases the massive fish deity who awards you with spells for completing different areas of his fish-based Pokedex. You get better rods, enchanted accessories, and some brilliant hats that both change Baelin’s appearance and also add some excellent passive effects. When you end up with a necklace that enhances Baelin’s Rage spell while actively wearing a grandmother’s hat, you’ve achieved peak build formation.

You may not like it, but bucket hat is peak fishing style.

The charm is certainly there, and it’s undeniable. Every single character who gets a chance to speak has some great and quippy lines that ties to their personalities. The village of Honeywood just becomes more and more interesting the further along you get in the game, as Baelin’s recovered goods help to rebuild the town and give rise to more emphatic connections and quests. It takes a surprisingly short amount of time before you end up eyeballs deep in sidequests being issued by the mayor with reckless abandon, all of which have a bit of charm and wit about them. In spite of everything, Baelin remains a fisherman until the very end, unable to reply to any queries or information except to espouse the lines he was coded with. It’s a good gag and it sustains throughout.

And the presentation itself is solid. I have only briefly played Terraria, but the pixel artwork evoked that level of “looks rough initially, but is highly detailed once you dive in.” The variety in fish, NPCs, and general items keeps players eagle-eyed to identify familiar items and Easter eggs strewn throughout. I may have never watched Epic NPC Man, but I still can catch some sight gags mixed in, including a fish that I’m stunned doesn’t draw the ire of Nintendo and Game Freak’s lawyers. Inversely, Team 17 publishing this game adds credence to Nice Day for Fishing’s rather specific looking worms that you route out of the ground for bait. When you combine that with an engaging soundtrack that really conjures “Drunk Renaissance Fair” vibes, the whole package feels like a winner waiting to happen.

I’m pretty sure I was friends with someone like Bernard for most of high school, which is why I got expelled.

But the problem is the gameplay, and I think that gets away from me because I’m unfamiliar with Viva La Dirt League. I’m sure the lines and offbeat comments are lifted almost verbatim from existing videos, but I haven’t watched those performances. Moreover, the lines are almost entirely read: every character has a bit of a vocal blurb, but a majority of the text is merely written, never spoken. So some of the deadpan lines that get delivered might be infinitely funnier if I knew the context or could hear the characters, but I simply can’t. The end result is reading a lot of things on screen and ultimately trusting that some of it is funny. It has moments of very aware “oh, look at this nonsense that happens in RPGS!” that got a chuckle out of me, but none of it was laugh out loud funny.

Which leaves us with what you’re doing for a majority of Nice Day for Fishing, which is, well, fishing. The fishing in this game, intentionally or otherwise, is very stark initially, in terms of handling. While certain titles have fishing as an almost static event (bobber in the water, hope for the best), Nice Day for Fishing lets you delve into the depths of large but unchanging environments, separating it from the roguelike generation of Dave the Diver. Here, Baelin can cast with a variety of baits (eventually) and pull up odd objects with a magnet and otherwise. Certain fish will only latch onto certain bait, which is plentiful thanks to a majority of it naturally spawning across the maps. At first, you can only cast straight up and down, later gaining a semblance of control through altered currents and some modifications to your rod and reel.

This game could not inform you more of how to not screw up fishing.

Fishing combat is novel, I’ll give you that: rapidly tap a button when the hoot has been set, and be ready to stop at a moment’s notice when the fish turns to tug on the line and hit back. The different attack patterns do keep you on your toes, and, if you’re a perfectionist, trying to parry the attacks (hit B at just the right time) will make sure you’re engaged. But if you don’t care and just want to survive, you hold A for fighting, hold B for defending and tap the directional arrows to cast the spells you procure. You can get items to refill mana and stamina (plus aid with different status buffs/ailments), but you don’t have to: most of the time I forgot I even had items until an on screen prompt reminded me that mushrooms might help with the debuff I got hit with.

And then there’s the forward movement of Nice Day for Fishing, which is doing quests. Again. And again. Go get this fish. Go find these ingredients to make a soup, and then fish. Go get some wood to build a boat so you can fish. I get it. It’s in the title of the game. But it’s literally all you do day in and day out. Some might argue that I’m being obtuse and willfully stubborn; I wouldn’t complain there was too much baseball in Backyard Baseball ‘97, so why complain about the fishing here? It’s because it’s so damn omnipresent and relentless. I don’t feel like I make any real progress because it’s just quest after quest of fishing. I appreciate the grind, but there isn’t enough connection to the source media to keep me invested. It’s just fishing with oddball characters telling you to go fishing.

Okay, Freda’s constant critiques of her husband’s shortcomings were funny.

I recognize and respect the craft around Nice Day for Fishing. It’s polished, it’s got heart, and it’s clearly a love letter to the fans of the creators and the inspirations behind this style of game. There are probably people out there unfamiliar with Viva La Dirt League who will still be tickled by this title and have a fabulous time. I wanted an RPG with more to it than referential humor to something I’ve never seen before. As it is, this repetitive title with quirkiness and interesting combat just can’t keep my attention any longer than it takes to pull Bodger’s hammer out of the well. Again.

Nice Day for Fishing is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

A copy of Nice Day for Fishing was provided by the publisher.