Developer: Ultimate Games, Moonlit
Publisher: Ultimate Games, PlayWay
Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Tested on: PC
Deadliest Catch: The Game – Review
Deadliest Catch has been a popular series on the Discovery Channel for quite some time now. It follows the lives of the fisherman that risk it all for a fat paycheck at the end of the season. Now, when a series is popular, it is normal that developers try to pour the formula into a videogame. Some try to cash in on the hype, others just want to extend the experience to one that you can enjoy. Sadly with how bad this game has been crafted, it reminds us of the bad movie games that often flooded the market years ago.
Story
There isn’t a real story behind the game, you start on a boat as a captain and you will have to score the highest on the leaderboard for each season. There is no story flow, only the crab season’s progress. This has solely been done to give you the motivation to be the best captain you can possibly be, yet you won’t really notice all the others around you. There is also no background to characters or your boat, so don’t expect much immersion to the career mode.
Graphics
The visuals in Deadliest Catch aren’t that great. They will remind you of the cheaply made simulator games that come out every few months. There isn’t too much attention to detail, yet a keen eye will spot many Easter eggs that the developers have placed in the game. These don’t really seem to fit in, as it is all serious with Discovery, yet complaining about it feels like nitpicking. Animations are really simple and tend to glitch because of the many bugs present in the game. The weather will change quite a lot on the open sea, while this has been handled in a very simple fashion, it will affect visibility. This means you end up with effects such as thick mist, rain, snow and nightfall.
Sound
Fishing on the open sea is pretty silent. Unlike the panic and terror that you can hear in the series, it is all much calmer in the game. The metal cages will make banging sounds when they hit something, but most of the time it will just be silence and small environmental sounds. It would have been nice to have some music playing on the radio to make boring tasks more pleasant.
Gameplay
Deadliest Catch: The Game is a title that tries to be a simulator but lacks in many areas. It will take the player into the shoes of the captain that fishes for king crabs. This profession is really dangerous but if successful it will make the fisherman rich. You can start the game by either choosing the New Game option or by playing the tutorial. As this is a pretty complicated game, it is best to start with the tutorial. You will have to manage your ship, crew, skill tree and more. You will have to learn to read the best places to fish and plan tactically as each move will cost time and fuel.
The game has two main sections, management and fishing. Once you get out to the sea you will have to prep the cages and start fishing for crabs. The most tedious job, that will certainly to give you a headache is the first prep face, placing the cage into the launcher. This is horrible due to two things, namely controlling the crane and the many bugs in the game. firstly, controlling the crane is horrible, the movement is arcady and makes no sense and the crane can twist and bend into strange angles that would never work in real life. Due to the simple controls being bad, it will throw of simulator players as it feels like steering the crane is the equivalent of letting your cat run over your keyboard and sitting on it. The other bad part is that there are many bugs in the game and the crane part is especially buggy. Sometimes on pickup, the cages can glitch, rendering your crane useless, or while missing a cage drop it can soft lock you out the game.
Next are the prep phases and fishing. These modes are simple and will work, yet become overly boring rather quickly. The most interaction that you will get is when sorting the crabs. This mini-game is fun and you can do it faster, once you learn how to manually inspect the crabs yourself. If all these things put you off, you can, however, hire crewman to do those tedious tasks for you. Sadly they are locked in the career mode, so you will have to do it yourself for a while. The management part of the game is simple, easy to understand and is a nice addition to the game. The controls are lacking in many departments. Overall everything feels distant and disconnected. It feels like the game really needs some bug fixing and smoothing around the edges. There is a lot of work needed to be done to make this a likeable game, yet it will be worth it for those who are interested in the series.
Conclusion
Deadliest Catch: The Game is a title that you might want to pick up when it goes on sale for -75% or more. In its current state, it is highly unlikeable as there are many bugs, glitches and overall the gameplay just doesn’t feel right. The idea of having a game where you fish for king crabs is cool, especially when you can manage your own ship and carve the story yourself. The graphics are budget bin quality and there is barely any sound. If you like a challenge, have some friends over to try and work the crane, it will destroy more friendships than Uno, success guaranteed.
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