We were recently contacted by Erik at Dodreams Ltd about their philosophy towards mobile gaming. The premise is simple – they want games to be simple to play, fresh, fun and free. And you know what? I like that.
It’s refreshing to see a developer put the players first in app stores swimming with ‘free’ offerings that are anything but. Indeed, the current trend to flood Facebook and Twitter feeds with various in-game achievements (I’m genuinely not fussed about how much grain my friends have harvested) is of no concern to these guys. It’s good, it should be applauded, it should be the norm.
I’m pleased to say Erik kindly gave us a chance to play their latest game, Ice Hole Fishing, a little before release and it almost… almost sets out what they set out to do. It’s simple to play, fresh, free but it’s not that much fun.
The simplicity comes from the controls. You tap the screen to cast your line and move your phone back and forth to pull it up. To be honest it’s not the best system as there’s no fine control; you either jerk the line up or you don’t. Fish can wriggle off the line too and there’s no indication as to why or when that might happen. Frustrating to say the least, especially if you’ve hooked a big catch.
I think a touch-screen-to-reel-line system would probably work much better. After all, you’d just need your thumb to play.
The graphics are fresh. Nice and bright with the King Fish always drawing a smirk. The shrinking ice platform definitely works as a replacement for a traditional timer bar. Clever.
It’s also free – won’t cost you a penny.
Where it falls down though, is on the fun. All the ingredients are there, the game is just let down by the control system. Constantly flicking your wrist while trying to watch what’s going on and work out if a fish is going to make it to the surface is a real pain in the backside and spoils the experience.
That’s just my opinion though! You can make up your own mind by downloading it from the Apple App Store, for free, from 16 April 2014.
1001-Up.com 
I’m not a big fan of using the giro sensor for gaming either. Shame because some fishing games are fun.
Hey! Come visit us in Finland and we can show you real ice fishing. The accelerometer actually gives a pretty authentic feel of what its like. 😉 However, we’ll be trying out different controls on other mini-games. Hope you find something you like in future Dodreams’ titles! 🙂
Hello 🙂 Would love to visit.
I’m sure that the action is authentic but the sensory input is different. Holding a rod, line and hook and feeling the pull and tug of the fish isn’t the same as trying the same action when on the London Underground, sitting on a sofa or showing your mates and looking at a screen.
Devotion to accuracy is awesome but made for (in my opinion) a difficult gameplay experience – in this case.
I’ll definitely try future titles, will probably combine them into a single article.
Thanks again for the opportunity. 🙂
Only one way to find out for sure… This one’s free on the App Store so have a crack for yourself.