Day Of The Fish Review

One sub-genre I’ve always found fascinating is the “dodge ’em up”, a mirror image of arcade shooters that mandates players rely on their evasion skills rather than their aim if they want to succeed. This oft neglected style has returned in a simple yet clever new tap based arcade title about an aquatic adventurer’s quest to clean up his environment dubbed Day Of The Fish. Taking up the mantle of a mutated fish sick of the pollution coming from a nearby factory it’s up to players to dodge an army of zany creatures and tap like their life depends on it as they make their way through 5 obstacle filled levels in their quest for vengeance. A short but entertaining arcade romp with elegantly straightforward mechanics, Day Of The Fish provides a welcome structured respite from the more mundane runners that tend to occupy the same auto-scrolling space.

Game Trailer

As their fishy friend automatically swims to the right players must tap on the screen in order to gravitate him towards the top and bottom of the level ala Gravity Rush while avoiding deadly obstacles like spikey sea urchins and escaping the clutches of all manner of toothy underwater creatures set on having this poor radioactive trout for breakfast. Each of the five levels are visually and mechanically distinct from one another with their own unique enemies and present a rapidly ramping difficulty curve that goes from basic obstacle avoidance to bullet hell chaos in what feels like a compacted arc out of a classic platforming game. Goofy looking starfish, comically oversized piranhas, and crazed jelly fish all present a grave new threat after being transformed as a result of the spill. Scattered throughout each level are 10 stars which initially seem like a traditional collectible but soon reveal another purpose when going up against the game’s challenging bosses as not only will collecting stars garner players a better score but each star gives players extra hit points they can accumulate throughout the level which proves absolutely essential to defeating each stage’s guardian.

Day Of The Fish’s enormous bosses are the star of the show and the true test of players’ mettle as they all require players concentrate on two things at once, kind of like patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time. While taking care to dodge out of the way of the many projectile attacks coming at them players must keep an eye out for moments when the bosses reveal their weak spot so they can tap like crazy to whittle down its health bar before it does them in. This is where collecting those extra stars comes into play as it can require split second accuracy to focus on dealing damage then tapping out of harm’s way just a moment later. While I did manage to dodge some of their hits I found I was more succesfull against the bosses when I stocked up as many stars as I could and tanked damage at opportune moments which usually just barely won me the day. These encounters are neat and I found myself wishing their were more of them.

The cartoony graphical style used can look a little rough outside of the bosses at times but for the most part fits Day Of The Fish’s motif appropriately enough with a certain visual flair that reminds me of the Sega Genesis era. Scenic scrolling backgrounds clearly differentiate each area with large multi-faceted boss sprites like a giant octopus serving as a visual bookend. Accompanying the action is an endearing chiptune soundtrack that captures the “video game music” vibe of the 90’s very well.

Day Of The Fish Review Craig Forshey VERDICT Summary: Day Of The Fish is a short but consistently entertaining dodge 'em up with solid mechanics. 3.5 Great

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