Hello everyone!

Another week has passed, and I'm still around although that’s becoming a bit more uncertain with each passing day. My personal life has been taking a lot of interesting twists lately, making it harder to find free time or stay focused on anything. When I’m ready, I’ll make an official post with a life update to share more details with you.

In the meantime, I’ve managed to put together another game review! It’s a game I’ve been really enjoying lately, already racking up 50+ hours of playtime. It’s kind of funny, considering I built a beast of a computer just a few months ago... and yet here I am, still mostly playing older titles.

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If you’ve read some of my previous reviews, you might already know that I’m a big fan of simulator games. I’ve written a few reviews in the past focused on this genre and played probably ten times as many simulator games!

Professional Fishing	Food Truck Simulator	Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021	Euro Truck Simulator 2	Car Mechanic Simulator 2018

I attached the review for Professional Fishing on purpose, because for many years I considered it the best fishing game or at least the one I enjoyed playing the most. However, even though Call of the Wild: The Angler was released in 2022, I was already facing issues with my older PC and wasn't able to try it until about a month ago, when I finally purchased it after seeing my boyfriend play.

Actually, my love for fishing games started after watching my boyfriend try out lots of simulators in this genre. He was constantly on the lookout for a good game that looked as realistic as possible, and that captured the true feeling of going fishing.

My love for actual fishing began at an early age, thanks to my father, who always enjoyed this activity. Even though I have a deep love for animals, I have to admit that fishing is a very relaxing and peaceful experience.

I'm sorry to start off so early with one of the cons I found in this game, but it's something I noticed less than a minute after launching it: the very poor quality of the loading and starting screen, despite having everything set to 2K and ultra settings. At first, I thought it might be because of the higher resolution, but my boyfriend plays on Full HD monitors, and the same issue happens for him too.

That being said, don’t worry because the game itself is full of stunning scenery and looks flawless once you're actually playing. I just still can't understand why the loading screen looks so low quality compared to the rest of the experience.

Anyway, once you get past the loading screen, which doesn't show much clearly anyway, you'll be welcomed by a small menu where you can choose which map you want to play on from the five currently available.

When you first purchase the game, you'll only have access to Golden Ridge Reserve, which is set in the United States. However, you can unlock the other four maps by purchasing their corresponding DLCs, as follows:

• Trollspored Nature Reserve - Norway

• Aguas Claras Municipio - Spain

• Izilo Zasendulo - Mpumalanga (Province in South Africa)

• Kamuibetsu - Japan

I only purchased these DLCs last week, and I haven't had enough time to really explore them yet. Each map comes with its own unique species of fish to catch, as well as missions to complete, and our plan was to finish a map entirely before moving on to the next one.

Out of pure curiosity, we did enter the second map, but we faced quite a bit of struggle trying to catch even some of the basic fish there, something we didn’t expect, especially since we already had a decent level in the game. However, it seems like fully completing the missions on the previous map was actually intended by the developers, so there's still plenty to do even once you reach higher levels and have a more professional setup in terms of rods and gear overall.

While some players have complained about this, honestly, I don’t mind it. I think it’s a smart way to keep players engaged and motivated to level up, so they can explore and enjoy everything the new maps have to offer.

Once you pick the map you want to play on, the next step is choosing the time of day you want to spawn. Some fish species are much more likely to be caught at night, so it can make a big difference.

Personally, I usually select "Any," which means the game will randomly pick the time of day for you to enjoy. However, if you're focused on completing missions, you'll need to be more precise. It doesn’t make much sense to spawn during the day if you’re trying to catch fish that only appear at night! And believe me, some of these missions are really tough to complete even when you’re spawning at the right time.

Still, I absolutely love how close this gets to real-life fishing, where nothing is guaranteed.

When you first enter the game, you’ll spawn in the center of the map, in a small town that gives you access to everything you need: the shop, missions, car and boat rentals, and even a few good spots where you can catch your first fish species.

The way the map looks for me might not be the same for you, though, because you need to physically drive along all the paths to discover the fast travel points. These fast travel points turn out to be incredibly useful, especially when you have missions located in specific areas. Even if the map doesn’t seem that big at first glance, it actually is and crossing from point A to point B can take a fair amount of time. Luckily, the scenery is beautifully detailed and as close to real life as possible, making the journey itself part of the fun.

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In the shop section, you can customise both your character and the fishing equipment you're using. However, both of these features are unlocked over time, requiring experience and money to purchase new items.

As someone who enjoys customising characters in games, I was a little disappointed by the limited options for character customization. That said, I don’t think it's a major issue for the overall game. Since The Angler is played from a first-person perspective, most players probably won’t mind the limited options, focusing more on catching fish which, after all, is what the game is really all about.

^{Click on the images to see them in full resolution}

One thing to keep in mind, which I only discovered a bit later than I would’ve liked, is that along with the challenge board where you get all the in-game missions, there’s another section in the menu called "Challenges." This section offers both Daily and Weekly challenges, where you can pick up to three to complete in parallel with the regular missions the game provides. This is a great way to level up faster and farm money.

Now that we've covered the basics of the game, let's dive into the actual experience of playing it. When it comes to visuals and atmosphere, the game’s world is absolutely stunning. Whether you're exploring the map, reaching higher vantage points, or fishing at mountain lakes and winding rivers, there's a true sense of wilderness and relaxation all at once.

Driving around in off-road vehicles or walking through trails to find hidden fishing spots is genuinely enjoyable. It scratches the same "exploration itch" that was first introduced in theHunter, the creators' earlier game, where instead of fishing, you’re hunting animals. I’ve tried that one too, but I quickly realized my level of patience doesn’t quite match what the game requires because it takes a lot of time and attention to track and hunt down an animal.

Compared to some other simulators I've played in the past, the fishing mechanics in The Angler are simple enough that even players who are new to fishing can easily jump in. It’s straightforward to start casting lines and reeling in fish without feeling overwhelmed or needing any prior knowledge to enjoy the game.

Ironically, for a fishing game, The Angler can feel surprisingly shallow at times. Although there are plenty of large lakes that can go deeper than 100 meters, you won't be able to set your fishing rod deeper than 1.4 meters when using a float. Instead, you’ll be limited to using Lure Fishing or Bottom Fishing rigs, which are only really effective for certain fish species.

Luckily, there are four rigs you can create in the game, each with dedicated parts of your overall equipment to ensure you're always prepared for your next catch. However, it takes a lot of levels and in-game money to afford them. At the start, your backpack space is limited, and it only expands over time or if you purchase additional storage using in-game money (not actual cash).

Even after catching all the fish species the map has to offer, there's still more to strive for. Each fish comes in five variations: Juvenile, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Diamond. The quality of your catch is determined by the size of the fish, which quickly fuels your determination to keep playing in order to land the best possible score for each catch.

For the more dedicated players, each map also features extra species marked as "Legendary." These are incredibly rare and difficult to catch, which means you'll end up investing even more time in the game to track them down.

Conclusions 🤔

Call of the Wild: The Angler feels like a beautiful foundation that's missing a few minor pieces. If you want a laid-back, picturesque fishing vibe, it can be a lovely way to spend your time.

If you love wandering through forests, cruising across lakes, and enjoying peaceful landscapes, The Angler can be very rewarding. But if you’re looking for a deeper fishing simulation, it might leave you wanting more.

Did you play it? 😁

I know we have a fairly big community of gamers on here, so if you have already given this game a shot, let me know what you think about it so far!

NOTE:

• all the pictures attached are in-game screenshots taken by me (unless if other stated). 📸
• this article is trying to stay away from revealing spoilers. ⚠️
• this is a personal review and should not be taken as a real advice of either playing the game or not because the opinion might be subjective. 🗯
• this article was written exclusively for the Hive community and its members. ❤️

Here is a list of some other games I wrote reviews about and you might like:

....
20.Forza Horizon 5 🚓 - 5/5
21.Watch Dogs: Legion 💻 - 4/5
22.Far Cry 6 💣 - 5/5
23.inZOI 👧 - 4/5
24.Assassin's Creed Shadows 🥷 - 5/5
25.Call of the Wild: The Angler 🎣 - 4.5/5

Game	Call of the Wild: The Angler™
Release Date	31 Aug, 2022
Played On	Steam
Price	29,99€
Genre	Fishing, Simulation, Open World, Multiplayer
Completed	Main + Side Quests
My Rating	★★★★⯪
Hours Played	52.4 hrs

^{Gabriela Travels is the FOUNDER of "Festival Mania" who started this community from the passion of attending various festivals and with the purpose of encouraging more people to explore festivals all around the world and share their experiences.
At the same time, Gabriela is an independent Graphic Design Freelancer since 2019 completing over 600+ orders in this time and collaborating with various businesses and people from all over the globe.
Additionally, Gabriela has her own corner on the internet since 2017 where she writes various articles for her blog, the most popular being the travel ones (300+ articles written on this field), but also approaching other topics as well, like game reviews, lets plays, movie and series reviews, photography posts, cooking recipes and more, boosting the total number of articles written to 750+ blog posts.
Gabriela is also a gamer since she was 11 years old and gaming remains one of her biggest passions along with traveling, owning a YouTube channel for each of the two.}

~ @GabrielaTravels ~