Mysteries Under Lake Ophelia

A pretty neat short fishing that is a little confused as to whether it wants to be a horror game or a fishing game which it does not fully succeed in either.

From the idea of it just being a fishing game it almost accomplishes this by having a wide variety of fish to catch and there being a satisfying loop of catching and earning money. The routine of strategically catching certain type of fish in order to upgrade your lure to go to deeper depths in an inherently satisfying concept. The first time I fished in the large part of the lake and I saw a dark hole in the middle I was motivated to get the upgrades needed to see what fish are there. It's honestly pretty satisfying to meander around the lake looking for fish. The soundtrack really adds to atmosphere with there being a few looping ambient tracks that either put me at ease or made me tense. The fishing was the best aspect of the game for me as it was relaxing to just have something on tv while I depleted the lake of the fish.

The other angle the game tries to go for is horror which is not nearly as successful. Going into this game I knew it was a horror type game but this really only occurs at the very end. The game does a good job of building up the feeling of isolation with some of the ambient tracks making it sound as if you are not alone on this lake. As you continuing playing though you realize that there is no danger and that all the uneasy elements is just set dressing. I really think there was a missed opportunity from having the horror stem from the fishing being more messed up the further down you fish as for the most part the fishing is pretty normal. The game builds up to an ending that while it is unnerving does not really feel that earned and feels like it goes from a 0 to 100 on the horror scale.

I enjoyed my time with this game but I was disappointed with how little actual horror there was. If they fleshed out the fishing more I could easily see this be a pretty fun fishing game. Like what if instead of just buying new lures and rods you could also change the look of your tent or buy items that help catch fish quicker. From a horror angle, having more messed up fish was the bare minimum.

PS: I think having to wait for the final door to open is bad design. I just barely missed it then I had to wait two in game days for it to open again which is just annoying.

PSS: I absolutely adore the clay animation art for the marketing and I kinda wish they had more elements like that in the game.