I Want More Games Like Webfishing

I’ve been meaning to play Webfishing for a hot minute. One of my fans gifted me a copy in November, but I’m the worst when it comes to playing anything my viewers buy me (I’M SO SORRY). So, this $5 social experience collected dust in my Steam library. That is, until one of my friends invited me to a Webfishing collab on her stream. You know, fish, shoot the shit, usual Webfishing antics.

I finally booted up the game to figure out what I’m doing before we play. And, goodness. I’ve been sleeping on this game for so long. Why am I my own worst enemy?! Webfishing is amazing. In fact, I want more social-oriented gaming experiences like it.

Bring in the ‘Webfishing’ games. The Webfishlikes

Webfishing, for those of you who don’t know, is basically a 3D chatroom fishing experience. Players walk around as adorable anthropomorphic animal critters, carrying around a fishing rod and throwing bait into the water, hoping for a bite. If all that sounds familiar, that’s because it is. The game feels a lot like Animal Crossing, from the woodsy setting to the fishing minigame proper. Players even speak in an Animalese style similar to the Nintendo life sim.

However, what makes Webfishing engaging isn’t its proximity to a fun Nintendo series. No, it’s the fact that Webfishing is an online third-space simulator. Players hop into a lobby and vibe. In one lobby I visited, someone was using their guitar to play “Wonderwall” and “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Another group of players near me was talking about how relaxing the game is, and how it gives them the opportunity to chill and unwind after a long day. You can be as talkative as you want in Webfishing: Meet strangers, become fast friends, or just listen to others chat while you search for fish.

Now, I know I’m woefully late to Webfishing. The game came out months ago. But it’s not Webfishing alone that has my interest, it’s what it represents. It’s that third-space aspect. The 3D embodied chatroom is an amazing thing, and games like Webfishing allow people to feel like they’re actually in the room with others. It reminds me of VRChat‘s appeal, really, and the ability to wander into random parts of the internet and meet strangers who may (or may not) have things in common with you. These games let people connect in physical ways, not just through disembodied profile pictures on Discord or Bluesky. Proximity and body language count a lot, even in a digital space.

I hope other indie devs are paying close attention to Webfishing and working on their own 3D chatroom experiences. The third space is dead in America unless you’re online. And even then, the physically embodied digital space is still rare. I can see a future with various games building off Webfishing‘s premise. Different settings, different minigames, different ways to connect, or just simulating a different vibe (like the Ragnarok Online lobby of yore).

By the way, if you are creating your own embodied chatroom game? Get in touch with me on Twitter or Bluesky. I want to learn what you’re up to. We need more third spaces like this.