On Friday, Apple Arcade released Ridiculous Fishing EX, a remastered version of the 2013 Apple Design Award-winning game Ridiculous Fishing. If you subscribe to Apple Arcade ($5, £5 or AU$8 a month), you can play this game at no additional charge, and without ads or in-app purchases (hence Apple’s version having a different name from the original on the App Store).
The original game was developed by the now-defunct game studio Vlambeer, and Apple said this game is a total rewrite of the original game remade in collaboration with KO_OP.
Ridiculous Fishing EX follows the same story as the original as you follow the fisherman Billy as he runs from his uncertain past by catching fish. But the method you catch fish is a little unorthodox.
The more fish you hook, the more money you can get.
You guide your fishing line down through the ocean as you try to reach the lowest depth. When you hook a fish and you start reeling it in, you have to try and hook as many other fish as you can.
After the fish breach the surface, things take a turn for the absurd. The fish are flung into the air, and you have to shoot them from the sky in order to catch them.
You can also buy upgrades, like a chainsaw hook that cuts through fish as it descends and a toaster oven that electrocutes the first fish you catch.
There’s also an in-game encyclopedia, called a Fishopedia, that shows the fish you’ve caught and gives a humorous description of them. For example, the eel’s entry reads, “Basically just a snake.” I’m no biologist, but I’m pretty sure that’s right.
You can play this game, and many others, in Apple Arcade for $5 a month, or $60 annually. You can also try Apple Arcade for free for one month with your first sign-up, or you can get a three-month free trial when you buy a new Apple device. To access Apple Arcade, open the App Store on your iOS device and tap the joystick in the menu bar.
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