About Fishing is the indie demo The Weeknd cannot stop recommending, and for good reason. It blends the slow, patient rhythm of fishing with a thread of unease that pulls tighter with every catch. The full release lands later this year, so a lot of the audience is stuck between demos, waiting for the next drop. If you finished the demo and want more of that quiet, unsettling tone, or you just want a fishing game where the world reacts to what you pull out of the water, these seven About Fishing alternatives on Steam scratch the same itch right now.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dredge | Cosmic-horror fishing | Free demo | $24.99 | Sanity mechanic reshapes what you see at night |
| Webfishing | Social chill fishing | Free-to-play | Free | Fish with friends in a shared lobby, no combat |
| Stardew Valley | Fishing as one of many loops | None | $14.99 | 50+ species with distinct minigames |
| Sailwind | Meditative open-ocean sailing | Free demo | $19.99 | Real wind, real navigation, no map markers |
| Cat Goes Fishing | Depth-based progression | Free demo | $9.99 | Bigger fish live deeper, tackle upgrades unlock zones |
| Season: A Letter to the Future | Melancholy exploration | None | $24.99 | Bike, record, and archive a fading world |
| The Fisherman - Fishing Planet | Sim-grade angling | Free demo | $19.99 | Real fish behavior, real gear tuning |
Why About Fishing hit a nerve
Fishing games usually pick a lane. Simulators like The Fisherman go deep on gear and species, and cozy games like Stardew treat fishing as one of five daily loops. About Fishing does something else. It uses the empty stretches between casts to build atmosphere, and it slowly turns those quiet moments into questions. That combination is rare, and it is why the demo went viral without a marketing push.
Waiting on the full release. The demo is short by design. Anyone who wants that meditative tone with a bit of narrative pull cannot get much more from About Fishing until launch.
Slow tempo, but with weight behind it. Every cast matters, but not because the fight is hard. The tension is what you do not yet know about the water. Games that just simulate fish behavior miss half of what About Fishing does.
Small studio, small updates. The developer is a solo team. The pace is thoughtful, not fast. Anyone who wanted a live-service loop is in the wrong place.
Playable on modest hardware. About Fishing is not chasing benchmarks. Alternatives that fit the same low-spec bracket keep the experience portable.
Dredge, Best for cosmic-horror fishing
Dredge is the closest tonal match to About Fishing on Steam right now. You captain a small trawler in a chain of coastal towns, deliver fish and cargo, and stay out of the water past sundown. The sanity meter warps sightlines and audio as you push into deep water. The base game runs 15 to 20 hours, and Iron Rig and Blackstone Key expansions add roughly 10 more.
Where it falls short: the fishing loop is intentionally simple, and the horror imagery leans surreal rather than jump-scare. Anyone expecting a hardcore angling sim will bounce.
Pricing:
- Free demo on Steam
- Full game $24.99, expansions $9.99 each
- vs About Fishing: heavier on horror mood, deeper story, larger world, no wait for content
Migrating from About Fishing: no save transfer, but the pace and tone translate directly. Start on Passive mode if you want the mystery without the panic.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick Dredge if the About Fishing demo left you wanting more of the “something is wrong” feeling.
Webfishing, Best for social chill fishing
Webfishing takes the low-poly, browser-era aesthetic and drops you into a shared lobby with other players. There is no combat, no leaderboard, and no time limit. Fish, chat with strangers, and cast into the same pond. The game caught on because everyone in the lobby was in the same relaxed headspace.
Where it falls short: no offline mode, no single-player campaign, no fishing depth beyond the shared minigame. If you disliked the toxicity you find in other online games, Webfishing is a corrective, but it is also very much a hangout, not a story.
Pricing:
- Free-to-play, no microtransactions
- vs About Fishing: opposite half of the spectrum, communal chill instead of solo mystery, but the pace matches
Migrating from About Fishing: no. Webfishing is what you play with friends on a Friday, About Fishing is what you play alone with headphones on Wednesday.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick Webfishing if you want the fishing rhythm with company and no stakes.
Stardew Valley, Best for fishing as one of many loops
Stardew Valley treats fishing as one of the most refined systems in the game. Fifty-plus species, each with a distinct catch minigame, all tuned to season, weather, and time of day. The rest of the farm, mines, town relationships, and combat give fishing context without making it feel like a side gig.
Where it falls short: the fishing minigame is either loved or hated. There is no accessibility slider that removes the reflex challenge. The rest of the game is huge, so anyone who only wants fishing may feel the overhead.
Pricing:
- Free demo not available, full game $14.99
- vs About Fishing: much larger scope, but the fishing loop rewards patience the same way
Migrating from About Fishing: no. Stardew is a completely different frame, farming sim with fishing as a hobby.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick Stardew if you want fishing to be part of a bigger daily rhythm.
Sailwind, Best for meditative open-ocean sailing
Sailwind is a first-person sailing simulator with no markers, no missions, and no combat. You raise a sail, catch a real wind pattern, and try not to run into a rock. Fishing is a passive activity done from the deck. The archipelago is large enough that a single trade run is a two-hour meditation.
Where it falls short: no auto-navigation. The learning curve for sail trim and dead reckoning is real. If you dislike being lost, you will dislike Sailwind.
Pricing:
- Free demo on Steam
- Full game $19.99
- vs About Fishing: shares the “slow, quiet, atmospheric” identity, replaces mystery with wayfinding
Migrating from About Fishing: no direct transfer, but the tempo and the “let the game breathe” mindset carry over.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick Sailwind if you loved the empty ocean stretches in About Fishing more than the fish.
Cat Goes Fishing, Best for depth-based progression
Cat Goes Fishing puts you on a small dock with a fishing pole and a cat. Bigger fish live in deeper water, and every catch pays for tackle that lets you go one layer further. The loop is simple enough to play with one hand and deep enough to fill a rainy afternoon.
Where it falls short: no story, no atmosphere, no world beyond the dock. The art style is intentionally goofy, which is the opposite of About Fishing’s mood.
Pricing:
- Free demo on Steam
- Full game $9.99, occasional 60% sales
- vs About Fishing: closest match on the “how fishing progression should feel” axis
Migrating from About Fishing: no shared save, but the fishing mechanic is close enough that muscle memory carries.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick Cat Goes Fishing if you want the mechanic without the emotional weight.
Season: A Letter to the Future, Best for melancholy exploration
Season: A Letter to the Future is not a fishing game, but it shares About Fishing’s core mood. You bike through a fading world, record sounds and photograph landmarks, and try to leave a record for whoever comes next. The pace is slower than most Steam releases, and the writing does the heavy lifting.
Where it falls short: no combat, no puzzles beyond simple observation. Anyone expecting mechanical depth will find it thin.
Pricing:
- Full game $24.99, no demo
- vs About Fishing: matches the atmosphere, replaces fishing with cataloging
Migrating from About Fishing: no. Season is the “put on headphones, watch the sunset” pick, closer in tone than in mechanic.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick Season if the About Fishing demo made you sit with the credits for a while.
The Fisherman - Fishing Planet, Best for sim-grade angling
The Fisherman - Fishing Planet is the deepest fishing simulator on Steam. Real species behavior, real rod and reel tuning, and real hydrology models. Ninety plus fishing sites, licensed gear, and a career mode that will not let you catch a bass with the wrong bait.
Where it falls short: none of About Fishing’s atmosphere. The base game is a launcher for DLC packs, so full ownership is expensive if you chase every water body.
Pricing:
- Free demo (the F2P Fishing Planet)
- Full The Fisherman game $19.99, DLC packs $5.99 to $14.99 each
- vs About Fishing: swaps atmosphere for accuracy, if you want to actually learn to fish
Migrating from About Fishing: no. Fishing Planet is a career sim, About Fishing is a mood piece.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick Fishing Planet if you fish in real life and want the sim to reward what you know.
How to choose
Pick Dredge if you want more of About Fishing’s tone with a bigger world and a real ending. It is the closest one-to-one substitute.
Pick Webfishing if you want the pace but in a group.
Pick Stardew Valley if you want a wider game that includes an excellent fishing minigame.
Pick Sailwind if the empty water was the part you loved.
Pick Cat Goes Fishing if you want a shorter, cheaper fishing loop with real progression.
Pick Season if what stuck with you was the mood, not the fish.
Pick The Fisherman - Fishing Planet if you want realism over feeling.
Stay on About Fishing (and the demo) if you want to keep the story fresh for the full release. The demo is short enough to replay.
FAQ
Is About Fishing free to play?
The About Fishing demo on Steam is free. The full game is a paid release scheduled for later this year, priced at parity with other indie mystery games.
Which About Fishing alternative is closest in tone?
Dredge. It shares the calm-then-uncanny rhythm of About Fishing and gives you 15 to 20 more hours of it.
Can I play these on Steam Deck?
Dredge, Stardew Valley, Sailwind, Cat Goes Fishing, and Season all have Verified or Playable status. Webfishing and Fishing Planet are Playable with minor tweaks.
Is Webfishing safe for kids?
Webfishing has open chat with strangers. Turn chat off in the settings for a supervised session, or play in a private lobby with friends.
Are there any offline fishing games with the About Fishing atmosphere?
Dredge, Sailwind, and Season all play fully offline. Cat Goes Fishing is single-player only.
