Polygon’s coverage of the How to Fish Manta Boss update caught the tail of a small indie boom. How to Fish is the tongue-in-cheek fishing game with a bow, where the “fish” are hostile and the boss ships have physics, and it sold better than most people predicted. The Manta Boss update added the biggest single fight in the game so far, and the developer roadmap keeps promising more.
The catch, if you already finished it: How to Fish updates ship a few times a year, not a few times a month. Between drops, the seven How to Fish alternatives below hit similar itches. Some are the peaceful side of fishing games, some are the weird side, and one is closer in tone to the Manta Boss run than most players expect. Every pick runs on Windows, macOS, or Linux (or Steam Deck) without a rig upgrade.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Paid from | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dredge | Story-driven fishing horror | Trial demo | Around $25 one-time | Lovecraftian tone with meaningful choices |
| Webfishing | Chill social multiplayer | No | Under $10 one-time | Rooms with friends, no real endgame |
| Moonglow Bay | Cozy town-management fishing | No | Around $20 one-time | Boat upgrades and shop-running loop |
| Cat Goes Fishing | Physics puzzle fishing | No | Under $10 one-time | Tackle-and-cast physics puzzles |
| Stardew Valley | Full farming and fishing sim | No | Around $15 one-time | Fishing is one loop in a much bigger game |
| Sea of Stars | Turn-based RPG with fishing side | No | Around $35 one-time | Best story of the group |
| Chill River | Zen ambient fishing | No | Under $10 one-time | Pure vibes, no progression |
Why How to Fish players look for more
Three complaints show up on r/HowToFish and in the Steam discussion threads.
The first is content velocity. The Manta Boss update is a big single fight but the update cadence is roughly quarterly. Between drops, players hit the end of the content and want the same “one more fish” instinct in another game.
The second is difficulty tuning at the extremes. The early bosses are approachable and the late-game bosses assume a lot of gear tuning. Players who wanted a smoother difficulty curve or a bigger sandbox in between look for it elsewhere.
The third is tone variety. How to Fish is action-comedy. Sometimes players want the same mechanical satisfaction with a different mood: quiet, cozy, weird, or narrative-heavy. The alternatives below cover those spreads.
The alternatives
Dredge — Best for story-driven fishing horror
Dredge is the closest structural cousin to How to Fish and the closest tonal opposite. You captain a boat, catch fish, upgrade your gear, and slowly discover that something is very wrong in the waters around the town. The fishing loop is deep, with proper day-night cycles and equipment specialization for different biomes.
The narrative pull is the reason players keep coming back after the credits. Multiple endings, side quests with real weight, and a Lovecraftian arc that unfolds through fishing rather than combat.
Where it falls short: Pacing is deliberate, occasionally slow. Combat with the deep-water threats is minimal, which some How to Fish players will miss.
Pricing:
- Paid: Around $25 base, with two paid expansions.
- vs How to Fish: Slower, more narrative, no bosses in the arcade sense.
Bottom line: Pick this for the “fishing but everything is wrong” itch, taken seriously.
Webfishing — Best for chill social multiplayer
Webfishing is what you play with friends. Rooms host up to a dozen players who fish, talk, and hang out around a small lake. Progression is present but not the point. It runs on almost anything, so friends without a strong PC can join without setup drama.
The community events built around it (community cast times, seasonal contests) are half the appeal, and the developer keeps shipping small updates.
Where it falls short: No serious endgame. Solo play falls flat.
Pricing:
- Paid: Under $10 one-time.
- vs How to Fish: Multiplayer, casual, no bosses.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick this to play fishing with friends over voice chat.
Moonglow Bay — Cozy town-management fishing
Moonglow Bay is a cozy fishing sim wrapped around town rebuilding. You fish, cook the catch, run a small shop, and slowly bring life back to a coastal town. The art style is a soft voxel look and the pacing is meditative.
Boat upgrades and equipment progression scratch a similar itch to How to Fish’s gear grind, in a much gentler package.
Where it falls short: Runs into slowdowns in the mid-game and combat is not part of the design.
Pricing:
- Paid: Around $20 one-time.
- vs How to Fish: Slower pace, no bosses, more sim.
Bottom line: Pick this for a cozy town sim where fishing drives progression.
Cat Goes Fishing — Physics puzzle fishing
Cat Goes Fishing treats each cast as a puzzle. Fish have distinct physics, lures behave differently under water, and pulling in a legendary catch takes patience and setup. Progression unlocks new rods, lines, and gear types.
The difficulty ramp is the closest match to How to Fish’s boss-arc pacing outside of Dredge, delivered as physics-driven catches rather than action fights.
Where it falls short: Old game with a dated presentation. Not everyone will look past that.
Pricing:
- Paid: Under $10 one-time.
- vs How to Fish: Different mechanic (physics-puzzle) but similar “one more catch” hook.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick this if you want the catch itself to be the challenge.
Stardew Valley — Fishing as part of a bigger sim
Stardew Valley does not need an introduction. Fishing is one of six major systems, and the fishing minigame has more depth than most dedicated fishing games. Progression through rods, tackle, and bait keeps the loop fresh through the whole game.
For players who wanted more life-sim glue around the fishing loop, Stardew delivers years of it.
Where it falls short: Fishing is one loop, not the whole game. If fishing is what you want, other picks are more focused.
Pricing:
- Paid: Around $15 one-time.
- vs How to Fish: Much bigger scope, fishing is a component.
Bottom line: Pick this if you want fishing wrapped in a full farm-and-town sim.
Sea of Stars — Turn-based RPG with fishing side
Sea of Stars is a turn-based RPG that ships one of the best-received fishing minigames of the past few years. Fishing is an optional side loop with its own progression, rewards, and small storyline threads. The main game is a full 20-to-30-hour RPG with excellent combat and art.
For players who wanted the narrative layer of Dredge but with combat instead of horror, Sea of Stars is the pick.
Where it falls short: Fishing is a minigame, not the point. Players who wanted a pure fishing game will feel the RPG structure.
Pricing:
- Paid: Around $35 one-time, occasional sales below $20.
- vs How to Fish: Much bigger game, fishing is a side loop.
Bottom line: Pick this for a great RPG with a great fishing minigame, in that order.
Chill River — Pure ambient fishing
Chill River is the most stripped-back pick on the list. You cast, you catch, and the river flows. No progression, no bosses, no unlocks worth speaking of. Ambient audio and long weather cycles carry the mood.
It exists to be a decompression tool between other games. Half the players on Steam report using it as background while working or reading, which is fair use.
Where it falls short: No progression. Not a “game” in the goals-and-rewards sense.
Pricing:
- Paid: Under $10 one-time.
- vs How to Fish: Different reason to open it.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick this for the vibes, not for a game to finish.
How to choose
Pick Dredge if you want narrative weight and gear progression tied together, with a mood that shifts across the campaign.
Pick Webfishing if the plan is to play with friends over voice chat.
Pick Moonglow Bay for a cozy town-building sim where fishing drives progress.
Pick Cat Goes Fishing if the physics of the catch matter more to you than the surrounding world.
Pick Stardew Valley or Sea of Stars if you want fishing embedded in a much bigger game, with Stardew leaning sim and Sea of Stars leaning story RPG.
Pick Chill River when you want ambient background rather than a game.
Wait for the next How to Fish update if what you specifically loved was the arcade boss loop with a bow. Nothing else on the list is that exact thing.
FAQ
Is How to Fish a fishing game or a shooting game? Both. You fish with a bow, and the “fish” include hostile creatures and boss ships. The mechanical layer is fishing physics; the arc is arcade boss encounters.
When did How to Fish come out? The base game shipped in 2025 with a small early-access run before that. The Manta Boss update was the most recent major content drop.
Which alternative is closest in feel to How to Fish? Cat Goes Fishing for the mechanical layer, Dredge for the “fishing but wrong” tone, Webfishing for the arcade multiplayer feel. None of them are exact matches; that is part of why How to Fish stood out.
Do any of these run on Steam Deck? Dredge, Stardew Valley, Sea of Stars, and Webfishing are Deck Verified. Moonglow Bay, Cat Goes Fishing, and Chill River run cleanly under Proton but are not officially Verified.
What is the fishing game that came out with the Manta boss? That is How to Fish itself. The Manta Boss is the largest single encounter added in a post-launch update.
