I Am Fish

I Am Fish (2021) is a physics-based traversal game where you help four fish get back to the ocean from their tanks. You wrestle with the purposefully awkward controls, fighting against your own momentum and the multitude of hazards as you search for paths to take. It stands out for how it makes even the most straightforward of tasks into a challenge, balancing the (intentional) frustration with silly and lighthearted fun.

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You play four fish who, after eating magical bread, gain sentience and a longing for the sea, embarking on a quest to escape their fish tank and head home. In each of the thirteen levels, you control one of these fish: Goldfish; Pufferfish, who can inflate into a ball and roll; Pirhana, who can bite and destroy items; and Flying Fish, who can glide through the air.

Play involves moving around the stage from checkpoint to checkpoint until you reach the ocean. When in bowls, jars, and sometimes even people, by pushing against the edge of the container, you can move about the level. If you fall, tip over, or otherwise break your container and end up in the air for more than a few seconds, you suffocate and return to the last checkpoint. You're constantly fighting your own momentum and the intentionally awkward controls, with physics that send you flying at the slightest touch of an obstacle.

The result is a game where the fun stems from the difficulty and challenge presented by the physics-based controls and interactions with the world. Finally overcoming a checkpoint after countless attempts is hugely rewarding, made all the more so by the frustration and failure experienced before.

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Our examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked I Am Fish 10 months ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 10 months ago.