Call of the wild: the Angler (Recommended Game)
** On Jan 15, 2025, the developers for Call of the Wild The Angler announced it was ending support for the game. The Angler will still be playable but will have no further content, updates, or bug fixes.
I like Call of the Wild: The Angler. This review is for the Golden Ridge Reserve Fishing Area.
- The map, Graphically speaking, is wonderful, and the fishing locations are fabulous.
- The abundance of plant life and trees makes the map come to life. I especially love the flowers, The Lily pads, and the cat tails at the water's edge.
- Fishing is fishing if you've ever fished. Sometimes you catch them, and sometimes you don't—the game mimics that behavior. Sometimes I go out, And I don't catch that many fish, which is okay.
- The game features a central tackle shop owned by Sophia. The proprietor is a charming young lady with some stories to tell and complaints.
- The tackle shop is where you buy fishing tackle, bait, rods, reels, lines, Vehicles, and boats. It is also where you manage items from your backpack storage to your tackle box for use in the field. More on this in a bit.
- The game has built-in tutorials, challenges, and tasks the Game Warden asks you to complete—most of which provide XP, money, and reputation points.
- I recommend you complete the tutorial and then take the self-guided tour offered by the warden. This will expose new fishing "fast travel" areas.
- Some tedious tasks—like finding all the big foottracks, Dinosaur bones, Invasive plants, and infested trees—can keep you busy for days.
The Fishing Simulation is good but not perfect. The player can turn off the strike indicators in options, but the game lacks dynamic rod indicators that a fish is biting the bait, So I leave the strike indicator on. All the fish models, 29 to be exact, are done very well except maybe one: the freshwater drum, which is very small by scale.
Some things I would like to see improved Or included in the new updates:
- I would appreciate a horse companion I can ride rather than a vehicle in the game. A horse makes the game more immersive. With your tackle packed out on the horse.
- I would like to see footpaths added to the game for all the remote lakes that currently lack paths to access them. Stumbling over tree stumps is a chore to get to these lakes.
- I would love to see a weather system added, Like rain and snow. It does snow at Golden Ridge around the bait shop during Christmas.
- I would like to see early morning mist on the lakes.
- I would like to see variations of the fish currently fish. Every time you catch a particular fish species, it looks exactly like your last one. Note: We now have variations!!
- I would like to see the character move more realistically. When walking, the character is all over the place. Note: this was fixed in an update, the character can now walk in a straight line :).
In summary, the Angler fishing simulator has a lot of potential; it's currently a very playable and enjoyable game. I recommend buying it if you love fishing.
Recommendation: If you are okay with no additional support for the game, then yes, buy your copy today!