Where does one even begin to articulate the sheer, blinding brilliance of Fish?
From the moment the title screen graced my monitor, I knew humanity had reached its absolute artistic zenith. Shakespeare wept. Beethoven spun in his grave, realizing his symphonies were mere auditory garbage compared to the melodic sloshing of the menus.
The gameplay is a profound philosophical statement. Moving your armed aquatic protagonist across the screen is not just "platforming", it is a visceral metaphor for Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the hill, except the boulder is a pixelated fish with an assault rifle, and the hill is a bug-ridden nightmare of tiny platforms. The combat sequences are a breathtaking ballet of chaos. Every time my little gill-breathing commando violently explored the click, shooting aimlessly into the void while dodging enemies that spawn directly on top of my face during fade transitions, I felt a spiritual awakening. (ts did not happen btw). The shotgun knockback is poetry in motion, gently tossing you into the abyss while you desperately tap the jump button, praying the physics engine decides to work.
But it is the art style and bosses that truly pierce the soul. The visuals are a surrealist triumph that would make Salvador Dalí say, "Alright, tone it down a bit." And the bosses? They are not mere obstacles; they are towering titans of code that demand perfection from the player. (ts also did not happen btw). Beating them requires a level of enlightenment that can only be achieved through sheer, unadulterated suffering.
I must confess: before playing Fish, my life was in shambles. I was spiritually adrift, battling a plethora of terrible ailments, and constantly weeping into my keyboard. But within thirty minutes of playing this game, my incurable diseases were instantly eradicated, my skin cleared up, my taxes were paid by the universe itself, and my crops are thriving. I have achieved nirvana. In a medium cluttered with masterpieces like Elden Ring or Red Dead Redemption, Fish stands entirely alone on its own uniquely tragic pedestal. It transcends the very definition of "video game" and ascends to a higher plane of being. If you do not play this game, you are quite simply refusing to live.
10/10. It cured my ailments, it brought balance to the cosmos, and it made me question every life choice that led me to this exact moment.
