TLDR: 4.5/5 𓇼 Windows aquarium screensaver meets desktop companion. I can feed the little buggers as many pellets as my heart desires and they never die, tanks never dirty, and I can give them horrible pun names. Very little pull on systems, no micro transactions, very cute sprites with impressive water effects. Fish and friends vary in size and some interact with the aquarium decor. Option to wait for new fish or “pay a little extra” to fed-ex them to your aquarium immediately. Downside, you cannot move the aquarium decor yourself. Auto populates upon purchase with shells from the store. Snails do not crawl on all edges of the tank. I'm having some trouble with the 'click through' aspect as it automatically feeds my fish if I click on a space where the tank covers. (This could be operator error)
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"Meet Reefling, a tiny aquarium for your desktop." After 13.6 hours with my tiny fish, I can confidently say this has become one of my favorite cozy idle games. Which is really saying something considering I’m not usually a fan of the games I’ve come across in the “idle game” genre. I’ve also 100% developed feelings for these stupid tiny pixel fish.
If you remember the days of downloading desktop companions from ‘totally safe and legit websites that definitely won’t give your computer a virus’ that just ran around on your desktop in the background while you worked, then buy the game. ‘Cause this silly little pixel fish tank delivers.
There's something incredibly relaxing about glancing over at my secondary screen and seeing my little aquarium full of colorful little pixel fish swimmin’ around; My starfish plotting world domination as he slowly wiggles his way across the glass, while the shrimps and the snails vibe in bottom getting their steps in like little grandmas power walking a mall. The pixel art style lends itself well to the overall vibe, the animations are charming with different species having unique swims, and the whole game has such a peaceful vibe that it's hard not to smile every time I check in on them. Yes, yes Gale just died and Shadowheart missed again but look at Shrimp Shady go!
One feature I do absolutely love is the different options for the aquarium size. You can choose to have it “grow with your fish” or size it yourself using a little sliding scale in the options menu. Whether I want it tucked away in a corner on my main screen or taking up a larger portion of my desktop (read as split screened with whatever else I have pulled up) on my secondary monitor, it adapts perfectly without getting in the way. It really does feel like it was designed to be a ‘companion’ rather than something that constantly demands attention. The transparency aspect is also beautifully done, overlaying whatever is behind it with the subtle water effect and the decor that the fish freely swim through, behind and around.
I also really appreciate the style of the progression system the developer went with. New fish can naturally ‘discover' your aquarium over time, or I can spend a few extra shells to pay the secret fish delivery service to plop them in immediately. It's a great balance between rewarding patience and giving players the option to speed things up without making it feel unfair or like you’re cheating.
Another thing I love is that there's no pressure (looking at you neopets). Your fish don't starve or die, so I never feel guilty about leaving the game running in the background or stepping away for a while to do other things. The tank doesn’t collect algae or need cleaning, so you can spam the pellets as often as your heart desires. Or as often as you need to ensure that one fish doesn’t eat them all. I can decorate my tank, get new fish or sell others, and just enjoy having this little tank on my computer.
Onto the shells. Now this might be controversial but I would argue that the rate at which you earn shells could be paced down. I have emptied that shell bank multiple times playing around with seeing what the different decorations look like, how they interact with others, the current, geeking out over the fact there's snails and immediately fish fed-exing one into my tank, rinse and repeat after the new updated added starfish, etc. As I am writing this review I am sitting at over 8k shells. You earn roughly one shell a minute, which again, instant gratification people rejoice ‘cause you can immediately blow them in the shop and buy the fish you normally would've had to wait 20+ days to unlock. I feel like it could be dropped down to maybe every 3-5 min/shell. You’re still earning them but at a more ‘cozy’ pace. You also get a little burst of shells when you feed your fish as well, so there is an ‘active earning’ component as well.
This is definitely not a resource heavy game that I've experienced on windows so far, I can play Destiny 2, Baldurs Gate 3 with mods, or just do general work on my PC with 0 issues. I have plans to really stress test it on Mac to see if it can run on my laptop while I'm also editing photos in Adobe Suite at the same time, so I will report back on that once it's completed.
For a solo developer's first release, the amount of care and polish is seriously impressive. You can tell a lot of love went into every fish, every animation, and the overall atmosphere. I'm already excited to see what future updates bring, but even so soon after launch, Reefling feels like a promising, relaxing, and genuinely enjoyable experience.
If you're a fan of cozy games, idle games, or even not a big fan of games in general, I can't recommend Reefling enough.
Also it has achievements for you achievement hunters out there!
Final rating 4.5/5 starfish
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First steam review down woo!
