FISH

FISH launched into Early Access on June 22, 2026, built by solo developer dmcaguy and priced at $9.99, following a free demo that had been available since February 2026. The premise, an armed fish violently shooting its way through stylised levels, is played for exactly as much comedy as it sounds like it should be, but underneath the joke is a genuinely fast and demanding run-and-gun shooter with real mechanical ambition.

Combat that earns its ULTRAKILL comparisons

The movement and gunplay are where FISH is strongest. Momentum carries between platforming and combat rather than resetting at every encounter, weapon switching is instant enough to support the kind of on-the-fly decision-making that fast character-action shooters live or die on, and the boss fights specifically demand pattern recognition rather than raw reflexes alone. Reviewers reach for ULTRAKILL as a comparison constantly and unprompted, and while FISH doesn't have anywhere near that game's depth of mechanical systems yet, the comparison is earned by feel rather than just by genre proximity: both share a commitment to speed as the core design pillar rather than a marketing hook.

Controller support is also clearly a priority rather than an afterthought, with full DualShock and DualSense input options alongside standard gamepad play, and several players specifically call out how well the game reads on a controller despite its fast, precision-demanding combat. That is a small but telling detail for a one-person project: rather than shipping keyboard-and-mouse-only and leaving controller support for later, the developer built it in from the start, which lines up with the broader impression that the underlying systems here were designed with more care than the game's scrappy, joke-forward presentation might initially suggest.

A joke that never undercuts the mechanics

What keeps FISH from reading as a pure gimmick is that the comedy sits alongside the combat rather than replacing it. The writing, presentation, and constant meme-aware self-awareness give the game a distinct personality, but none of it comes at the expense of actually building a functional, demanding shooter underneath. It is a difficult game in places, difficult enough that "watch paint dry instead" jokes about its difficulty show up in its own review base, and that difficulty is presented honestly rather than padded out with cheap damage sponges.

Early Access content volume is the real limiting factor

The clearest weakness right now is simply how much game there is. Several reviewers who played the free demo point out that the paid Early Access release currently adds only a single additional level, and one previously beloved mobility mechanic from the demo was reworked in a way a portion of the returning player base considers a straightforward nerf. At $9.99, a playthrough measured in a handful of hours is a fair but not generous trade, and buyers expecting a fuller campaign out of the gate are likely to feel the gap between the game's mechanical quality and its current content volume.

Development pace since launch

The one clear point in FISH's favour beyond the moment-to-moment combat is how actively it has been maintained since release. In the weeks following the Early Access debut, the developer shipped multiple hotfixes addressing bugs and balance, then a larger "Sandstorm" content update in August followed by a steady cadence of minor version updates through September, each addressing specific reported issues like multiplayer session setup and weapon balance. For a solo-developer Early Access project, that pace of iteration is a genuinely good sign, and it suggests the thin content volume at launch is a starting point rather than the ceiling.

A review base that is part of the joke

It's worth spending a moment on how FISH's community talks about it, because the review section has itself become an extension of the game's sense of humour. Reviews arrive formatted as parody scorecards, in-jokes referencing internet meme culture, and deliberately unhinged hyperbole comparing the game to prestige dramas and calling for Game of the Year nominations with a completely straight face. Strip away the bit and the actual signal underneath is consistent: playtimes in the hundreds of hours from a handful of committed players, a review score sitting at Very Positive across more than 600 reviews, and specific, legible feedback about weapon balance and mobility changes buried inside the jokes.

That is a meaningfully healthy sign for a solo-developer Early Access project at this stage. A community that is engaged enough to build an ongoing bit around a game, while also still surfacing concrete, actionable criticism about specific mechanical changes, is a community invested in seeing the project succeed rather than one just passing through for a quick laugh. It also means the tone the developer set with the game's marketing and writing has genuinely landed with the audience it was aimed at, which is not nothing for a project this small and this early in its lifecycle.

Verdict

FISH is a small, sharp, and genuinely funny run-and-gun shooter that backs up its absurd premise with real mechanical craft, particularly in its boss encounters and core movement feel. The Early Access content pool is thin enough right now that the asking price is a harder sell than the combat alone deserves, but a visibly active post-launch patch cadence gives real reason to expect that gap to close. Worth buying for fans of fast, difficult character-action shooters who don't need a long campaign to feel satisfied; worth waiting on for anyone who wants more game before paying full price.