Just Keep Fishing

Introduction

Just Keep Fishing, released 27 August 2026 by Set Sail Games, is a small, focused incremental: cast fishing poles, upgrade your gear, and sweep through a dozen themed islands — including a lava biome — while drones fly in to deliver power-ups rather than leaving the player to simply wait. It sits Very Positive with English-speaking players, 84.6% across 104 reviews, and reading through that sample turns up a specific pattern worth taking seriously: reviewers on opposite sides of the recommendation line agree almost exactly on how long the game takes to finish, and disagree sharply on whether that's a problem.

A satisfying, well-supported core loop

The praise here is specific rather than generic enthusiasm. Reviewers repeatedly describe the act of casting increasingly powerful poles and watching drones sweep in bonuses as genuinely satisfying, and several specifically credit the drone-delivery mechanic as a fresh spin on the genre's usual passive-idling formula. Themed islands and short minigames — a widely-liked "penguin punting" segment among them — draw praise for variety within a short runtime, and the developer is credited, repeatedly and specifically, with fast, responsive support: one reviewer reports a Steam Deck-specific bug being fixed within roughly ten minutes of a Discord report. For a game this small, that's a genuinely strong signal of active care.

The same fact, read two different ways

The single most consistent observation across this review's research, appearing on both sides of the recommendation split, is how quickly the game can be finished. Reviewers independently report 100% achievement completion within two to three hours, and both camps largely agree on this specific figure rather than disputing it. Where they diverge is interpretation: fans mostly treat this as an honest, welcome alternative to incrementals that pad themselves out with artificial grind, especially at a discounted price, while critics treat the identical fact as simply not enough game for a roughly NZ$11 asking price, with more than one suggesting a fair price would be closer to one or two dollars.

A specific, unproven concern about refund timing

One detailed review goes further than a value complaint and raises something more pointed: after calculating the game's typical completion time at approximately 2.9 hours, that reviewer explicitly notes this sits just past the point where Steam's standard two-hour refund window would no longer reliably apply to a full playthrough, and raises the possibility — while explicitly stating they cannot prove it — that this could be an intentional design choice rather than coincidence. This review has no way to verify developer intent and reports this only as one reviewer's specific, self-acknowledged speculation, not as an established fact about why the game is the length it is.

Real, specific bugs and a disputed skill-tree balance

Beyond the length question, several reviewers report concrete technical problems: drones becoming stuck in the air without delivering their power-ups, minigame islands failing to function correctly, and at least one report of being unable to board the boat after finishing an island. Separately, the skill tree draws criticism from reviewers on both sides of the recommendation line — several independently describe drone-delivered power-ups as disproportionately strong relative to a player's base fishing ability, leaving stretches without them feeling notably weaker, and one detailed critical review calls the broader skill-node progression linear and uninspiring. The game also lacks a prestige system or endless late-game upgrades some reviewers say are standard in comparable incrementals, and more than one player, including satisfied ones, describes the back half of a playthrough becoming noticeably more boring than the opening islands.

One of several simultaneous releases from the same team

One contextual detail from this review's research is worth reporting plainly. At least one reviewer notes that Just Keep Fishing was one of three games the publisher released on the same day, and specifically states that of the three, this is the one that feels the most thoroughly produced, least rushed, and most technically ambitious — even while that same reviewer ultimately found the gameplay itself failed to hold their attention. This review has not independently verified the release pattern or examined the other two titles, but the observation is a useful piece of context for understanding where this specific game sits relative to its own publisher's output: reviewers who follow this team's work seem to see it as a comparative high point rather than a low-effort entry, even when they don't personally enjoy the final result.

A relaxed pace that suits younger and casual players

Separate from the balance and length debates above, more than one reviewer specifically frames the game's low-pressure pace as a strength for casual and family play. One reviewer describes playing alongside a five-year-old and specifically praising the simplicity and charm of the presentation for that context, and the broader tone across positive reviews — "chill," "relaxing," "cute" — is unusually consistent for an incremental game, a genre that more often leans on number-heavy optimization than approachable, low-stakes charm. That consistency suggests the presentation and pacing are doing real, deliberate work rather than being an incidental side effect of the game's short length.

Final Verdict

Just Keep Fishing gets its core hook right: a genuinely satisfying, well-supported incremental loop with real charm and a developer reviewers trust to respond quickly to problems. What keeps this score from going higher is that the complaint sitting alongside that praise is unusually well-agreed-upon rather than contested — reviewers across the recommendation divide converge on a roughly two-to-three-hour completion time, disagreeing only on whether that's acceptable at the asking price, compounded by specific, reproducible bugs and a skill-tree balance several players on both sides find unsatisfying. Worth it on sale for a genuinely fun short session; think twice about paying full price given how consistently reviewers on both sides of this game agree on exactly how little of it there is.