The Big Catch

The Big Catch is a 3D action-adventure game where players take on the role of a fisherman on a journey to save a failing restaurant. Players will engage in thrilling parkour, maneuvering their character with agility to jump and move freely between different platforms. They'll also use their fishing rod to hook onto various objects, such as other platforms, and overcome obstacles to gather more ingredients to serve the ever-growing customer base. The game is continuously being updated and optimized, with more storylines and gameplay modes being added to bring players more fresh experiences.

Gameplay of The Big Catch:

The main character, Tackle, has many common 3d platformer capabilities. He can jump, wallrun, wall climb, wall jump, ground pound, ground pound jump, swim, attack while running, crouch, slide kick, slide kick jump, spin, spin jump, grab ledges, grapple to hooks, climb on vines, swing on hang bars, jump off elastic ropes, grind rails, and more. And nearly all of these interactions will cancel to and from one another in a sensible way at any point in the animation. Animations have very low commitment, and you almost never get stuck in an animation that you don’t want.

The big difference between Tacklebox and most other 3d platformers is that unlike the rest, once you jump, you have no mechanical way to stall your fall, or change direction in mid-air besides simple air control. In other words, you’re going to go flying in the direction you chose to jump, so you better choose correctly! Tacklebox may not have strong commitment to any animations, but it has an intense commitment to your momentum, and to gravity.

Tacklebox is the kind of game that I’m surprised wasn’t made already. I realize that this is cliche for talking about retro styled games, but Tacklebox does a lot of things that set itself apart from the crowd relative to other 3d platformers, yet in a way that could have been done at almost any time in the past 15 years and simply wasn’t. It still deserves a lot of credit for distilling this style of gameplay from all the platformers that have been made up to now, and it’s easy to see many of the influences, between Mario, Sonic, Wind Waker, Ape Escape, Crash Bandicoot, and more. We’ve seen many 3d platformers that allow you to double jump, air stall, and dive in different directions than where you started, or use wall jumps to scale sheer surfaces, but we haven’t seen many that force you to simply jump correctly.

Overall, I’m just surprised that no 3d platformer before now really decided to hone in on simply jumping in the way that Tacklebox has. It’s so simple that it feels like it should have been made already, but allowing the animations to cancel and carry momentum the way they do shows a level of refinement that clearly has learned from the past.

You have a jump arc, and doing advanced moves will only get you a little further, not a lot further. Walls will let you augment this jump arc, but not by much. In order to get the most out of your jumps, you really need to jump in the right direction, at the right angles, at the right times. Tacklebox cares about how you control the character, rather than which verbs you use. It plays with the raw analog values of your speed, direction, and momentum, instead of with technical animation canceling.

Features of The Big Catch:

Challenging Platforming: Engage in a series of demanding platforming sequences that challenge your agility and reflexes. Each level presents unique obstacles that require precision and timing, providing a rewarding experience as you improve your skills.

Unique Sand Surfing: Experience the innovative sand surfing mechanics that allow you to glide through sandy terrains with a surfing-like motion. This adds a fun twist to traversal, making exploration more dynamic and enjoyable.

Introductory Fishing Gameplay: Get hands-on with basic fishing mechanics, introducing you to the fishing system that will be expanded in the full game. This feature offers a taste of the crafting and strategy involved in more complex fishing challenges.

Character Exploration: Meet Tackle, a pivotal character who provides insight into the game's competitive narrative. His interactions with Chef Leurre and Caster showcase the character dynamics that will enrich the full gaming experience.

Free Access Enjoyment: Enjoy this engaging prologue for free, which allows players to test the waters of The Big Catch's gameplay style and mechanics without any financial commitment. It's a perfect way to decide if you want to dive deeper into the adventure.

Player Comments of The Big Catch:

I am usually bad at platforming games. But this game made me realise that i may not be as bad as i thought. A platformer game with a nice and unique concept. Although i personally wouldnt play this a second time cause i hate the frustration of getting stuck.I really loved the character designs of the playable character and the npc we trade fishes with. The sand shredders were cute too. The way the whole map is done and the effort to detail can be seen when we travel around the desert. The slingshot mechanics in the game really amused me. I had some fun playing with the flower that propels when we hook on them. The fish with the legs really made laugh when i first saw it. The sand shredder taxi was kinda hard to steer but was extremely fun. Love those floppy little things and i hate those bomber birds.A frog platforming, collecting coins and catching fishes to earn itself a scale, a trophy of victory made with beautiful art and an fun but tricky maps. An 8/10 cause of my frustrations at certain parts of the map.

The platforming feels like trying to climb a concrete wall at first, but once you start to understand the true way of the schmoovement, you get so many "holy crap I had no idea I could pull that off" moments that just feel oh so satisfying. That being said, there's a LOT of trial and error (and runbacks, yay) with getting around the platforming sections, but that's just what makes reaching the fish at the top much more gratifying.I do wish there'd be an overworld map tucked away in some back pocket somewhere, not like it's there for fast travel, but just something to get a better lay of the land. Better yet, make the map something you have to piece together with collectibles scattered around.Looking forward to the full game!

Amazing, absolute cinema. From a game that's only 400 megabytes, this is everything you'd expect and more, I had tons fun playing this game. There really isn't much storyline now, but that doesn't take anything away from this experience, upon playing this you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Literally My favorite 3D platformer collectathon, maybe one of the best in the genre as a whole. It is quite possible that the fact that the game is free influenced my rating, but nevertheless, I say this from the bottom of my heart. I'm very excited to wait for the full version!

Walkthrough of The Big Catch:

Training Grounds

When you start the game this coin is to the left on the small mound with a sign.

To the left of the mound is a grinding rail with 3 coins.

These two floating coins can be reached by slightly diving under the water, boosting and immediately going upwards to shoot out of the water.

Inside the small island in the middle of the pond under the water is a hole with a coin in it.

3 coins can be found under the water right behind the island and against the wall.

A coin is floating right behind the waterfall and requires a simple wall jump to reach.

Use the spike ball lure to destroy each of the balloons that are floating above the small island, they all drop a coin each for a total of 6 coins.

In the middle of the training ground use the pole to swing jump into the floating coin.

Looking behind yourself after grabbing the pole swinging coin are 3 coins on the wall and roof on climbable surfaces.

To the right of the climbable surfaces are trapeze you can hang on to that has 3 coins.

Plus 1 coin on a box by the wall.

Next to the trapeze are bouncy rope and poles to climb.

Keep jumping on the rope to gain upwards momentum to reach the two floating coins, climb and jump off the poles to reach thd coins around them.

Grab a lure from the tree and throw it in the pond to catch the fish.

The Bone Outpost

One green fish next to the big building grinding around in circles.

Before you start climbing this place go to this part of the wall to find 2 coins.

To get to this building use the rail next to it to reach the cracked part of the wall and climb up from there for a coin worth 5.

Once you made your way to the top and reach the wooden block that you can pull out with your fishing rod. Turn around and there is a hole in the wall directly under you with 4 coins.

To get to the roof do a sideways wall jump between these blocks to reach the smaller one. From there jump to the top for 6 coins.

Right under the roof is a small platform with 2 coins.

Two Forts

Before you do anything else go to this fish shaped well with 2 coins in it.

On the outside of the fort are these doorways. Go inside to find 3 coins.

Next to the fishing hook on the side the building wall jump between these damaged parts of the wall to reach an incline with 2 floating coins.

One green fish on this platform infront of a big wooden door.

After you have opened the wooden door, peek down to find two coins resting on a wooden beam.

Use the rail to grind to the top and do a quick wall jump to reach the wooden floor.

Follow the wood around the building to reach a pillar with two coins on top.

Once you reach the upper part of the big building, go to the first window on your left and jump out to the wooden beam for 2 coins.

Use the flinger in this direction to reach this floating rail to reach the top of the tower for 2 coins.

Use the flinger in this direction and make sure you land on the rail adjacent to the floor to make the jump to the top of the roof for one green fish.

Final Verdict:

Catch a short taste of The Big Catch and see if you're ready for the full adventure!Play as Tackle (Caster's rival and co-worker) during his final days of training before being hired by Chef Leurre. Test your platforming prowess, surf the sands, and get your feet wet catching some fish.