The first Fisherman’s Tale was a clever puzzler that made use of a recursive lighthouse as the crux of its problem solving. Now, in the sequel, you assume the role of the titular fisherman’s daughter. You have a cluttered basement loaded with some elaborate dioramas. It turns out that when you were a kid, your Dad would use these to tell elaborate, highly amusing stories. And the game comprises those tales.
The writing is exceptional, combining silly, off-kilter humor with sombre morbidity in a manner not dissimilar to that of What Remains of Edith Finch. The game effectively conveys a plethora of meaningful anecdotes about your parents and yourself, all without sacrificing puzzle quality.
The puzzles are great, offering up wacky scenarios with equally wacky solutions. While the first title primarily worked off a recursive environment inside a lighthouse, the sequel is all about using different “kinds” of hands to solve nautical puzzles. Need to cut a rope, but you only have regular human hands? Simply take one of them off and slot in a crab’s claw to snip the rope. While there are only a handful of different types to equip, there are plenty to make puzzles interesting.
Of note, your regular hand can be controlled when detached, so you can skitter through vents if need be, while a hook hand allows you to climb walls, and so on. The attachments are all fairly standard, but as they are your hands, you can only have two of them, so it’s up to you to figure out what the right combination is. The puzzles are never too difficult, but they’re just creative enough to make you think.
The environments are richly detailed and incredibly vibrant. The individual levels you complete, as well as your basement “hub”, paints the picture of one of the better looking PSVR2 titles to date. This is further elevated by a great soundtrack, featuring a wonderful original score and some excellent sea shanties.
PSVR2 helps makes the game look incredible, but things feel a bit let down by the PSVR 2 Sense Controllers. Attaching hands can be awkward as the round base on the controllers tends to get in the way, and controlling detached hands is less than precise in regards to turning and moving in a specific direction.
That’s a pretty minor problem in the grand scheme of things, though, and Another Fisherman’s Tale is every bit as worthy of your time as the first.
