After sitting here for what feels like an eternity (even though it was probably only a couple minutes), I can’t think of an intro for this review. I can’t help it, cause since these games are so similar to each other in many ways, there’s nothing more I can say without sounding like even more of a broken record than I already am. So, to remedy this, I’m just gonna list off a bunch of fish facts that I found on the internet instead:

1. Fish have great memories, and can memorize the faces of those who treat them well and feed them

2. There are over 30,000 known species of fish out there

3. The scales on a fish help it swim through water more smoothly

4. Some fish are capable of living outside of water for multiple years

5. A lot of fish have taste buds located all over their body

6. Due to a lot of pollution in British water, a handful of male fish located there changed their gender as a result

7. Fish can also drown if there isn’t enough oxygen in the water they are in

8. Most fish cannot swim backwards, because they are stupid

9. Scientists have only explored 1% of the ocean depths, meaning there is still a lot more kinds of fish we don’t know about

10. Fish have small brains, meaning we could overpower them if they try to take over the world

And now that I’ve wasted your time with random bullshit, we should move onto the reason why you came here to begin with: it’s Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds!

Right alongside Putt-Putt, this is one of Humongous Entertainment’s most well known franchises, and unlike with Fatty Bear, who crashed and burned right out of the starting gate, there were quite a few games made for this series before it too crashed and… uh, drowned. And just like with Putt-Putt, I had known a little bit about this game before actually playing it myself, all thanks to the videos made by BrutalMoose, which I enjoyed enough, so I figured at the time that I would give the game a shot to see what it was all about. So, I played it, and what a shocker, it is another Humongous Entertainment game with no real big changes made to the formula whatsoever. It’s still a good time, having plenty of good qualities for a point ‘n click game made for kids, and the setting is charming and lively enough to where I ended up liking it enough.

This game actually has a plot compared to the other games we have seen from this company so far, where a mysterious crook ends up stealing the kelp seeds from Grandma Grouper, and now all of the fish in the sea will starve (according to the game anyway, which is complete bullshit), so it is up to Freddi and her thorn in her si- I MEAN, pal, Luther, to figure out who stole the kelp and get it back, which is a silly and simple enough plot for kids to get behind, and it is good enough to get the player going. The graphics are pretty great here, where unlike Putt-Putt and Fatty Bear, who look like they will kill me if I look at them the wrong way, everything in this game looks colorful, vibrant, and cartoonishly alive in a way that makes you wanna look at it more rather than trying to look away, the music is good, having plenty of pleasant tunes to listen to throughout the game, each one fitting well for the underwater setting, and the control/gameplay is what you expect from one of these games, while still being simple enough for a kid to get a handle of and have fun with.

The game is a point ‘n click adventure game, where you take control of Freddi Fish and, to an extent, Luther, go through the many different locations you can find below and above the seawater, talk to plenty of different fishy friends and creatures of the deep to learn more about the land, help them out with their problems, or get a new tool to help you solve the mystery, gather plenty of different items, collectibles, or what have you scattered throughout the seafloor to help you out on your journey, and when you’re feeling too bored, click on whatever the fuck you feel like to see what whacky shit it does, or even play a few minigames to help add some spice into your fishy life. As you would expect, there isn’t much else going on here in terms of gameplay, but once again, that’s not necessarily a problem with these games, as this one still manages to do what it sets out to do, and if you ask me, it does the best job out of all the games so far.

As per usual, the main draw to this game, in comparison to all of the others, is whether or not you are a big fan of the environment and the characters that you find throughout your journey, and in my opinion, this game is the most visually interesting and fun to explore so far. Yeah, being a living car and stuffed animal is cool and all, but cars are booooooooooooring, and that stuffed animal has a knife, so I don’t waaaaaaaaaaaaant it. Thankfully, with this game, we have plenty of sea life to see and interact with, giving us a wide assortment of goofy and enjoyable characters, not to mention the aforementioned very pretty environments that you can swim through. In addition, there are also several more cutscenes that can be seen throughout the entire game, showing off more of the characters and their interactions, where you can also see the increase in budget when it comes to the animation. Needless to say, they did a damn great job with this, with the animations being looped, yeah, but they are given much more life and personality when compared to what we got before.

If you are not a fan of fish or the sea though, then you are not going to get much out of this game. It is yet another Humongous Entertainment game, where you run around, click on things, talk with people, solve simple puzzles, and question why the fuck Freddi let loose a crab with a fishing pole, you fucking idiot. You know what you are getting into here, and as with the gameplay itself, it gets pretty repetitive and easy. Luckily though, again, this has managed to be the most visually interesting game from the company yet (with the possible exception of Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon), and naturally, it will entertain young ones for hours on end, and that’s all that really matters at the end of the day when talking about these games.

Overall, despite, once again, not changing anything in the gameplay department, the first installment of Freddi Fish is a good time, filled with plenty of fun and lovable characters, easy yet fun puzzles to solve, and a step-up in quality that can’t be ignored, especially with what came before this. I would recommend this for those who were fans of the previous Humongous Entertainment games, as well as those who have younger kids who want something to play, because alongside those other titles, this should provide a decent amount of fun for how long it lasts. Hell, I’m just thankful for the fact that the fish population can now go without starving due to a lack of kelp. I mean, there’s nothing else they could’ve possibly eaten!.......... except for plankton… and algae… and each other…

Game #512