Quick Verdict: Idle Waters may be an idle game, but you can damn near play actively. There’s a ton of fish, items, locations, and NPCs and I had such a good time managing them all. 
A code was provided for Idle Waters by the publisher and it was played on PC.
Game: Idle Waters
Developer(s): Ignita Games
Publisher: Ignita Games
Review Score: 9
Cozy Score: 10
Price: $4.99
Pros: There are a ton of things to do in terms of fishing up dozens of different fish, farming your aquarium for items, and using those items to fulfill quests from NPCs dotted around.
Cons: It can be a little hard to keep straight which fish gives what item, even with the guide. Multiple fish drop the same thing, so trying to make sure you don’t have two of the same item giving fish in your aquariums can be tricky.
Platforms: PC
Genres: Idle, Simulation
The cozy score merely reflects how relaxing a game is and does not impact the review score.

Idle Waters is an idle game that puts a little tanuki on the lower third of your screen. You’ll be able to watch him fish, explore new areas, and fulfil quests from the NPCs dotted around the multiple locations. It’s bursting with fish, items, and unique encounters. 

I’ve sunk over 100 hours into Idle Waters and I’m still sitting here with more to do. In truth, calling Idle Waters an idling game is almost – ALMOST – a lie. It’s definitely an idler, but you have so many opportunities for active play that the only time you really can idle is if you’re busy with something else or leaving it running overnight. 

I adore idle games that give you active abilities. Sometimes, you just want to be able to immerse yourself in the game ever-present on your screen and this game achieves that. You still progress in idle mode, but you have plenty to manage in active play as well.

There are 100 fish to collect across 18 locations. Not every location has a fishing spot, but when it doesn’t, there’s generally an NPC to engage with that has some sort of quest. These quests are completed by giving the NPC a mix of requested items, treasure, or fish.

There are 44 different items that fish will drop and you can basically farm those items through your aquarium. By putting fish in your aquarium, they’ll drop their specific item for you to collect later. Each fish drops an item, but some fish will drop the same one. So, it’s important to make sure that you don’t put fish in your aquarium that drop the same thing if you want to maximize your farming.

Watch the trailer for Idle Waters!

Alternatively, you could trade in three fish of the same species in order to get an item and I think that item will correlate to the one that they drop in the aquarium. In my experience, it’s easier just to toss them in the tank and wait out the time for the drops.

In addition to the items, there are 40 treasures that can be obtained by either getting lucky and fishing them up regularly or by following a map. Every so often, you’ll find bottles with maps in them. Usually, these maps will lead you to a treasure, but every so often they may lead you to a nearby area. 

While there are 18 locations, you don’t have access to all of them. You’ll either need to find the map that takes you there or help an NPC that will subsequently open the way. 

As if that wasn’t enough, you have an upgrading system that allows you to buy upgrades for your fishing rod, boat, bag size, auto-fishing speed, rod level, and more! And, there is a second upgrade system that uses karma; you get rewarded karma by helping out NPCs. Using this currency, you can buy luck, fish quality, cat levels, and aquarium friendship.

I know, you’re probably thinking, cat levels? What does that even mean? Well, it means that one of the NPCs you help is a flying cat and when you help them, they stay with you like a pet. By feeding it a fish, it will fly off and come back with a random item for you.

And, lastly, there are charms. Some of these charms are automatically given to you, but most of them will need a certain recipe of items to create. Charms will help passively with a variety of things, depending on the ones you choose to equip. 

Speaking of charms… Idle Waters is exceedingly charming. Nice segue, totally nailed it.

Idle Waters
Idle Waters

For instance, I currently have four charms equipped. Each charm will take one or two slots and you’ll get more as you progress. My charms are strong to increase my chance of high-level fish, luck to increase my luck, moon that allows me to catch nocturnal fish any time, and shiny to up my chances of catching shiny fish.

With 20 charms, it’s highly customizable and allows you to buff your little fisherman to suit the playstyle you’re after. 

There’s so much content packed into such a simple idea and I couldn’t be more pleased with the time I’ve spent playing Idle Waters. Plus, the game is only $4.99 and you really can’t beat that price point with how many hours you sink into this game actively. 

If you’d like to give Idle Waters a try, you can get it for $4.99 over on Steam. Otherwise, feel free to check out some of the other reviews I’ve done recently. Camper Van: Make it Home is a fun Unpacking-style game where you decorate a small space your own and Bathhouse Creatures lets you run a few different bathhouses in an attempt to appease the animals that patronize them.