Really nice idea! Seems like a lots of work has gone into making the art. There is a nice progression to the game. The animations are satisfying though how the smushing works isn't all that intuitive to me. Maybe some clue about what earlier parameter was increased by eating the fish, would make more sense. 

Amazing game! Love the idea, I really had fun playing this it deserves to win this jam, the art and sound design were perfect, the gameplay was satisfying and intriguing, absolute 10/10. This fisherman is an absolute unit for being able to straight up an entire Kraken like that lol

This is typically a game you keep playing as you are curious what comes next. The smashing animation is also very fun and well done.
It wasn't very clear to me if the eating upgrades are permanent or single use, I believe it's single use.
Maybe a win audio sound would add a lot for a winning feeling.

Yo! Really had fun catching fish & upgrading the rod. Th games feels so relaxing that i spent a lot of time playing this game. Loved it! 

I LOVE THIS the art is sooo good my only problem with the game is that the camera needs to be zoomed out a little because a lot of the times i dont have enough time to react to an incoming fish

other than that absolutely beautiful

First of all- any game that features the word "smushify" deserves the highest praise!

But seriously- I like how the game was filled with funny design- the animations of the protagonist, the fish design, the fact you build new rods out of the fish! Loved it all! The gameplay itself also fit this. It was fun to catch fish. You could only smushify two types at the time (it would be really easy to overcomplicate it, but you didn't- kudos). The progress was easily seen, and the difficulty was ramping up at a nice, chill pace. 

As for the theme... well, I did not think of fish when I found out the theme was "everything is a resource", but you made it work.

Over all- one of the most fun games I played in this jam so far! Keep up the good work!

Great game, i had a lot of fun paying this. didnt manage to get the keys, but fished a lot :D The basic gameplay mechanics work really well. The movement controls feel really smooth and so does the casting. The smushing fish also give some innovative combinations, so the crafting is really well done. The progression is also great, with getting access to more fish but also getting more difficult with the depth. The artstyle and music also fit the vibe really well. Overall a great entry, well done!

GAMEPLAY: The tutorial's wording was a touch confusing, but jumping into the game wasn't too much trouble. I'm not sure what the point of the meter is, since I can move the bobber around freely. It took a long time to figure out what 'smushify' actually entails and how to use it, since my menu seemed to be stuck on "? + Pufferfish". Turns out, each smush is a set combination that's revealed once you fish up the right fish, which was not explained. Once I got past the first rod, things certainly picked up, and I got interested in seeing what fish were out there.

VISUALS: The artwork is pleasant and works remarkably well with the near-rainy day the sky shows. The rod's animations aren't the cleanest: the bobber should dip and splash into the water, and the fish should have weight once out of the water. Things look tacky without gravity. The animations done by hand were lovely, though--I especially enjoyed the 'chow down'. I also quite liked the fish sprites (with all their quirky details) and the way they move through the water.

AUDIO: The music's nice enough, but got boring after a while with the only sounds breaking it up being reels and splashes.

THEME: 'The fish you pick up' feels like a loose definition of 'everything', seeing as most games only have the one intermediary step of selling fish, but it still does fit the bill.

I ought to mentioned I was very stunned when I fished up an entire Kraken. You certainly got the size right.

I really like the art style and the animations, it feels very chill! Well balanced and had fun playing it, only thing I feel that the game is a little slow, maybe having an option to speed up animations would be nice!

Nice work 🐟🐟🐠

Absolutely genious game design SPLOTH and MrCatMcFly :D I wish the core mechanics of smoothing and chowing would've been taught in form of a tutorial because the UI almost makes it look like a menu instead of different actions do to.

The art design is absolutely lovely. The idea is great and the execution aswell. The difficulty progression feels good aswell with the bubbles and chasing fish.

All in all amazing job!

It was really fun to play, amazing animations and UI. I loved the way you thought fishes as a resource. I think that that audio was also well matched. 
I only got frustrated after the 3rd wave, Even after trying for half an hour I couldn't surpass, you can maybe decrease the number of fishes as they are getting caught. 
Overall an amazing experience.

Well done.

This was really fun to play! I really liked the art style with the goofy animations and fish with funny hats! I also like the absurdity of being able to reel in that giant squid! The game progresses really well, starting off really easy and ending as an almost bullet-hell! After a while I caught on to how each upgrade used a fish as a pole and a fish as bait, so I started looking for specific fish that looked like they could be a pole or bait. This game also captures the theme really well, and is very well-balanced! You did a great job!

Also I just realized that "Fishing Hell" rhymes with "Wishing Well". Probably not intentional but it's a cool coincidence.

Wow, the artstyle is amizing, i love how every fish has his own style. It was very fun to play !!

 I got the keys!!

The art is AWESOME! The game totally kept my attention — amazing job on the gameplay mechanics. This is hands down the best fishing-type game I’ve ever played. The water shading and sound design are incredible, super immersive. The plot is simple but genuinely interesting, and I really enjoyed it. Even with a straightforward concept like this, I’d absolutely buy this game. Great work!

The art is magnificent, although no matter how high the meter is for the fishing rod the character always catches the orange fish. I can't use smush and only the chow down option to eat the fish.

i love the art

Nice game! The art is very nice and well done, great job!

The Art reminded me a new grounds game that I would play in the middle of class(In a good way) . I had trouble smashing fish together but it was fun to see the fish come to my bobber and attack it. Good Work !!

As a person who likes to fish in games, this was difficult, but the satisfaction when you reach your key is very rewarding.
Good concept and use of the theme, I had a frustrated pleasure playing it