Fishbowl preview: Touching exploration of human connection

Cosy games come in all shapes and sizes, and despite what the genre suggests, it's more than an idyllic exploration of the life you daydream of.

Thriving farms, babbling brooks, and romantic interests are the lifeblood of the genre, yet in truth, those features aren’t what makes these games so powerful: it’s the stories they weave.

An upcoming PlayStation 5 and Steam title holds the big promise of being a “slice of life, coming of age” tale. But will it hold up? Quite simply, yes.

Although I’ve only had the pleasure of playing its early demo, those 20 minutes of gameplay are precious. Not least of all because of how beautifully it sets up the remainder of the game.

Fishbowl follows the story of Alo, a 21-year-old who's trying to find their way in life having moved away to start a new job in the big city. As if that wasn’t an already enormous life change, Alo is also coming to terms with the recent death of her grandmother. Each plot point intertwines, forming different threads of fate to be explored in the full game.

Make sure to watch the teaser for Fishbowl below

Despite only offering us a brief introduction to the story to come, what I’ve already seen had me holding back tears. The way it touches on grief and all its complexities so early on is what pulled at my heartstrings, the pang of sorrow all too familiar when I think back on the grandparents I’ve lost. But to say Fishbowl is only about grief is an unfair and limited reading of the narrative as a whole; it’s about human connection.

In just 20 minutes, I felt a connection with Alo. Few demos have ever resonated so quickly nor astutely – it’s as if the developers knew what I’d experienced during my own life and played it back to me in this pixel art world. I’ll be honest, when the demo ended, I was sad to see my brief insight into Alo’s story end so soon.

Moving away from the narrative for now, let’s talk about the accessibility of the game. Fishbowl handles wonderfully. Its controls are intuitively familiar, allowing you to jump from one cosy game into another.

Even though the game hasn’t been tested for its compatibility with the Steam Deck, that’s what I played it on, and let me say it plays perfectly. In fact, I’d argue that playing it via the Steam Deck is the preferred way, as this handles like a Switch game rather than a keyboard based one.

It felt like I was coming home to a loved one during my time with Fishbowl; I knew the steps, yet everything was new, different even. I truly believe that Fishbowl will be one of the best indie games of its year when it launches. It’s a bold claim, but I’m standing by it despite having only played such a short amount of its story. That’s how special Fishbowl is.

Fans of Spiritfarer will want to keep this one on their radar because it’s been a long time since I genuinely felt my breath catch in my throat whilst playing a game. I implore everyone to check out this game, though please protect yourselves when doing so; this is an emotional experience, so be sure to take time out if you need to.

Joining Alo on her journey can’t come soon enough.