If you’ve been scrolling through social media lately, chances are you’ve come across chatter about a small Western indie game called Webfishing.
Despite being barely a game by most standards, this so-called “social chatting” experience has blown up in record time, gaining a surprising amount of traction. The hype train really took off once journalist outlets like Rock Paper Shotgun started singing its praises.
From Twitch streams to YouTube videos, Webfishing quickly became the latest darling of the indie scene, with influencers and gaming publications alike jumping on the bandwagon to boost its visibility.
Webfishing is a basic $5 chat room fishing game that dropped last month, leaning heavily into the casual multiplayer scene. It tries to be inoffensive with its retro low-poly 3D look, letting players customize various anthropomorphic animal avatars.
You can even spice up your social interactions by slapping on quirky titles like “Koi Boy,” “Yapper,” or the delightfully classy “Shithead.”
But of course, it doesn’t stop there. The game also lets you broadcast your sexuality for everyone to see, offering titles like Gay, Kitten, Non-Binary, Queer, Lesbian, Pan, Bi, and Trans, all in the name of affirming gender identity.
So, yeah, this fishing game is practically drowning in identity politics despite such preachy bullshit being enough to turn away most gamers who otherwise wanted to chill out and fish.
Thanks to its bizarre surge in popularity across social media, Webfishing has somehow amassed an impressive 22,000+ players on Steam.
The game’s cutesy, feel-good vibe combined with its heavy-handed embrace of LGBTQ+ inclusivity has attracted quite the crowd. It’s become a safe haven for those obsessed with political correctness, who love to flaunt their virtue signaling. You’ll find them championing causes for foreign nations like Ukraine or Palestine while berating others over a slight disagreement.
And let’s not forget the Furries, because of course, they’re all over this game too, gleefully sexualizing their anthropomorphic creations. The irony? These same folks will turn around and sneer at anime fans, accusing them of pedophilia for enjoying cute, stylized characters.
It’s almost comical how they justify their double standards of sexualizing fictional “animals” but hey, that’s the internet for you.
Despite Webfishing being an obvious love letter to homosexual, queer, non-binary, and trans gamers especially considering that the furry community it attracts is predominantly LGBT, there was one glaring omission: a title for those who identify as, well, normal. Straight players were notably left out of the game’s exhaustive list of sexuality tags.
But now they’ve finally added the option for players to proclaim their straightness in the latest update. The catch? You’re gonna have to cough up a ridiculous amount of in-game currency to do so.
If you want to be openly heterosexual in Webfishing, it’s gonna cost you a massive chunk of change, while all the other tags are practically free by comparison. If it were the other way around you just know gaming journalists would be all over trying to have such a game banned from Steam due to homophobia.
One user on the Steam discussion forums couldn’t help but point out the glaring omission of a “Straight” title in Webfishing, especially given its blatant pandering to the LGBT crowd. With the game making suspiciously fast rounds on social media, the user highlighted an obvious bias, offering endless options for LGBT identities but conveniently leaving straight players in the dust.
Unsurprisingly, he was swiftly banned from the game’s community forums for eluding to a double standard.
The latest update has added the option to label your character as “Straight,” but not without a twist.
The term is deliberately placed in quotation marks, almost implying that anyone choosing it is confused or projecting themselves as not being gay, so not only is the developer more or less making a statement by forcing players to grind for so much longer in comparison to LGBT titles but it’s a passive-aggressive middle finger to straight people because you’re not straight, you’re “straight.”
This move seems like a deliberate dig at straight players by the game’s developer, “lamedeveloper,” a furry who uses he/they pronouns. It feels like a not-so-subtle message aimed directly at those who are normal by comparison.
The game’s massive success is no surprise, given its cozy, retro-themed fishing aesthetic that appeals to a broad audience. But beneath that simplistic exterior lies a deeper layer of identity politics.
The game, developed by a single individual who appears to project their own beliefs onto the player base, includes a controversial jab at heterosexuals. Players can choose a “Straight” tag, but it’s set behind a paywall of 9,999 Fish Bucks, a move that feels like a deliberate slight, especially when compared to the clear favoritism shown toward LGBT identities in modern gaming.
This trend reflects a broader shift in the industry, where catering to certain demographics is often prioritized while larger demographics face scrutiny and exclusion.
Tags or Titles in Webfishing are a way to customize your character, typically unlocked through gameplay achievements like reaching certain ranks or catching specific fish. However, some titles are available for purchase in the game’s general store for just 75 Fish Bucks.
In stark contrast, the newly introduced “Straight” title costs a staggering 9,999 Fish Bucks, over 100 times more expensive, forcing players to grind significantly longer if they want to showcase it. However, one could argue that declaring yourself as straight might hold greater value, especially considering various factors like substantially lower rates of depression, anxiety and suicide.
The game also includes titles like “good boy,” “good girl,” and “kitten,” which raises concerns given the potential for roleplay-focused rooms that could blur the lines between innocent gameplay and explicit content.
This environment, especially in a game that’s gaining traction on TikTok and other social platforms, could easily attract younger players, potentially exposing them to harmful interactions under the guise of inclusivity and “safe spaces.”
It’s hard not to see the exorbitant cost of the “Straight” title as a deliberate jab at heterosexual players, especially given the favoritism towards LGBT identities in today’s gaming industry.
For a game created by a self-identified furry developer using he/they pronouns, it feels like a thinly veiled mockery which leaves a sour taste for anyone looking for a neutral gaming experience.
