Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Matt Hayes’ Fishing starts on a sensible question: do you want to relax by the water, or do you want a reason to care about every fish you land? Fishing Trip is the mode to use when you want to make your own session, choosing the location, lake conditions and difficulty without objectives hanging over you. That freedom gives the game a calmer, more sim-minded pull than a score-chasing fishing game.

When you want more direction, Matt’s Challenge is the better place to begin. Each challenge has three levels, and finishing in the top three is required to move forward. Specific objectives and bonuses give each outing a purpose beyond simply catching anything that bites. The bonus-fish rewards, including Super Distance Cast flags that point toward genuinely large fish, create a useful reward for meeting the level’s goals rather than merely scraping through.

Tournament mode puts the pressure where it belongs: on the weight of your catch. You choose location, difficulty and duration, while the game sets the lake conditions and qualifying species. That makes it a clean competitive format, especially if you enjoy planning around rules instead of free-form fishing. It can become frustrating if you prefer instant action, since the whole point is to work within the conditions rather than bend them to suit you.

The controls are unusually accommodating for the time, supporting keyboard, mouse, joystick and the Madcatz Fishing Rod, including its vibration function. The built-in tips and advice are valuable, and the manual’s fishing glossary and technique explanations make this a friendlier starting point if the terminology is new to you.

Graphics

Matt Hayes’ Fishing uses a third-person view, keeping your angling session in view rather than reducing everything to a menu of statistics. The game’s visual focus is the fishing activity itself, with lake choice and conditions forming the backdrop for each outing.

Story

This is not a fishing game built around a conventional plot. Instead, its closest equivalent to a story is the personal arc you create: a quiet trip becomes a learning session, then a challenge ranking, then perhaps a tournament result you want to improve.

Matt’s Challenge supplies the clearest progression. Moving on requires top-three finishes, so each completed level feels like a small step forward rather than a disconnected round of fishing. Objectives and bonus fish give those steps a bit more character.

Tournaments create a different kind of drama. There is no need for scripted stakes when a timed session comes down to the total weight you have landed and the species that count. If you like making your own sporting narratives from close results and better repeat performances, that structure does the job.

Overall Experience

Matt Hayes’ Fishing is a solid choice if you want fishing treated as a simulation with different ways to engage, not just as a string of quick catches. The first hour is likely to be most rewarding in Fishing Trip and Matt’s Challenge: one lets you settle in at your own pace, while the other explains why precision and objectives matter.

Its biggest strength is that the modes serve distinct moods. You can set up an unhurried solo session, pursue challenge rankings, or commit to a tournament where the final weight matters. Online multiplayer for up to eight adds another reason to revisit it, particularly if your group prefers competing under the same tournament rules.

The payoff depends on your patience. If you need constant spectacle or a story to pull you forward, the measured fishing focus may wear thin. But if you enjoy learning a sporting game’s terms, adjusting conditions and earning better results within clear rules, there is more substance here than the quiet premise initially suggests.

Retro Replay Score

6.8/10