Aquarist

Aquarist
N/A
Metacritic
85
Steam
76.919
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Release date
8 March 2022
Developers
Steam reviews score
Total
85 (491 votes)

Run the best aquarium shop in town! Create, renew, manage, observe. See if you can create an aquarium empire.

Show detailed description

Aquarist system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 7
  • Processor: Intel Core i5
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVidia GeForce GTX 750
  • Sound Card: DirectX compatible
Similar games
Popularity
Reviews
Write a new review
Jack Cheddar
Jack Cheddar

Aquarist - Win 10 64bit - didn't run well

Great idea. Poorly executed.
Couldn't make it through the tutorial. It is done in long, involved sections and if a section is not complete, you restart. It will only save at the completion of each section.
Section 1: the basics of setting up a tank
not too involved - you learn the tools are clunky
Section 2: cleaning up Dad's mess
moderately involved - you clean and rebuild an abandoned tank
Section 3: cleaning up friend's mess
moderately involved - you clean and rebuild a friend's tank that has been knocked over
Section 4: cleaning up basement to set up shop
extensively involved - you clean and prepare 2 rooms for a shop
Section 5: - cleaning and setting up a salt water tank and a freshwater tank to sell
hella difficult - you are expected to place 3 types of fish in the tank which are all happy with the tank as set up - wasn't too hard on the salt water tank - the freshwater tank took well over an hour to find 3 fish to cohabitate. Water temp, plants, decorations and population all have to match. There are only about 9 fish available. Some like a lot of plants, some don't. Apply that to the other attributes. The only info given is temp range. You have to find out the other info through trial and error. This takes time; time for the population to increase and throw the tank out of wack. Now you have to remove fish. That means trying to catch them with a net to throw them away or try to click on them to sell them. Trying to click on them could be a mini-game, if it weren't so frustrating. A guppy appears as a speck moving across the screen. It's near impossible to click on one w/o a couple of dozen tries. Why? Because it's not optimized well and every few seconds, the FPS stutters making it near impossible to pinpoint a fish. But, I perservere, because I don't want to start over. When I completed the task, I had to choose which tank to sell. I was going to sell the salt tank because it had the highest price. But, most of the fish were dead from starvation. I had unchecked a box that should've eliminated the need for that, or so I thought. I began to remove the dead fish and the price of the tank would go down as I did. Rather than continue to lose money by cleaning the tank, I clicked on the sell tank button and KABLOOEY, the screen went haywire, with the tank spinning like a copter blade. Couldn't recover - had to ALT/TAB and close it. And, here I am.
[Edit: I restarted and made it through selling the tank. Though I, once again, unchecked the realism box, I had to feed the salt water fish. The scenario just continues without saving. You have to prepare the store for opening, a major undertaking. I finally said heck with it and left the game. I don't see any way to sandbox a store. There's a designer mode that lets you set up a tank but it doesn't look like there's much content in it compared to what they say there is.]
If that's your idea of a good time, well, have at it. I say wait.
[Edit: - in response to developer - Knowing I can save from that device, I'll start again and explore more of the game. I'll hold this position until the update and revise my opinion accordingly.]

allid2412
allid2412

I highly enjoyed the game and wish there was more! More species, more variety with tank sizes and shapes and stands, more venues, more everything! A few small bugs, but nothing game breaking.

The mechanics to edit items (specifically trying to turn them) is a bit clunky and not very user friendly, but not too bad.

Wish you could algea eaters of various species in any tank to keep them clean.

Also, for the shop (wish you could have a bigger, nicer shop) but that you could set and manage an "inventory" for the tanks, so you can restock them just like the store shelves.

kirinspirit
kirinspirit

I LOVE this game, but I can't get far. During the second(or third) mission I can't select the tab to get a bucket. Help? I also don't like the way of placing decor, its hard to place it towards the back of the tank.

Axolotl Yesss
Axolotl Yesss

Amazing game, but there are some issues. I can't tell when he fish are eating, for then they die. Maybe you can make a way of knowing if they are eating and make them die a little slower?

Nethy
Nethy

I can't have an aquarium myself in real life. This game gives you the feeling it would give you to be able to build one. Its still growing and the developers are showing they are putting time in updating the game regularly.

rapunzelwitch
rapunzelwitch

This game reminds me of the fish tank my Oma had when I was a child. I could spend hours just watching the fish swimming around, darting in and out of the decorations etc. I still find this relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable.
I love the graphics!! I see depth which makes this feel realistic like I'm right in the front of the tanks.
Recently had an issue with save games which the developer fixed promptly. Much appreciated.

GrizlyRedNeck
GrizlyRedNeck

for someone that loves aquariums and has quite a few of them this game is for sure the cheapest way to have and build more.

JustJoanneC
JustJoanneC

This game still has bugs but it has a lot of potential. The fish are pleasant and it is fun to do.

AustraCatnator
AustraCatnator

I got this game because i saw BestInSlot play it and I do quite enjoy it!

However the game isn't very realistic. For starters the game doesn't talk about cycling fish tanks like checking for nitrites, ammonia, making sure there's beneficial bacteria etc. It can take a long time for a fish tank to cycle especially salt water aquariums. If you put fish in before cycling they could die because you didn't wait long enough.

It doesn't talk about acclimating fish ether, if you put the fish in right away they could die from the shock of temperature change.

There’s also no doing water changes.

For taking dead fish out, you shouldn't flush them down the toilet as dead fish could have diseases or parasites that could effect the native species, ether put them in the bin or bury them.

And with putting water into tanks, you can use tap water but only if you use a dechlorinator because tap water can be deadly to fish because most drinking water contains chlorine, another option is a water tank which is just rain water. You also shouldn’t wash your filter in the sink because the beneficial bacteria from it will die from the chlorine and won’t be good for the fish, just use your fish tank water when doing a water change to get the muck off.
Although if you have a salt water tank and want to keep corals, you must use reverse osmosis freshwater because corals don't like the stuff that is found in tap water.

Lastly the scenario with your friend, she has goldfish and Angel fish in the same tank. Goldfish are cold water fish and Angel fish are tropical fish they should not be in a tank together.

I know this stuff because I've been keeping fish for a few years and I'm just getting into keeping a reef tank, I hope that these changes will be implemented so that people who play this game and have never owned a fish tank won't make any of these mistakes like I and many other fish keepers have.

Doc Gonzo
Doc Gonzo

when you realize the house you grew up in was the house party house... if you know you know

Trixie
Trixie

This game is so much fun! If you like Dinosaur Fossil Hunter, you'll like this. It's different of course, but you get the same relaxed satisfaction and smiles when tasks are completed.

Dheamm
Dheamm

I've had fish as a pet before, back when I was young and I gotta say that I do not remember having to clean algea from the tank every single day, it was more like.. I wanna say once in a month thing? The amount of hungry these fish gets also seems blown out of proportion, did you know you can overfeed your fish to the point of death? You can, and I'm pretty sure I did that in the game too. The overfeeding part, they didn't die of it. I wouldn't call it a complaint exactly, but honestly, to me it felt more like I was stressing out about starving fish and dirty tanks, than I did actually building them. Every time I'd get around to make a new one, hungry dirty fish, and once I was done "maintaining", I kinda didn't care about the new tank I was building and just wanted to get it over with.

It's the one thing I honestly don't understand about this genre, cause this game is not the only one guilty of it (houseflipper pets and their hairballs come to mind), and hear me out for just a second 'cause I'm not saying "don't have it in the game at all", I'm saying I personally would prefer it if the "maintaining" part was a lot less, existing, but less, 'cause all I really wanna do is build some cool stuff, make a theme out of each tank, really throw care into detail about it. And then whem I'm done with all the tanks, then I wanna take them apart and do it all over again, but even better. I can't focus on doing that if I'm speedrunning from tank to tank to feed, or dragging tank after tank over to a different table just to clean it. Also, who does that by the way? I have seen stores clean their tanks, and they do that where the tanks stand, they don't drag them half across the building for a cleaning.

So I stopped caring about cleaning tanks every time they were dirty and if they died of hunger (seahorses the biggest offender there, but I heard they are actually hard to keep alive in captivity, tho I don't think it's because they don't get fed.) then I just replaced them. Which made me feel bad, yeah, but it allowed me to focus on the new tank. A solution to this could possibly be adding an automatic feeder/cleaner of a sort? Does this exist?

Another mechanic I could have done without is the throwing things out part. I got a brain thing, won't go into detail about it, but in short, I can't judge distance very well, and the act of picking up a box to drag it over the the bin that's placed in corner the furthest away and then having to aim that box at the bin and throw in there is just.. Same thing with feeding the shark btw. don't get me wrong, I wanna feed him, but I somehow get stuck on the stairs up constantly, then I drop the steak and it becomes a whole thing and in the end I resorted to simply stuff other fish in the tank for him to eat, I stopped caring. Same with the boxes, they're still scattered here and there or thrown into places visitors don't go. I much prefer, again using houseflipper, the click on a box and it goes poof. It's a me problem, I'm aware, but I don't believe in sugarcoating reviews, I will air my thoughts and it's a fact that I'm not the only one with that me-problem.

Besides those two annoyances, I love everything else, and it was so fun to discover there was even a little story and I do think it's worth the money. I got 11 hours straight out of it, and yeah, I'm rather exhausted now, but I just couldn't put it down. So really, this is not a rant or a negative review at all, I'm actually kinda shocked about just how pleasently this game surprised me. I didn't go in expecting to be given much, and I feel like I got a lot more than my boney arms can carry. I hope there'll be more eventually to this game, more levels, more jobs from people who want you to build them crazy things, like.. I don't know, a huge tank that's also a bed, or something. And more huge fish, that'd be awesome.

Honestly, I had no idea anything could ever make me feel so hyped about fish. That they don't spit out a hairball every 5 minutes is also a huge a plus.

Kingdoo10
Kingdoo10

I want to recommend the game but the mechanics drive me up the wall and I've never had that with a game before. Contents wise though it is really good for a early access game and I think the cost of £8 is worth it.

Danikabug
Danikabug

It seems like a great start to a cool game but definitely needs some work. I think some more details when buying fish would be great as you don't know their plant, decoration, and fish needs until after they are purchased and put in the tank, which makes it incredibly difficult to plan a thriving aquarium and leads to a lot of issues that can be difficult to fix. It would also be helpful to have a way to quickly switch between fish as having to click on them can be difficult and nearly impossible in a big tank with tiny fish. Overall, I'm excited to see what y'all come up with!

Shi Carter
Shi Carter

I am hooked literally like a fish on a line...
If you have ever wanted a fish tank and why not an oceanarium this quaint chill game is for you. Music is chillaxing and the mechanics of the tasks are simple enough to grasp real easy especially for the 7 to 10 year olds.
Downside is that the inworld clock runs to fast you never seem to have enough time to get everything done. If they slowed down the clock and upsized the feed quanity you can buy for your fish because its annoyinggggggggggggg having to buy food every 5 mins then trying to be ready for your basement or exhibition or even oceanarium daily opening you would have a perfect laid back relaxing time but as it is you feel stressed even though you have the option to skip the day....
But overall, its a cool game for the price, and I love having my fishesssssss and decorating appeals to my inner decorator lol...

Anonymous
Anonymous

It is fun to play but when you have finished everithing, there is nothing much more to do so you quit after like a day or two.

fringedone116
fringedone116

The game is wonderful! i do have one Big issue. (so far) I've had to force close the game after each mission... first level i couldn't finish 'dads tank', it wouldn't work right. so i had to close and go back in, and it was fine. same for finishing the second mission. i couldn't click the 'close' button, it just stays in FP moving the camera. that is game breaking for some. but i'm still playing it because it is a nice game with good graphics for a $15 game. its worth dealing with some of the bugs. I hope DEV will update it and fix the bugs soon!

CherryHoneyPie Wildfire
CherryHoneyPie…

Great game, wish we could save...or be told its saving every so often.....I lost SOOO much money and progress not knowing it wasn't saving automatically

MissLeviOsa8632
MissLeviOsa8632

Very relaxing to play, you can lose track of time and lose yourself in the game :)

Ray Gapist
Ray Gapist

very good game, interesting to play however there is not yet enough content in the game... i finished and unlocked everything within a day of playing... but with how active devs are i am sure there is going to be plenty more added to the game. Defiantly recommend to someone wanting to try something new

Kiddo-AntiVR
Kiddo-AntiVR

Interesting game, some research into what actually kills your fish could do some good though. Algae alone won't kill your fish and it doesn't mean you have a dirty tank, it just isn't visually pleasing. But Algae unless it's blue algae won't kill your fish, algae just means you need to check your nitrates and PH levels. the Nitrates and PH levels are what kills your fish, that or over feeding them which will cause the take to get dirty and the levels go way out of balance. or Over stocking the tank can also kill some fish, not all, some fish like tetra and barbs like to swim in schools, same with cory doras which are bottom feeders and are a good way of keeping your tank naturally clean, as well as nitrate snails and some shrimp.

ItsSophie
ItsSophie

Very relaxing, chill game. i haven't finished the game just yet but am really enjoying it and its more fun then you think. i think it would be nice to unlock more underwater creatures like crabs, stingrays etc in the final area but overall its a really good game.

ButterScotchNancy
ButterScotchNancy

This game is so much fun. I had an issue with my saved game disappearing and setting me back to the beginning and the developer took care of it and now I have my saved game back. Its so awesome that he took it into his hands to fix this issue. I wasn't the only one having this issue and he took care of each persons issue individually. Amazing!
I only have two complaints. There isn't a sale tool and sometimes after I placed an item I can't get rid of it. The other thing is you have to buy wall material one at a time and I never know how many to purchase. There isn't a way to know how much of the wall will be covered by one panel of wall material. It would be cool if there was like a bundle you could get or something. And pretty much the same thing for the floor material. One other thing is you can't put something back in its original place if you accidentally clicked on it while decorating your aquarium.

pamalahunt
pamalahunt

I really want to like this game. It has great potential! But...it continually crashes. After the last crash, I lost my entire game and now have to start at the beginning again (for the 3rd time). My computer exceeds the requirements, so it's not my computer. I understand it is in early access, but I should at least be able to play it if I paid money for it.

sirhedgenald
sirhedgenald

I love this game and recommend it to all people who love aqua-scaping!!!! I've always wanted to go into the hobby of aquariums but cant for multiple reasons and im very excited to see more additions to the game !! holding out for crabs and shrimp! I love crustaceans and I would explode if they were added! :D

here are some minor issues I had though:

The repetitive motion of having to hold down the mouse in order to pick up trash gets very tiring quickly especially when it occasionally wont fully work with the trashcan.

You cant stick decor into the ground in the large oceanarium tank

and some stuff id love to see added and would make the game much more lovely than it already is:

More tank sizes

More freshwater fish

Crustaceans!!! :D :D :D

jellyfish :0

oh my god sea turtles!!!!!!!!

This is my absolute favorite game now though and I'm super excited to see how the game progresses!

Sofa
Sofa

Very satisfying, the game is similar to how real aquariums function. It gives me inspiration for my own aquarium!

Snail Rancher
Snail Rancher

Needs a LOT of work. It is almost impossible to place items where you want them, you are constantly fighting with the interface, and it is generally janky. Hopefully it will be better in the future, but right now, if you want to make a nice looking aquarium, this game is not yet fit for purpose unless being frustrated and angry is the goal.

sabbymrowr
sabbymrowr

I played it for over 2h today and had at lot of fun. The price is real cheap but the graphics are good so far and for oldschool Fish Tycoon gamers like me it's a pleasure to see a studio pick up the idea of making your business as aquarist and so on :) It's an early access game and it still has potential to get better (like how to place items etc.) but it's lovely and worth your money and support!

If you like simulations and are into stuff like house flipper it's worth a shot.

Thanks to the developer team! Keep up your good work, I'll be watching your progress and send some annoying bug reports if I find any :D

If you guys give it a try and like it then please help the devs by leaving a positive comment down here. ♥

EDIT: This game keeps getting better and better :) The dev team is really after fixing bugs and updating new content for free. They also got the problem fixed with positioning the aquarium decoration - it's much easier now! Thanks alot! ♥

The Perfect Zoot
The Perfect Zoot

Unfortunately too many bugs at the moment to enjoy this game. Placing objects in the tank is difficult as well. The game has a lot of potential in future updates but it seems unfinished

SpreadEagleFugitive
SpreadEagleFugitive

Relaxing, good music, game play is good, especially for early access. The only complaint I have, is that noise when you scoop a dead fish out of the water with the net, for whatever reason it sounds like someone slurping a bucket of water in the loudest, grossest way. lol

Ianfurno
Ianfurno

So 3 hour update:

Career mode feels like a ever going Tutorial, the game is BOOOOOORING outside of career mode..

Game is ANNOYING once you open the store part in the basement. I thought youd have to setup a tank, make fish and plants happy, then sell fish OR whole tanks.. but its actually, Setup a tank, fish are happy, then customers buy EVERYTHING BUT FISH from the tanks. Tanks will also get dirty EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. a customer walks in.

Thus creating a never ending cycle of cleaning the glass and replacing decorations and plants, before the next customer wave... If youve played Gas Station Sim, you already know the routine. grind until you dont wanna play anymore lol

Professional_The
Professional_The

Loving the story and progression! For 9 dollars? Please... just try it. Or don't. Your loss. But if you can afford 9 bucks... get it and give it a shot. You won't be disappointed. I've seen 40 dollar games with less content and fun.

[OGLG] Cain
[OGLG] Cain

Overall, one of the best aquarium sim games I've played. Really excited with how much is included and how well things play for being extreme early access. Note: items are unlocked as you play, so don't be discouraged by "how little" is available in tutorial/early game play. Looking forward to continuing to play what is available, as well as to what the devs have planned for the future!

Cons:
-Controls feel a little clunky and snappy sometimes, I randomly snap up at the ceiling sometimes
-Rotating decoration items is a bit of a nightmare, I feel some level of an xyz axis would make life a bit easier, because I find myself fumbling with the mouse awkwardly to try and get things rotated the way I want them
-decorations push each other out of the way instead of clipping though each other (plants clip through decorations so I personally feel decorations should clip through each other) so when you fiiiinally get that darn rock in the right position, if you drop it slightly wrong, it can potentially ruin the rest of the layout by knocking already placed things out of position. Maybe have a toggle to make clipping/vs non clipping decor an option? Or dynamic vs static? Or locking already placed items into position? Idk, just feels a bit clunky and frustrating as is

Pros:
-Very immersive. I've already got 8 hours in, and lost track of time very easily!
-Lots of options for being early access for both fresh and saltwater aquariums
-Pretty graphics and relaxing music
-Good educational info on fish/plant/coral species!

Things I would like to see in the future:
-More feeeeeesh (and plants and corals) and potentially invertebrates (snails, shrimp, crabs, etc) included in the future.
- I'm very glad that there are so many options for freshwater so early on, but I fear that freshwater will get neglected a bit in favor of saltwater, as saltwater is conventionally more "exciting" to non hobbyists, however, personally, I adore freshwater and hope that all the more unique freshwater species are not neglected
-I would like to see some mention of the nitrogen cycle and the process of cycling a tank. While I totally get that it wouldn't make much sense to make game players go through the process of tank cycling, it's really not as simple as "add equipment, add water, add fish, and everything will be fine" so some incorporation or mention of the nitrogen cycle would be more realistic. As someone who works in the aquatics industry, I'm tired of having to educate people on the basic biology of an aquarium, and seeing it included in a game would be very exciting for me. Also water changes, JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A FILTER, DOES NOT MEAN YOU NEVER HAVE TO CLEAN THE TANK, though the needing to scrub algae part is good in that it shows some level of tank maintenance, water changes are the most important part of tank maintenance so some inclusion or mention of that would be awesome.
-Some level of consideration that, even if they live in the same conditions, some things aren't going to play nice together. Currently the only example of this in the game is if you put saltwater fish in a freshwater tank, or vice versa, they die, which is a no brainer, and temperature considerations, but even though oscars and angelfish have similar temperature ranges, they likely would not cohabitate very nicely.
-More substrate options (there may currently be more that I haven't unlocked yet, but we shall see), and potentially instead of the substrate being just texture, have it be sculpt-able.

Mustang0684
Mustang0684

This game has a lot of potential and it is relaxing to play; however, the controls are a bit clunky when placing objects in the aquarium. The mouse only seems to rotate the objects on a horizontal plane and not a vertical plane. If you want a vertical decoration hope it comes that way when you pick it up. Hopefully that will be fixed soon as I'd really like to see this game succeed.

Edit: What I thought was a bug is actually a job. It needs to be better documented so the user can determine it's a job and not a bug.

Great game!

minefriek
minefriek

the interface needs a lot of work and plain quality of life improvements. Not being able to use a scroll wheel to go through my inventory was pure pain!

A button to re-buy all the decorations and plants that customers bought from your fish tanks would be super handy. Gets annoying going back and forth already cleaning and feeding the fish. Plus in the end it disincentivised me from really caring about what the tank looked like aesthetically and cared more for if the game thought it was good. Its already annoying enough getting rocks, corals, etc to sit where I want them to without rolling all over the tank.

I still will recommend it but. Early access and these things can be improved over time.

Ratatouille
Ratatouille

Nice and funny game , I think they will fix things like "its really hard put objects to the aquarium (rocks, woods) . İts price is okay , i recommend it who love fishes.

NielsPiekst
NielsPiekst

FINALLY!!! As a lifelong aquarist and gamer, this was made for me. I love the fact that all the little chores are there and the whole process isn't simplified. keep it up dev, looking forward to see this develop!

CountVonCarstein
CountVonCarstein

Great little game, even in early access. It teaches you how to become an aquarist. Much cheaper to do it this way than in real life especially with the cost of energy now! Plenty to do and everything is included in setting up new aquariums or renewing old ones that have gone wrong. Covers both freshwater and sea aquariums which is cool. Also the freshwater are either coldwater or tropical. Lots of beautiful corals and plants too, and you can learn about every species. Each time you complete tasks and level up new features are unlocked. The graphics are so beautiful I found myself zooming in and taking screenshots. I look forward to going on this journey with the devs as they build up the game.
Ignore the people who say placement of objects is difficult - it isn't, a 4 year old could manage it. If I could cope anybody can!

kungfuglut
kungfuglut

Great fun! I see couple details which might smooth out the gameplay, but for an early access it's well developed. Never thought of being an aquarist :P ,but in fact it is addictive and lets you peace out your mind.
I like the calm jazz soundtrack and the products descriptions :D

CHEe
CHEe

inspired me to buy a fish. hes actually doing well thank you.

HaMcHEeSuS
HaMcHEeSuS

Very good game but it will more fun if you are fish lover!!!

L.Buckingham
L.Buckingham

Please tell me that your making more for this game as it is a really fun game to play but after 12 hours of playing it I have completed it.

cazzabuck
cazzabuck

very addictive game and loved playing it but would love more levels and quests

mira_kiers
mira_kiers

It is an excellent game to relax. There is a lot of things to do, and the higher level you become the more items you get. I really enjoy the game!

Argo The Rat
Argo The Rat

Fun Little Game, Makes you want to go buy a fish tank! (MY FRIEND ACTUALLY DID!)

couple of things are annoying ASF tho

1. painting walls is really tedious, it needs to just be "click and bam wall painted"

2. when u get the second place unlocked the exhibition people leave rubbish there. and YOU have to clean it up and spend ages walking to and from bin without a sprint button really annoying.

3. time goes really fast, u only get like 8 actual minutes before you have to open shops (8 in game hours(6am - 2pm) @ 1 minute per second) BUT you have to....restock shelves,feed fish, clean tanks, add more decoration/plants/fish/lights....you have lots of fish tanks btw lolz

then if you have the second place u gotta go there and pickup rubbish clean tanks and feed fish ALL IN 8 MINUTES! its friggin impossible to get everything done so you play catchup the next day, but wait everything else needs redoing again.

fun game but really should be called catchup game cause u constantly outta time.

if developers read this

in my opinion the game needs....

1.adjustable time system (a way to slow or speed up time)

2. painting needs to be really quick

3. need to do something about rubbish (an option to turn down rubbish on/off or hire a cleaner idk do something plz!!!! (and currently bin is sketchy sometimes rubbsh falls underneath and you cant get it)

4. more colour types for fish, like goldfish dont only come in gold/orange they can be black as well.

KawaiiAutumnNyan
KawaiiAutumnNyan

So far, it's somewhat janky and pretty buggy, but I've had fun nonetheless! None of the bugs or jankiness ruins the experience for me, and hey it's to be expected for an early access game. Not spectacular so far, but has a lot of potential, so I'd say if you like fish and simulator games and have the money to spare, might as well give it a try and hey it'll turn out better later if you don't like it now!

zzucchinii
zzucchinii

very simple for my caveman brain 10/10

Eevilflamee
Eevilflamee

for me this game is very buggy and crashes a lot i requested a refund

some things like washing aquarium filter under tap water is silly

to net dead fish you must grind 1 by one just small things i hated about this game after 2 or 3 career missions.

seems like a chore to do things, also the missions are bugged like crazy

halfbaked2001
halfbaked2001

For 10 or under I'll recommend for anything higher then 10 nope needs a ton of work before worth more then 10 bucks.

Elkhoundsy
Elkhoundsy

I hate that there's no option between yes and no for a recommendation. The game has some very fun and enjoyable ideas at work, and I fully understand the Early Access tag, but it is simply not playable at this point in development. I had some minor bugs for the first couple of missions in the story mode, but they were easily remedied with reloads or some messing around However, after the point where you set up your first real shop, my entire hour-long save was ruined by a game-breaking bug. Schrödinger's Fishtank struck hard, and I couldn't make any progress because a tank was glued to the workstation and it required me to put another one there to continue. I tried a couple reloads and it actually just made the problem worse, and I'm not about to sit through another hour of replaying the tutorial just to get back there and walk on eggshells avoiding bugs.

I'll probably give it another shot and change my review if these issues get sorted out. So if you're reading this in the future and I sound like a crackpot, take it with a grain of sea salt.

EpsteinDidn'tKillHimself
EpsteinDidn'tK…

This game has potential, and is still in early access. So please take this with a grain of salt. I still have high hopes for this one, but it seems as if its missing something. The game is very vague about everything. This is partially a good thing, only because- if you knew everything off the bat then the game would only take you an hour or two to complete. Even after finishing the game, i felt like I had only just completed the tutorial. It's very anticlimactic. I hope devs decide to add in genetics and color rarities for the fish! Besides that, the rotation and movement of items is literal hell. As it stands now, I wouldn't recommend it.

JarlVonEinsamkeit: ' (
JarlVonEinsamk…

Frustrating, clunky game. One I'd show to people when they ask about unity made games.

It is really hard to place things to your liking to to the weird placement system, as well as the physics that just shift everything around once you are satisfied.
Corals, wooden sticks, rocks etc. can't be placed upright, will topple over except if you balance it perfectly. Even then it will just fall due to the physics. The plants are made well and will just fall straight down.
Things like filters, heaters etc. are kind of hard to place as well.
Considering that there is a "realism mode", I'm missing a lot of things - live rock, chem. tank balance, tempers of different fish breeds are the most glaring obvious to me.

Some minor problems are things like overly loud sounds (especially the bucket), tedious mechanics (removing each fish one by one) and the music. Holy shit the music. I love me some jazz but damn, those looping, royalty-free-esque smoothjazz tracks don't make me want to decorate a fish tank. They make me want to cut my ears off.
There also seem to be some lighting issues in tank viewing mode? I've tried to take an underwater shot of my fishes but had weird light reflections that shouldn't have been there.

All in all maybe a 4/10. Considering it's an early access release, I'd wait until it's officially released before trying it out again. I've returned the game and hope to support it once it's more fun and less clunky.

Doctor Spooky
Doctor Spooky

Ten hours in or so, really enjoying the game. Definitely needs work, feels very Early Access, but 100% worth the 10$. Interface is a bit wonky, it's hard to select fish in the aquariums without grabbing scenery or plants instead, really needs like a list of what fish are in the tank. Also the system to get rid of trash is tedious. Outside of that, I fully recommend.

Gnat Sausage
Gnat Sausage

Absolutely unplayable. I'm willing to look past the obvious issues with the gameplay, but after you click one of the in game pop ups you're unable to move your character because the game gets stuck in the moving your mouse mode instead of the fps mode. So hopefully you saved right before then or your progress is lost. Same issue two nights in a row. I had no issues in the demo, so I'm thinking they put all the effort in to that "first job" to make us think the game was good. I really want to like this game, but i can't keep wasting my nights.

Maple!
Maple!

I know this is early access version. But placing item in this game is just like my english grammar, both poor! I have to try so hard to place items where I want them, especially placing something on the wall, like lights, thermometer. No way you can place them where you want at one time.
Outside this problem, I believe this game has potential. Hope you can solve this problem at finial version (and add more fish!)

Anonymous
Anonymous

So, first impressions, I don't like it, reason is, I used to work in an Aquarium shop, and we used to deliver tank's, 6' x 2' x 2' and smaller (occasionally bigger but not much). They are REALLY heavy empty, so absolutely impossible to move when you have water in. Therefore the first scene, where your dad walks in with a 150l fish tank full of water, and just puts it down with a "dunk" on the table, plausible if he was superman, but 1L of water is 1Kg plus the tank thats going to weigh 175Kg, so simulation it's not, and the main excitement of having a new tank is filling it up, let alone you never put the water in first. I'm sorry to say it is a poor representation of looking after a fish tank. Fish choice to is terrible, you can't put any angelfish in a 150L tank it's too small. You need to do some serious research about the subject before calling anything a simulation.

StachedMtr
StachedMtr

its a really nice relaxing game. there are a few visual bugs, but nothing game breaking. all together a nice little relaxing game.

LazarusVonDracula
LazarusVonDracula

This Game for Early Access is great would love to see more types of fish and more setups and would love for them to put the auto feeder in the game and some algae Eaters too so tanks do get hit by algae also would love to see fish diseases like fin rot/wight spot and others also would love to have some sump and external filters but I Love the game but would love to see more overall content but the story mode is fantastic and so is the gameplay well-done guys

Mr.Pickles
Mr.Pickles

you can get lost in it real quick, it has it's marks though. Who doesn't want to have a shark of your own on a game? this game is fun and with time can have that want to come back to play value. you start cleaning and earning money., then want to figure out how to make more. The lighting for the tanks looks geat...at times, some lighting can be worked on, but when the lighting hits right, it looks great for software being used. but where the game falls short is the content and bugs. the grind given for the 3 levels is fair to a point, but more areas are needed. also if you accidently start a job and forget, then buy an object hat goes on the work bench,the purchased item is glitched.

samb1992
samb1992

Really good game and easy. Wish there was a way to let you know what fish are in the tank and how many so makes it easier when it over full. And be able to have bigger decorations for the huge tank at the end. More jobs would be awesome where you go out and not just clean glass. But other than that awesome game my son loves the fish and sharks.

Sherwin86
Sherwin86

It will be great to had controller support, do add in animal like turtle

GUMMYBEAR69
GUMMYBEAR69

Like the game,will like to see how far this game can grow

Kishin
Kishin

Not satisfied but promising.
I just hope the friendiness of the user-interface will keep on being inproved. including save point, view points close and far. up and down. and the ways fish react to what we do.

GANDROS
GANDROS

Would really like a break down of items that were sold.
Fish
Plants etc

A description of what is needed to reach the next level.

Klassiefeit
Klassiefeit

The building of fishtanks is to limited.Its more like trow in some stuff and see how it ends up.
In other words u cannot place items where and how u want them.
So it gets boring in a few hours.
More like a free kids game.

ianscott1957
ianscott1957

After just over 3 hours game play I decided I did not like repetative nature of the game play. I also found the gameplay wrong. The fish dynamics was wrong, certain fish do not mix.
I tried to get a refund but was refused on amount of time I played. This will make me make better choices, also if I want to give steam any more of my hard earned cash.
P.S.
Since a refund was not an option, I carried on playing. Got enough money for the exhibition. But Why oh why all the trash, it absolutly sucks.

David187687
David187687

I would very much recommend this game to others. You can tell it is definitely Early Access due to the lack of content, however, this game has some very good dynamics and I recommend it to anyone for getting it now before they start adding more

Hauptmann_Anton
Hauptmann_Anton

This game is well worth the money spent on it. It's very relaxing and something that you can do to keep yourself busy. I 100% recommend this for people that like to create and decorate.

WholeLoadofCountry
WholeLoadofCountry

It'd be a nice game if the creator didn't add stupid mechanics like ghosts leaving trash when there's no visitors -_-. Also, on the topic of the trash, why can't we just press a key to get rid of it? Why should I have to waste 4 in game hours picking up all the hidden trash around the place when I'm trying to build aquariums? And when I spend 4 hours doing that, I then barely have any time to get a good-looking aquarium before 2:00pm hits because of the stupid mechanics that come with building the aquariums and placing decorations and plants. Needs a lot of work. I understand it's early access, but this is like, cyberpunk 2077 early. Not enough thought put into it.

Kermit THE DOG
Kermit THE DOG

Sooo this is going to be a long one.

I'm a huge saltwater fish hobbiest and I have a bone to pick. Why make the corals look like corals and not make them real corals! I really hope the devs add or change it so corals are in the plants section cause they're a lot harder to care for than your normal freshwater plant. Seeing a clownfish hosting a anemone would be a dream come true in this game.

Secondly, Fish getting sick and having to treat the tank for what the fish has would be an amazing and challenging task. Fish being sick would also be a good eye opener for what keeping fish is really like. Being able to controll the PH and watch Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia. Over all keeping saltwater fish isn't as easy as putting water in the tank and boom system.

Last thing Clownfish hate do not prefer large groups!!!! they're always trying to be the top and the strongest having like 6 in one tank they would kill one another in days!

Overall needs a lot and I mean a lot of work before i'd call this a "True Life Sim"

chicken boi
chicken boi

i need to ask something aquarist can you add more types of sharks i really wanna see tiger sharks and others

HonorInThievery
HonorInThievery

The game is wonderful! It's new and has some bugs to be worked out, but it does wonders to express your creativity all the while keeping a business and working hard to earn money to expand what you sell.

MrBook
MrBook

Good idea but the mechanics of it are way to janky. The tutorial could be way better. The good thing is that it doesn't really cost a lot of money. I really think this needs much more work.

Leo
Leo

This game is a great way to relax and spend time doing what you like, if you like building aquariums that is! I will say though, the controls need a little more work. Not in the characters movement but they way you interact with the aquarium itself, moving plants and trying to click on fish as they pass my plants and rocks can be a hassle. Overall though its a fun and enjoyable game if you have a love for the fish keeping hobby.

refugee620
refugee620

Kind of fun at first but after a few day's of playing it's done. The lack of thing's to do and very limited number of fish, plant's and so on make the game not worth it. THEY had something good but then dropped the ball.

jlightcap89
jlightcap89

i love the game! but it would be nice if there were crabs, sting rays, sea turtles and horse shoe crabs.

ullrthehunter1989
ullrthehunter1989

Horrible game. i couldn't even clean the corners of the tank in the tutorial. No matter what I did it would just send me to the middle of the tank, and I could not move to the corners, and thus could not finish the tutorial, and there was no info anywhere on how to complete this. Near immediate refund. Needs to be fleshed out. If this one simple thing was that awful to play around with, I can't be bothered to see what other annoyances there are.

seliphra
seliphra

This game is still in its early phases, and there are still some kinks to work out, but it shows a great deal of promise! I absolutely love this game so far, I just hope they add more content/make it easier to see where your level is at (There's currently absolutely no way to know how much experience you have) and I hope they add more critters and creatures and possibly space in each area too

✪ÇörBεñ✪
✪ÇörBεñ✪

Good relaxing game and they add a lot of items in the last update.

plantaholic
plantaholic

i love the concept but the game doesnt work?
i tried the tutorial, as soon as i press tab im trapped. theres nothing available in the shop to buy which means i cant move on to the next stage of the tutorial.
i see that there are discussions about the same issue and the solutions provided was not exactly convenient...and its obviously been a while since someone first posted about it and its still happening.
not gonna like im quite disappointed.

xpotatoxdgk
xpotatoxdgk

i love building fish tanks i have two custom built fish tanks and love using this game for ideas on my next one

FennecTheFox
FennecTheFox

If we look away from the amount of bugs and glitches there is, the game is practically awesome, its calm, nice and fun to sit there and grow a fish business. Personally, i rarely get stuck with this game but for 8€ (bought it on sale for 6€), i can say it is worth to spend that!

GracefulShark
GracefulShark

first of all, why is my house the haunted "lightblue" house.. gave me PTSD.. second of all (this is gonna be a long one but) although I loved the game for the most and played it for 19 hours in one day.. I'm quite disappointed.. got to the oceanarium and its like "boom! you get a great white! boom! you win, game over!".. great whites cant even survive in aquariums.. also we went from all the small fish like clownfish, triggerfish, pufferfish to great white shark.. I'd love to NOT have a great white in the game and instead add "bamboo sharks, sand tiger sharks, zebra sharks, blacktip sharks" and if we get a reeeaaallly big aquarium, maybe a whale shark even.. also larger fish please? groupers, wrasse, parrot fish, sunfish, stingrays.. also i wish there were live starfish, jellyfish, sea cucumbers, sea urchins.. and there should be a category for the invertebrates which should also include the corals.. I legit thought the corals were fake until i tested out breeding them in the exhibition.. I can go on forever on how much better this could be but seeing as its still in early access, I hope ya'll read this and at least change some things to make it better. I finished the game in 19 hours.. I thought I found "my game" something i can enjoy and lose myself in.. started off well, I really enjoyed the basement store and exhibition part.. could be cool if we expanded that a little here n there.. I have high hopes.. this game has potential.. for now I give it 4 our of 10.. can't wait to see how ya'll progress

BloodSoulz89
BloodSoulz89

its a fun game i just wish there was different jobs instaid of cleaning a tank that would really improve the game ratings cleaning the tank as a job is fun but when you do it constantly it gets really boring and for what just 100 dollar pay out again big fan of the game really fun but at some more jobs please PS. DEFIANTLY RECOMMEND THE GAME

bruce wayne
bruce wayne

very fun game a little short but in the future the game is going to be amazing. i think there just needs to be more to unlock and more tanks in the final place

FarmerLee73
FarmerLee73

Over the last couple of weeks I have had this urge to get back into aquatics and buy a tank so when I saw this it was a no brainer! I think this game may just have saved me a lot of money as it has (for now) satisfied my desire to buy a tank.

Game is very relaxing, to start with I was really wished there was a way to fast forward time, now I am further into the game I really wish there was a way to slow down time! This game really keeps you busy! Graphics are ok as is the sound, it wont blow your mind but for the price I am not going to complain at all!

I would really like to see some more species of fish, can't believe you guys have not put some neon's or koi Carp in the game. While I am on the subject of species....Roach!!?? When I saw you have added Roach and Rudd into the game I was half expecting you to add a fishing rod! While I do like the species from when I used to go fishing, I would hardly call them a fish keepers fish. I wonder if we will see Tench next!

All in all a very good game if your into fish keeping or even if your thinking about getting into the hobby this would be a good way to learn the hobby as it is not cheap!!

Oliver L Helder
Oliver L Helder

this game was so amazing i wish there was more to it i enjoyed it so much

NeonFiber
NeonFiber

really good game and relaxing only down side is the sound when netting he dead fish and having to press w to keep walking

Jugram Haschwalth
Jugram Haschwalth

As someone who has raised a lot of fish, I wanted to give this game a chance because I didn't have a chance to grow fish at this time in my life. The game is good, but it needs to be improved a lot. It's a little disappointing now. The variety in the game is a bit low and the realism is very low. Low realism does not bother you if you are not a fanatical fish breeder. That's why I couldn't keep playing. I'll wait for the game to improve. And I have a selfish request from the producer, would you please add Betta fish to the game? UwU

jaybeedancer
jaybeedancer

fun, relaxing and very enjoyable!

BongBabyy
BongBabyy

If you're into simulator games and you like fish this is perfect for you! Seriously though you can get lost into this game for hours and still feel like there is stuff to do! 10/10

RottenQueen
RottenQueen

I'm posting this review after officially completing the game. There are a few small things I personally would like to see fixed or tweaked with as far as interaction with tools/items goes...but overall a super fun game. I definitely would love to see more content/DLC's in the future as the game grows. For being such a newly released one, there is a lot to enjoy.
The challenge to raise money while running around maintaining all your fish was a bit hectic at times. The time in game goes pretty quickly (maybe something else I'd suggest is slowing it just a tad bit). There is a bit of a puzzle involved in figuring out a good mix of plants and fish that agree on temperatures.
I'll be watching in the future for more things to this game!
(I think it would be great to see some more options for quick jobs, but also jobs that require building tanks for customers with their own requirements and also rescuing fish.)

Snitzlesberger
Snitzlesberger

It's good, I'm liking it. A few bugs to be ironed out etc.

I would like to see perhaps some more marine life like maybe a sea turtle, coral snakes, a moray eel, some more sharks - hammerheads, bull sharks etc.

Also would like to see the fish making more use of the main oceanarium. They seem to mostly occupy the left hand side. Why do the fish never swim to the sea beds, or underneath the walkways of the oceanarium? Something I feel would be more plausible and authentic.

A little interaction with the fish - tapping the tanks maybe?

XTS
XTS

Yes I recommend this game, albeit with some hesitation.

At this point there are bugs. I ran into a few (one literally that I couldn't see) so back it up ☺ ☻
Back up your game files before updates and/or once you are at a point you'd hate to lose your progress. There are 3 save slots ^.^ That's very helpful for multiple saves.

I once hit "continue" and when my game loaded I had $0 dollars and $0 cents O.o

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2817489448
To fix it, I loaded a save manually.

(Some Mild Spoilers)

I also had to repeat one challenge but maybe that was fixed with their most recent hotfix? They just did a hotfix the other day. That shows some promise/love for their project. I am at the 3rd location.
There are 3 locations that I've seen, including the beginning (Basement). I'm struggling a bit with keeping up. You can't seem to do like you can in Cooking Simulator and at the end of the day the clock stop. Instead, you'll be racing against the clock to make sure you're still making money & keeping your tanks cleaned and aquatic lives fed. It isn't exactly as casual as I'd like it to be. It is linear as well.

Saltwater Tank
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2817490577

In creative/sandbox/free mode, you get one boring room with one stand. There's no way that I can see to enjoy that part of the game. I like the story mode best but it's kind of demanding on time. I'm afraid to get up w/o pausing (which I'm so glad escape pauses bc I'd be schooled if it didn't).

Working on your tank (Good to get closest to area you are working on. Sorry about my wording)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2817483138

To do a better job with decorating, I recommend you click the tank (which once per visit, per tank, earns about $150 if you hit f12 while in edit mode by clicking the tank) and move inwards and navigate that way. You can submerge objects into the sand and you can bind them to the back part of the tank (To get rid of them you'll have to sell because you can't move them once they are "inserted" into something). You'll likely need too drop in food for herbivores and carnivores to keep your fish happy (right click the fish and it should show which you need, but I've noticed sometimes the herbivore plant image is sometimes not there and just shows environment requirement) and I have no idea if the coral food works but I saw a comment by a developer in discussions asking someone else about it). I can't tell yet if the coral food is doing anything because the coral don't seem to have needs.

I do know that the possibilities grow as your business grows and you accomplish purchasing each new place, which seems to be 3 places. (no details so I hope it's not too spoiled for you)

You may walk into an invisible object, drag an object out of your tank on accident while trying to move the tank and you may load to a screen saying you have no money. I think having 3 saves near the same time period is a good idea in case one or two break down lol

(To see images as part of the review, click on the blue recommended bar at the top of this review) ^.^

thememeington
thememeington

THIS GAME IS SO GOOD!!!! i have been building my shop for hours and im so addicted this is so good. they put their whole aquarussy into this game

valerylark
valerylark

A friend asks for help with his aquarium. you come to him, his cat turns the aquarium over, all the fish are on the floor. you run to the first floor, fill the sink with water, and drag fish in a net downstairs to the sink. one by one! Your friend just stays and watches.
the sixth fish dies! nice gameplay. now you need to throw the died fish to the toilet.

Gazmanian Gaming
Gazmanian Gaming

for a cheap little game its not bad. there are things that bug me about it, like trying to drop items in and clicking the static so it stays still or when you are trying to check on the fish you end up grabbing a plant or object and mess up the look of the tank, but like i said its a cheap game that gave me something to play for a day

Abria
Abria

i love this game! it is so relaxing, i can spend hours just working on my fish tank and not notice how late it is getting. definitely a favorite game of mine, 10/10 would recommend. it does have a few bugs, but nothing to serious

jonx
jonx

So far I have loved the game but once I hit the piranha mission/job it just freezes and the woman runs idle animations infront of me. No idea how to get past this :( otherwise love it - would change my review if there was a fix

GÖÖÐ¥
GÖÖÐ¥

I do not like this game yet.
Aquarist has a TON of potential and is fun for what it currently is but lacks some depth. I understand how hard it is going to be to make a realistic shop game with realistic aquascape building.
if you put enough time into it some of the aquascapes can look pretty darn cool but at the end of the day to me its a mediocre tycoon game with some good enough tank customisation.
if thats what your looking for then go for it. ill be waiting for its updates fingers crossed! :)
Also i know it sounds weird but irl corral is hela expensive, in game way to cheap you should never be able to buy any corral for the same price as val.. just my pet peve

WordsAreHard
WordsAreHard

good game fairly realistic to the aquarium hobby

hello
hello

its good but its just lacking in some major aspects like the building/aquascaping and there should always be sandbox.

spinelkitsuni
spinelkitsuni

love the game but wish i could do something bout the basements roof it bugs me
still love it but feeding fish is easy to forget lol would love some prompts to remind me to feed the fish

Slinkinghalo936
Slinkinghalo936

So some people might find this game boring, but in reality its not

Squeek
Squeek

I really enjoyed this game! It gave me solid House Flipper vibes. You just craft aquariums to make your fish happy so they grow and breed, make money, better your shop, and purchase new properties. My only feedback for playing story mode, would be I wish the Customer Satisfaction was based also on how happy the fish are. Also maybe an employee to restock tanks in the store and feed your fish. End game, my sharks were sitting in a tank of gravel and rocks and they were soooo unhappy, but I still "won."
10/10 game

neilmaglipon
neilmaglipon

game doesnt make you have more aquariums on sandbox also no full sandbox mode fish still die add more saves too you cant progress everytime i load my game up i restart

Insomnia
Insomnia

The developer is very quick to respond and help with bug fixes. This is a great little game that's very relaxing and great for some down time, it's really enjoyable although it takes a little to get to the point where you get to just build aquariums and ignore the selling aspect.