Fishbowl Review: An Emotional Gameplay Experience

Author’s Note: A Game Key for Fishbowl was kindly provided by Popagenda

Fishbowl from imissmyfriends.studio is a beautiful and heartfelt coming of age story that takes place over a month. Players will be able to experience a variety of unpacking style puzzles which will allow you to rediscover childhood memories. Work from home, make video calls to those closest to you while taking care of day to day tasks, spending time on your own self care and figuring out life one day and one step at a time.

Players will take on the role of twenty one year old Alo. She has just accepted a brand new job in a brand new city. This is the first time living by herself since the passing of her grandma. Naturally, she is still learning and processing the events of her passing too. Each and every day Alo will have a number of choices to make which in time will lead her on a one of kind journey of self discovery.

This is a game that explores a number of themes, which include loneliness, grief, loss of a loved one and isolation. This is stated when you first start the game and lets you know to play with care as you move through the Fishbowl story with Alo. The team has provided a full breakdown of themes explored in the game in more detail here.

Fishbowl Key Features

Fishbowl is more than just a first impression. It’s an emotional and reminiscent journey through life, one that many will be able to relate to in one way or another. If you are curious to find out more about the game, here’s some of the game’s key features:

  • Video call a diverse cast of characters with branching conversations
  • Work from home with a fun, matching video editing game
  • Rediscover memories by solving unpacking puzzles
  • Do your best with home & self care or do as much as you like
  • Experience beautiful, hand-drawn pixel art and our cozy lofi soundtracks
  • Make decisions, uncover the past, figure out life one day at a time
  • In Fishbowl, *feel* all feelings as there are no *right* endings

via imissmyfriends.studio

If you want to experience what Fishbowl has to offer, you can also take a look at the game’s demo on Steam right now!

Fishbowl Steam Demo

Alternatively, you can take a look at the most recent Fishbowl below.

A Journey Unknown Awaits

Fishbowl is a game that has captured my attention from the moment I first saw it several months ago. Remaining curious, I couldn’t wait to explore the game in my own time and at my own speed. Based upon what I had learned about the game and studio behind Fishbowl prior to playing, I knew this would be a game I would relate to in a number of different ways.

My first steps in Fishbowl were not only meeting Alo but also an introduction to where she was in life. From there, more characters were introduced, such as Alo’s mum, a close friend and fellow new work colleagues. These came in the form of video calls. These continue throughout the game, and you see each of the characters in different lights, get to know them and have conversations with them. With the world and normality turned upside down and characters adjusting to a new normal on top of recent events, you really get a feel for the emotions each character is experiencing. I also liked how you can select from different conversational prompts in the calls, which can change the way the story plays out.

Of course, with Alo pursuing a career in media, the video editing mini game is good fun. Easy to understand and build up the combos. Learning how to play is easy and adds a nice little variety into the new day to day life. This also feeds into the various little smaller mini games I discovered while exploring Alo’s apartment. The way you can walk into another room, such as the kitchen, and quickly play a small game while making coffee or head into the bathroom and jump in the shower. It’s smaller features like this that make the overall experience much more fun and satisfying.

However, there’s so much more to Fishbowl than meets the eye.

What did catch me off guard was entering Alo’s almost dreamlike world/memories when she was asleep. Navigating those memories and emotions of fear and uncertainty while also exploring those happy memories and those which felt nostalgic. What I was not fully prepared for, despite the content warnings, was tearing up so early into the game. While the content warning had prepared me, I found myself relating to Alo and even could see elements of myself within her character.

Yet, it wasn’t just in these dreamlike memory moments. It was the unpacking of the parcels revealing important items from both an earlier time in Alo’s life and surprises like a box filled with home comforts. One item stands out in particular that plays a very important role within Fishbowl is a wind up fish toy. While I don’t want to spoil the storyline, the discovery of this childhood nostalgic toy had me thinking about my own similar experience recently.

No one really teaches you how to navigate the loss of a loved one or how we were supposed to navigate social distancing. How to treat yourself with love and respect when your world around you feels like it’s crumbling and every task feels impossible. How do you find yourself when you aren’t where home is, where it’s safe, and now you are trying to navigate a bigger unknown in life while everything in the world itself is chaos? Even how to reach out when things become too much without feeling judged. So many moments within Fishbowl had me thinking of so many different moments and how in real life, we don’t really get taught how to truly navigate so many different situations. We simply figure it out somehow along the way with the advice and suggestions from others.

Yet, through all this, I find myself relating to so much more of the game and probably on a deeper level than I first imagined. Fishbowl for me has been one emotional rollercoaster full of highs and lows but also that wholesome and heartwarming feeling. While themes explored within the game have been done so in a way that is mindful to players, on the other hand, it feels strange to look back on some of those themes that so many of us understand and relate to.

It truly is a game that is a unique experience, with a beautiful art style, a variety of fun game features and a lofi playlist that will help you feel relaxed and content as you play through Alo’s story. The imissmyfriends.studio has done such an exceptional job telling Alo’s story and delivered it via Fishbowl in such a brilliant way. I’ll be heading back into the game soon to see how my next playthroughs play out!

Fishbowl launches on 2nd April 2026 on PC via Steam and PlayStation 5 consoles.

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Published by Krista

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