It’s weird. Honestly, it’s just plain weird. If you played the original Walking Fish—that fever dream of a game where you controlled a literal fish on legs—you probably didn’t expect a sequel to actually happen. Yet, here we are. The Walking Fish 2 new game has surfaced, and it’s leaning even harder into the surreal, low-poly aesthetic that made the first one a cult hit on platforms like itch.io and Steam.
You’re a fish. You walk.
That’s the core of it, but the sequel tries to do so much more than the original joke. While the first game felt like a "shitpost" in digital form, this new entry actually tries to be a game. It’s got better physics, more expansive environments, and a sense of humor that feels like it was written by someone who hasn’t slept in three days. People are calling it "Post-Irony: The Game," and they aren't wrong.
What the Walking Fish 2 New Game Actually Is
Let’s get the basics out of the way first. This isn't a AAA title. If you’re looking for 4K ray-tracing and a cinematic narrative about the human condition, you are in the wrong place. This is an indie title through and through. It embraces the "jank." The movement is awkward by design.
In the Walking Fish 2 new game, the developers at That_Indie_Guy have expanded the scope. You aren't just flopping around a small house anymore. The world is bigger. There are NPCs—mostly other weird creatures—that give you cryptic, often useless advice. It feels like a parody of open-world RPGs, but it’s played so straight that it becomes genuinely funny.
The controls are intentionally difficult. You’re a fish on land; you shouldn't be good at this. Mastering the "walk" is the primary challenge. It’s reminiscent of games like QWOP or Getting Over It, where the frustration is the point. But unlike those games, which can feel punishingly mean, Walking Fish 2 is just... silly. It’s hard to stay mad at a game when you’re a salmon wearing a top hat trying to navigate a supermarket.
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The Surrealism is the Point
Most games try to be immersive. They want you to forget you’re holding a controller. Walking Fish 2 does the opposite. It constantly reminds you of its own absurdity. The sound design is a mix of wet slapping noises and stock music that feels slightly out of tune.
Why do people love this?
Because it’s a break from the "prestige" gaming era. We’re currently flooded with massive, 100-hour epics that demand your total attention. Sometimes you just want to play something that is purely, unapologetically stupid. This game hits that niche perfectly. It’s the digital equivalent of a late-night Adult Swim cartoon.
Diving Into the Mechanics of the Sequel
If we look at the actual gameplay loops, the Walking Fish 2 new game introduces a few "quest" lines. I use that term loosely. One minute you’re trying to find a specific puddle of water to keep your gills moist, and the next, you’re caught in a physics-based puzzle that involves launching yourself off a trampoline.
- The Moistness Meter: This is a new survival mechanic. You can’t stay on land forever. You have to find water sources—sinks, puddles, buckets—to replenish your moisture. It adds a layer of "stress" to the exploration that wasn't there in the first game.
- Customization: You can unlock hats. This is arguably the most important part of the game. A fish in a fedora is inherently funnier than a regular fish.
- Interaction: The dialogue system is expanded. The writing is snappy and self-aware. It mocks the tropes of the gaming industry while participating in them.
The environments have also seen an upgrade. We’re talking about parks, city streets, and even interior office spaces. Each area is littered with interactable objects that usually result in physics-based chaos. The "chaos" is the engine driving the game's longevity. You’ll find yourself spending twenty minutes just trying to knock a vase off a table because the physics engine decided to be difficult.
Why the "Walking Fish" Phenomenon Works
There is a psychological element to why these "bad" games succeed. It’s the same reason movies like The Room have a following. When a developer leans into the limitations of their budget and turns "jank" into a feature rather than a bug, it creates a unique kind of charm.
The Walking Fish 2 new game doesn't try to hide its low-budget origins. The textures are muddy. The animations are stiff. But because the premise is "A Fish Walking on Land," those flaws actually enhance the experience. If the fish moved fluidly and the graphics were realistic, the joke wouldn't land. It would just be creepy.
The game also thrives in the streamer economy. It’s "clickbait" in game form. Seeing a streamer struggle with the controls and scream at a virtual fish is entertaining content. But beyond the surface-level memes, there’s a genuine heart to the project. You can tell the developer is having fun. That infectious energy carries the player through the more frustrating segments.
Comparing it to the Prequel
The first game was a proof of concept. It was short—maybe twenty minutes of content if you stretched it. The Walking Fish 2 new game is a proper release. It’s something you could actually sit down with for a few hours.
The level design is significantly more vertical. In the first one, you were mostly on flat planes. Now, you’re expected to climb. This introduces a whole new level of "physics-induced rage" as you tumble down a staircase you just spent five minutes ascending. It’s a classic trope, but it works here because the stakes are so low. You aren't losing progress in a dark fantasy world; you’re just a fish who fell down.
Technical Requirements and Accessibility
One of the best things about the Walking Fish 2 new game is that it can run on a toaster. You don’t need a high-end GPU to experience this.
Since it uses a stylized, low-poly aesthetic, it’s incredibly accessible. This has helped it spread across various gaming communities. It’s also quite cheap. Usually, these types of games are priced under $10, making them an easy "impulse buy" for a weekend laugh.
The developer has been active in patching bugs—the unintentional ones, anyway. It’s a fine line to walk. You want the game to feel clunky, but you don’t want it to actually crash. So far, the community feedback suggests that the balance is right.
Community and Mods
The indie scene thrives on community, and Walking Fish 2 is no exception. There is already a small but dedicated group of people creating speedruns. Yes, people are speedrunning a game about a walking fish.
The "Moistness-Percent" run is particularly popular. Players try to finish the game while keeping their moisture levels at a specific threshold. It’s this kind of emergent gameplay that gives a simple title like this a much longer shelf life than it probably deserves on paper.
Addressing the Skeptics
Look, I get it. To some people, this looks like a waste of time. "Why would I pay for a game that is intentionally broken?"
The answer is simple: Joy.
We take gaming so seriously now. We argue about frame rates, political themes, and microtransactions. The Walking Fish 2 new game represents a return to the "Flash Game" era of the internet. It’s a time when games were just weird experiments meant to make you laugh for an afternoon.
It’s not trying to change your life. It’s trying to show you a fish in a hat.
Final Thoughts on the Experience
Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it the best game you’ll play this year? Probably not. But it might be the one you remember the most. There is a specific kind of memory that forms when you’re playing something this absurd. You remember the ridiculousness of the situations.
You’ll remember the time you accidentally vaulted your fish over a fence into a restricted area and spent ten minutes trying to get back out. Those "anecdote-generator" moments are the soul of indie gaming.
The Walking Fish 2 new game is a testament to the fact that you don't need a hundred-million-dollar budget to make something that people enjoy. You just need a weird idea and the willingness to see it through to its most illogical conclusion.
Next Steps for Players:
- Check the Requirements: Ensure your system (even if it's an old laptop) can handle the physics engine. Most modern integrated graphics will do fine.
- Play the Original First: It’s usually free or incredibly cheap. It takes 15 minutes and will give you the "lore" (if you can call it that) needed for the sequel.
- Adjust Your Expectations: Don't go in expecting Elden Ring. Go in expecting a fish that walks.
- Look for Secrets: The developer loves hiding Easter eggs in the corners of the maps. Use your awkward jump to explore rooftops.
- Share the Chaos: This game is 100% better when played with friends watching or over a Discord stream. The shared confusion is part of the fun.