This weekend, my friends and I played Webfishing, an online chatroom game where you fish as cute characters created by Lamedeveloper. While it felt pretty different from other multiplayer games we tend to play, it ended up being the perfect game to play to socialize.

The concept behind Webfishing is pretty straightforward. It plops you on an island filled with ponds, streams, and an oceanfront. You play as a little cat (or dog) that you can customize to your liking. From there, you just run around with your friends and fish. I played on my desktop, but my friend used a Steam Deck and that worked well for them. The fishing system itself is easy and you can learn it in minutes. Basically, you use a combination of timely button mashing and holding down your mouse button to catch fish. From there, you can sell your catches and use that money to buy upgrades, cosmetic items, or other little treats.

The game is filled with little flourishes that further endeared me and sparked cute moments between friends. For example, each creature you catch scales to its measured size, so the larger fish dwarf the tiny adorable animal characters. I couldn’t help but smile as my friend and I stood side-by-side and proudly held our first larger-sized catches. Similarly, we loved to show off our little characters as we designed them. I giggled when I unlocked a D.A.R.E. shirt and showed it off to my friends. Similarly, my friend ended up modeling a shirt that said M.I.L.F. — which obviously stands for, “Man, I Love Fishing.”

I want to note that this game is also designed to be an online chat-room that you play with strangers. I played it alone a bit and enjoyed it — it reminded me of hanging out in Club Penguin. But I preferred to hop in privately with friends because it was so conducive to yapping.

The game has short periods of downtime as you wait for the fish to bite and even actively reeling in fish can be pretty chill. Some rarer fish require a bit of focus to catch, but once you upgrade your rod, there isn’t a huge need to lock in as you play. Because of these elements, Webfishing is the perfect game for catching up with friends. We gossiped, shared our latest cooking adventures (my friend was making Brazilian lemonade), and I gave everyone the lowdown on current family drama.

Oftentimes, the games I play with friends are too demanding for deeper conversations. Fortnite brings that goofy, childlike joy to socializing online, but encounters with other players can interrupt conversations. Games like Stardew Valley seem chill, but then take up brain space as people figure out how to minmax each day and check everything off the to-do list. However, playing Webfishing felt like a joyous day of summer camp. It was just us, our little kitty cat characters, and the quaint pixelated sea.