Since its inception, Viva La Dirt League (VLDL) has created some wonderful short videos, but none have been more beloved than Epic NPC Man, a series primarily focused on video game logic and the comedic sketches that come from them. In the world of Azerim, a parody of World of Warcraft, we meet characters like Greg the Garlic Farmer, handing out mundane quests about chasing sheep; Bodger the Blacksmith, who always misplaces his hammer; and of course, Baelin, the town fisherman who only ever says, “Uh huh! Nice day for fishing, ain’t it?”
VLDL has parodied countless video game tropes in their shorts. Whether it’s Baelin’s single-sentence loop, Greg’s chaotic sheep that are always running amuck, or Eugene, who is constantly getting kidnapped only to be rescued and escorted home with the same path finding intelligence as Natalya from GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64, if you know, you know.
In a Nice Day for Fishing, High Sorcerer Baradun attempts to tap into the mysterious Chest of Abandoned Souls to unlock powers left behind by the developers of Skycraft. Naturally, things go horribly wrong. When the muggers of Honeywood; Charles and Bernard do what muggers do, they try to mug’em! Unintentionally; they unleash chaos, kicking all adventurers from the game’s server as Baelin, our humble fisherman. Suddenly wakes up with adventurer-like powers, but still bound to his original script. He can now take on quests and explore, but he only ever says his iconic line.
“Uh huh! Nice day for fishing, ain’t it?”
The fate of Azerim now rests on the shoulders of Baelin from Honeywood. Unlike typical adventurers, Baelin is limited to his fishing rod, relying on bait like Greg’s garlic to catch fish and unlock new gear, and help rescue the other NPCs on his fishing journey to save all of Azerim.
Gameplay
Nice Day for Fishing can feel a bit repetitive, but that may be more about how I personally played it. In most Role-Playing Games (RPGs), players often grind for experience to level up to make future encounters easier. Nice Day for Fishing, however, goes out of its way to reward players with solid XP and gold payouts from each fish Baelin catches, allowing players to steadily buy upgrades without excessive grinding, ensuring that the pacing feels balanced, no matter how fast or slow the player decides the go.
If you have played old school video games, such as Breath of Fire III for the Sony PlayStation. Then there is a chance that you will enjoy a Nice Day for Fishing! As someone who loved the fishing mini-game from Breath of Fire III, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Nice Day for Fishing takes the concept of that mini-game and turns it into a full-fledged game which, incidentally, works really well when building a 2D game about fishing in an RPG.
They’ve expanded on the idea of that mini-game by adding underwater currents, different baits, rods, hats, a boat, even deep sea fishing. You, also, unlock access to magic and potions that boost Baelin’s fishing abilities to catch more difficult fish. That said, the controls can be a tedious, especially if you’re on a keyboard and mouse. I kept confusing the button combinations, missing a fish by forgetting to block, heal, or use a special attack, ultimately costing stamina and draining my health in the process.
However, unlike a traditional RPG, you never truly run out of health or stamina. Each fishing attempt resets your stamina, health, and magical spells, so losing a fish isn’t that big of a deal. You can always try again, assuming that you’ve got enough bait, and potions left to continue to deal with the more difficult fish.
The Title screen from Nice Day for Fishing 
Baradun, being a prick to Baelin. 
Eugene, gets kidnapped for the 100th time. 
Bodger the Blacksmith, losing his hammer for the 100th time. 
The woodcutter needs the wood to keep his family warm on these cold winter nights. 
Leveling up 
New ability Dragon Slash 
The sails of the crafted from the white shirts of Tech Town 
Fly high the sail of the white shirts. 
The first boss encounter. 
Rescuing the NPC from the Orcs.
Visuals & Story
What stood out the most to me were the graphics in Nice Day for Fishing. Without a doubt, they are one of the game’s strongest features. The effort put into the character sprites and character portraits are extraordinarily detailed and expressive, bright, and colorful, from the world of Azerim to the town of Honeywood to even the fishing areas. The artwork and effort makes a Nice Day for Fishing feel alive and vibrant.
Story-wise, the Nice Day for Fishing leans heavily into the parody origins. It’s filled with the kind of role-playing game tropes that Epic NPC Man loves to poke fun at, such as all the original actors reprising their multitude of roles both in voice and visual, just like in the show, mimicking how many games reuse the same character models over and over. The story leads into repetitive back and forth interactions, which as a 2D adventure game becomes more pronounced.
The quest structure mirrors the joke: fish, visit Greg, fish again, help Bodger, fish again, and it continues on in this manner for a considerable while. Yes, it’s repetitive, but that’s on purpose. If you’ve seen Epic NPC Man, this is the kind of “repetitive quest design” that’s the joke and is in fact not a design flaw, which I for one, absolutely loved.
Even the vast array of characters the show has been known for continue to adhere to their trope structured origins, with repetitive gameplay loops involving their quests, primarily Bodger the Blacksmith losing his hammer, but Eugene with his frequent kidnappings, but despite handling these repetitive quests. The pacing and loop were well-balanced. I never felt like I was grinding just to progress. Every action felt like it contributed to the journey, and provided me with a good laugh.
Now, if you’re not a fan of the repetitive gameplay, and in-jokes, to quote Bodger the Blacksmith.
If you don’t like it, you don’t have to play the game, hero!
Music
The audio is another highlight. The developers stayed true to the original YouTube series, using familiar audio cues, voice lines, and music. They’ve even added new original tracks to flesh out the world, giving it that nostalgic fantasy-RPG adventure vibe.
Everything about the audio feels right. The developer FusionPlay successfully nails the mood, tone, and atmosphere of the fantasy world of Azerim in Nice Day for Fishing. You’ll feel like you’re inside Skycraft, a game that is very Schrödinger in its existence, (because it exists both as a meta reference in Nice Day for Fishing, but the online game Skycraft, is not a real game).
Options & Controls
If there’s one issue worth noting, it is the limited option’s menu. All the core settings, such as (vsync, resolution, and windowed/fullscreen) options, they are only available from the title screen. When you load into the world of Azerim and you’re in-game, you’re stuck with just music and SFX volume sliders only. Want to change screen size? You’ll need to quit back to the main menu to change anything.
On the bright side, Nice Day for Fishing does support controllers with support for Sony’s DualSense and Xbox controller. I played personally played on the keyboard and mouse, and while it works, you can’t rebind controls. They’re locked to the dev’s preset layout, which may be frustrating for some.
Final Thoughts
Nice Day for Fishing perfectly captures the heart of Epic NPC Man, translating years of jokes and character quirks into a surprisingly enjoyable parody RPG. The gameplay, while taking jabs at repetitive gameplay by design, while still being engaging. The visuals are bright and lovingly crafted. The soundtrack feels perfect for the fantasy world of Azerim. Not to mention that the dialogue is exceptionally hilarious, even if you’ve never watched the YouTube series.
I’m not normally a fan of 2D side-scrollers, but this one works. It’s built to embrace the literal repetition of going back and forth to finish quests, and continues to poke fun at older video games, and even newer ones by turning those design features that into a strength rather than a flaw.
My favorite part of Nice Day for Fishing! The VLDL Easter Eggs, like equipping Baelin’s boat with a sail comprised of the iconic white Tech Town shirts, or the moments of character self-awareness. This game nails the feeling of classic parody with heart.
An autistic gamer with opinions on games who also enjoys making dumb videos on the internet!