Farming Simulator ’25 Adds Fishing and Aquaculture

Farming Simulator ’25 Adds Fishing and Aquaculture

Farming Simulator occupies an obscure tiny crevice in my brain, rent free. It’s not something I keep up with, but I find the game and its incredibly loyal community interesting enough to check in with from time to time. The love for this game is deep enough that large companies like Logitech, Thrustmaster, and Hori produce dedicated farming controllers. There’s also a professional circuit for the most dedicated farming cosplayer.

I love the idea of simulators, but working after I get home from a long day of actual work just never sat right with me. I prefer my video games to provide a bit of an escape from my mostly mundane reality. Though with recent addition of fishing and aquaculture via the Highlands Fishing Expansion, I may be tempted to drop a line in the water.

The actual fishing aspect of the game looks to be as barebones as it gets. You buy a rod, cast it into any body of water, wait until a fish bites, and then you reel it in. You can then sell the fish or release it. Releasing a fish does come with some bonuses and cheevos, so it’s not a waste.

There’s much more variety when it comes to aquaculture. Inshore, you have access to hatcheries ponds to grow your fish. Offshore allows you to turn things into a much larger and lucrative operation. You can even purchase large cargo boats to farm in the deep sea for larger salmon.

The real kicker though is that there are only two species of fish to farm, trout and salmon. I guess the main attraction here is still the same as the base game, managing a farm. Still, I’m glad to see the addition of fishing and aquaculture in a game. I’d probably prefer a game that only focused on the later, but I’m not sure there are enough fish weirdos like me to support that kind of an effort.