New Zealand Fishing Adventure Star Catcher Hands-On at BitSummit PUNCH
Star Catcher is a rare example of a game that makes fishing the central mechanic in a narrative-driven cosmic fantasy, rather than a side activity.
Reporting from 1 sources: Game Spark.
At BitSummit PUNCH, held in Kyoto from May 22 to 24, 2026, the NZ CODE booth featured a playable demo of Star Catcher, a fishing adventure from New Zealand studio Still Rain. The game blends fishing with a cosmic fantasy setting: players control a creature called a Faro, designed with dolphin and rabbit influences, and fish for wandering souls to release them back to their world via a central location called the Beyond. Art director Claralise Nel said the concept started from combining fishing and space, and the team wanted to make something unique since few games focus purely on fishing. The demo showed simple controls: hold R2 to cast, wait for a soul to bite, then press X to trigger a constellation-tracing mini-game. Beyond fishing, the game includes a charge jump for long-distance movement and a wire-action mechanic using fishing gear. The field has scattered ruins and over 20 islands to explore. Online co-op for up to four players is planned, with future ship-riding with friends. Fifteen soul types are currently designed, inspired by human memories and emotions, with plans to add more. Catching souls advances the story, and NPCs offer quests and lore.
Star Catcher is being developed by New Zealand studio Still Rain, which showed the game at the NZ CODE booth during BitSummit PUNCH. The booth is run by New Zealand's game industry development agency and features titles from its supported studios. Art director Claralise Nel said the team has been working on the game for about 10 months. The fishing mechanic is straightforward: after casting, a hit triggers a constellation-tracing mini-game where the player follows a pattern with the left stick while holding R2. The constellations change depending on which soul is caught. Beyond fishing, the game includes a charge jump for long-distance movement and a wire-action mechanic using fishing gear. The field is dotted with ruins and over 20 islands, though the demo did not allow full exploration. Nel said the 15 soul types currently in the game are each inspired by human memories and emotions, and the team wants to increase that number. Online co-op for up to four players is planned, with future updates allowing friends to ride a ship together. The game is available for wishlisting on Steam.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.