Relaxing game if you want to take a break from FPS games or if you hate cold you can fish from your home on the ice without all the inconvenience.

8/10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zHoxuZHpzo

Good game. As an ice fisherman myself, I can say that it is exactly what it says it is... Ice Fishing. I think the graphics are OK for what it is, the gameplay is good, and I'm enjoying my time with it so far.

One downside is that there is no tutorial (at least that I noticed). Meaning, if you don't know ice fishing already, you could be lost. Some simple instructions would go a long way.

A couple of tips for starters: You need to run out on the lake, pick a spot, drill a hole with your auger, BAIT your hook/jig (there are grubbs that go on the hook or you won't catch anything). You can vary your depth using your mouse wheel (where I live, slightly off the bottom is where you fish, but other depths can work). There is a strainer next to the hole to keep ice out of the hole (click on it, I think I caught more fish when the hole was clear). Watch the end of the pole, when you get a hit, hit the F button on your keyboard or use the reel icon on the screen to pull up the line. Lastly, there is a bait shop near where you started for bait, etc. and when the time is running down, get back to that area to have your score count! Not exactly "review" material, but I hope this is some help to you.

All in all, a good ice fishing game that I'd recommend to a friend. I haven't tried the multiplayer yet...

First off, its not bass or ocean fishing, its important to keep that in mind when playing it. Ice fishing is not fast paced or about the fights, its about the right lure in the right location.
Graphics could be better but honestly they are better then alot of other $12 games out there. Animation motions are smooth and did not experience any clipping issues.
Multi-player is a fun idea, seeing others running around digging holes and jumping spot to spot on the ice.
The sounds in the game are accurate and good.
Did not seem to be drawing anything from my second video card but the game ran very smooth with no crashes or hang-ups.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys fishing, we dont have enough fishing games out there to pick from and to the collectors of group multiplayer games.

Is it the most realistic ice fishing game? Definitely not. Is it fun? Absolutely! Especially when played with friends over voice chat.

The devs have assuredly played Pro Pilkki before, since there are quite a lot of similarities in the game mechanics and that is not a bad thing. For years Pro Pilkki has been the best ice fishing game out there and it's really a time for it to have some competition. Does Ice Lakes provide the competition? I'd like to think so. It has it's ups and downs but over time this game could take the spot as #1 ice fishing game, assuming the devs will provide updates and fixes to it.

Ice Lakes is still fresh out of the oven and that can be seen, especially on the multiplayer front. Hosting a game / being able to join a friends game can be quite a pain in the buttocks. Setting a password or lowering the max players value don't seem to have an affect. But once you get going, it's really fun and I'm optimistic that these small problems will be fixed in coming updates.

If you are expecting realism, then you might be a bit disappointed. The fish weights and amount of fish you are able to catch can seem quite absurd at times. 1.2kg ruffe.. that's something I'd like to see IRL ;) If you are up for some arcade ice fishing, then this game is definitely something to try out!

5/5, will recommend!

I really like this ice fishing game a lot of fun ,great graphics too,it's almost like you really are out there on the ice.i recommend this game for fishing lovers!

I remember the days when I was out there myself - the long days in the cold, cold African glaciers, wearing nothing but a pair of Adidas Air Jordan Hiking Boots™ and a tank top sewn by my late grand mother. I would sit there for hours, completely still, waiting for my prey. I remember it like it was yesterday - I caught the Eel out of the corner of my eye as it sat there, under the ice - taunting me. But was I affected? No. I was as still as ever; waiting for the right moment. The Eel, that I had lovely named "Eel", obviously thought I had frozen to death as he started moving towards my perfectly placed ice fishing hole. I watched him get closer and closer, still staying completely unmoving. Eel crept along carefully and as soon as I saw the little trickster's nose - that was it. I lunged forward, using all of my preserved strength - I dove into the water and grappled the eel around it's neck immidietly strangling him.

I thought that was the end - but oh, was I wrong. Only hours after the strangling took place, me still holding fast around the eel's neck, to make sure it was completely strangled and also dead - his friends came. A hugh murder of eels (a group of eels is called a 'murder', I know because I am the king of eel fishing and sorts) came out of the dark, dark waters and attacked me. It only took seconds for them to knock me unconscious and bring me back to their lair. They kept me there for six and and half years.

When I finally managed to escape their inprisonment, through the help of a fantasticly helpful man, who said his name was 'Captain Bingo', the first thing I did was to log onto my Steam account and look for a new cool game. The first game I saw was "Barbie & The Revenge of the Clubhouse" but I had already played it. The next one was this one; "ICE LAKES" and I immedietly got massive PTSD of the time when I got caught by a viscious group of eels. (Want to read that story? I have a book coming out soon).

I soon recovered though, bought and installed the game and I can honestly say, as I person who obviously knows his way around a fishing pole and/or rod that this game is quite realistic. There is snow, which is usually a sight that you see while you go ice fishing (which is not actually an activity where you fish ice, but you actually fish for regular fish just in an icy environment). There are also several types of fishes and even a type of eel. I'd have liked too see all the different types of eels, because there are definately a few of them - almost five to be more exact, they are; The Siberian Swanktail, The British Eelfish, The French Fisheel-eel, The Pan-American destructive dongus and the wildly disputed West Canadian Winterveil which some delusioned people actually think is a form of undersea Golden Retriever variant.

Otherwise, the game is solid. There are quite a few friendly Finnish people on it - they might be a bit shy and reserved, but as soon as you get them on your side, they'll be your friend for life.

That's cool.

This is the best thing after ProPilkki 2.

I just love how they captured the essence of ice fishing and all the little things that comes with it.
This will be a hit on our LAN parties. Just take a few beers, fire up the multiplayer and check who is the Pilkkikuningas!

I highly recommend to all of you fishing fans that either already know the world of ice fishing or who want to step away from luke warm waters and wear some warm clothes.

Drill that ice like a mother fisher!

Ice Lakes is exactly what I hoped it to be: a modernized version of popular ice fishing games. You can finally go ice fishing in 3D. Ice Lakes keeps the focus in fishing and there is more customization than in the previous ice fishing games I have played: you can change different hooks to your jigs or you can drop some baits in the water to lure a specific fish a bit better. Meanwhile you can scoop off the ice from your fishing hole. These little things really improve the atmosphere. You can upgrade your gear in the shop after you have earned some money from the games.

It is also noteworthy that the developers in Ice Flake Studios are listening the community and applying hotfixes fast. The biggest problem I found was that fishes' weight was too high, but a hotfix for this was applied on the next day. There is still some tuning in fishes' weight but it is already ALOT better.

I actually sent the developers an e-mail where I asked about future plans and I listed some suggestions that I personally hoped to see in the game. On the next day I got an answer from one of the developers where he took the time to separately answer all of my questions. For example online stats are in the to do -list, as well as adding information of current lake's species so you can see them while fishing. I also said that at the moment it is too easy to reel in bigger fishes and developer answered that they are currently working to improve this, and this should be one of the first improvements they are applying.

All in all I would recommend this game for everyone who likes fishing or fishing games in general. Lets face it, there really is not enough fishing games so Ice Lakes is a very welcome addition.

Lastly some tips I suggest:

- I am fishing holding down "Mouse 1", moving the mouse trying to lure the fish. You can reel in the fish pressing "F" or moving the mouse to the top of your screen and releasing "Mouse 1". I changed the "F" key to "Space" so it is possible to just hit the keyboard to reel in your catch.

- If you want to hunt for the biggest fish or you prefer the ocean maps, I suggest you save your money for the heaviest equipment to be able to catch them.

- I changed to third person and preferred that immediatly. Using "WASD" to move is the most convenient.

- If you can not catch any fish, try scrolling your mouse to try from a different depth.

Good ice fishing game and easy to learn how it works. 10/10

Good fishing game 5/5