The game where you can parry everything, nukes included, adds its "most requested mechanic": the most violent fishing mini-game on the planet
This is not what cozy games are made of
V.A. Proxy, an upcoming hack and slash devoted to parrying the world and everything in it, has answered fan demands to create a fishing mechanic. The mechanic has now been added, but it won't be like fishing in your favorite cozy game. Based on the clip developer PyroLith shared on Twitter, V.A. Proxy turns the pensive, lake-side activity into a crime against aquatic vertebrates.
"Finally added THE most requested mechanic," PyroLith said on Twitter. "You can fish now."
"Fish" is one word for it, but I'm inclined to describe it as "more parrying" instead. In the video PyroLith attached to their tweet, the game's android protagonist thrusts their fishing line into a muddy body of water. Amid mechanical enemy throngs, there seems to be plenty of dusty rivers around V.A. Proxy as part of the "massive dynamic megastructure" the game advertises on Steam, where it currently offers a free downloadable demo.
So everything seems normal, at first, as the android starts reeling in their catch. But then, as soon as the fish touches the air, the android hits it like a baseball. The impact triggers the fish to release a sword from its mouth (swordfish, get it?), which you're welcome to parry after executing a couple fantastic front flips. Upon your success, the fish smashes into nothing.
That's because V.A. Proxy's fishing rod is also a weapon, PyroLith explains in another tweet. "It works seamlessly with the rest of the weapons and can be used to pull in any small-sized enemy or make the big ones lose balance," they say.
Since V.A. Proxy apparently allows players to manipulate everything in its ruined robot world — letting them parry detonating nuclear bombs and create twisters with their motorcycle — any other kind of fishing mini-game would feel wrong. If you're looking to relax, save it for Stardew.
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Ashley Bardhan is a critic from New York who covers gaming, culture, and other things people like. She previously wrote Inverse’s award-winning Inverse Daily newsletter. Then, as a Kotaku staff writer and Destructoid columnist, she covered horror and women in video games. Her arts writing has appeared in a myriad of other publications, including Pitchfork, Gawker, and Vulture.