The opening, in order (demo)
- Wake up and look around. Take the Axe, tune in the radio — the caller points you west to the trading post.
- Betsy and Sons. Gill and Bozur give you Essence to treat the Blight and put it on your tab. You work off the debt. They hand you the Bunkhouse key.
- Move in. Carry your chest from the dock to the bunkhouse and patch the hole in the wall before you sleep. The Simple Rod is in the bunkhouse.
- Contract 1 — 5 Snapper. Fish the spot under the trading post pier with Earthworms → fishing guide.
- John the Fifth’s still. Fix his moonshine still (Coral Fiber from Angler’s Island with the Axe, Bug Slime with the Grappling Hook Gun, Metal Plates, Rubber) to get the Dry Dock Key.
- Dry Dock. Fuse box (1 Cable) → power on → clear polyps → repair the hull with the Repair Gun and Bug Slime.
- Fuel. Grind fish into Fish Meat in the Grinder, feed the Fuel Larva, pump the fuel into your tank.
- Contract 2 — 3 Softgrazer (peaceful). Craft Wind-Up Tin (Metal Plate + Fish Meat) → bait & crafting.
- First upgrades. Thresh peaceful fish for Chromatic Scales → trade them to John for Scraps of Knowledge (research points, shown as torn pages in the upgrade tree) → research Weak Hull Protection and the Upgraded Engine → build them at John’s lathe → trawler upgrades.
- Contract 3 — 3 Harpooner (predator). Craft the Rainbow Fin lure and work the splash zone. Then buy the Carburetor from Gill and Bozur and fit the Upgraded Engine (2 → 4 knots).
- The Throat. Fuel the generator and fix the gate machinery to sail through → The Throat puzzle. In the demo, that’s the end.
Order from Whisper of the House’s demo walkthrough, checked against the dialogue in a full demo playthrough (FazyGaming) and the official quest screenshots (“Set out!”, “Predatory Fish”, “Install the Upgraded Engine”). Early Access reworked quests before; we’ll check it on launch day.
10 tips for new anglers
- Loot everything. Cabinets, crates, floating debris — scrap and blueprints are the real currency.
- Keep Fish Meat spare. It’s bait and fuel (via the Fuel Larva).
- Right bait, right fish. Earthworm / Wind-Up Tin / lure for ordinary / peaceful / predator → bait.
- Don’t reel against a fresh fish. Drain stamina first, or tension snaps the line.
- Sort your hold. Fish eat each other in storage.
- Sell dangerous fish. Traders pay more for the dangerous ones.
- Sleep through your first nights. Tentacles attack boats after dark → night.
- Save before risky trips. Steam lists “save anytime”; a destroyed boat loses your cargo.
- No hunger or thirst — you don’t need to manage food or water (publisher FAQ).
- Use the radio. Tuning it reveals new destinations.