The Big Catch: Tacklebox is the hardest 3D platformer I’ve ever played, 8+ hours long, and a free to play ‘prologue’ to a bigger, better game on the way

Tackle from The Big Catch: Tacklebox wrangling with one of the game's fish collectibles.

The Big Catch: Tacklebox is like Jak & Daxter if Jak grew some chest hair instead of that awful green goatee. It’s Spyro the Dragon for people who know how to wavedash. At times, it is also Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy as a 3D platformer. The Big Catch: Tacklebox can feel aggravating, sometimes even mean, but it’s also a genuinely superb, innovative 3D platformer. I’ve heard it takes north of eight hours to beat, and it’s just the demo for the real game on the way. I’m probably going to play more of it after work.

In The Big Catch: Tacklebox, you play as Tackle, a charmingly animated little rabbit bird-type guy wearing a bucket hat who would have been right at home starring in a circa-2001 Mario killer on the Sony PlayStation 2. One thing that really stands out immediately is how well Tacklebox nails multiple retro aesthetics: The menus, music, and sound effects all scream PS2, with the title drop at the beginning punching below the nostalgia belt in how perfectly it evokes the one from the original Jak & Daxter. Its graphics menu, meanwhile, lets you choose between sixth console generation creamy smoothness, PS1-style dithering and texture warping, or something in-between. To avoid frame drops on my Steam Deck, I found the “Modern Half” or “Retro” rendering options gave the most consistent output.

Play The Big Catch: Tacklebox! – YouTube Play The Big Catch: Tacklebox! - YouTube
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