What is Fish Bowl?
I have spent five hours in Fishbowl. What is Fishbowl, you may ask? It is India Hero Project’s first at bat. Coming with a mindset I would describe as going for a single or even a bunt to first base.
India Hero Project (IHP) is a PlayStation initiative designed to develop a game-creation culture inside untapped regions. It’s not just about establishing a pipeline for making games. It is also about using that local culture and even the lore and myths to define the games they create. To date, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has established three of these branches. China Hero Project, India Hero Project, and Mena Hero Project. Hopefully with more to come!
The Veterans on the field – China Hero Project
If we look back at that baseball analogy and view each of these Hero Projects as a baseball team, the China Hero Project (CHP going forward) is currently the most developed program on the roster. They’ve already scored a run off a couple of singles and a big double. There have been some swings and misses, sure, and CHP is still hunting for its definitive home run.
Lost Soul Aside dropped in late August of 2025. And on paper, it was destined to be that big hit. However, it received quite a middling reception from critics. Eight months have passed since then, and the team has steadily been updating the game, improving the experience, and listening to player feedback. Honestly, just seeing them stick with Lost Soul Aside is awesome. Giving people a chance to realize their full potential is what life is all about.
So, while Lost Soul Aside was more of a double for CHP, the major positive is that the game legitimized the program to the point where CHP was recently “overwhelmed” by receiving over 200 project pitches. They are taking big swings, and we will see more of what they are up to later on in the summer at ChinaJoy, hopefully (fingers crossed) with more information about The God Slayer.
Stepping up to the plate for India Hero Project – Fishbowl
But let’s circle back to Fishbowl. Now, up to this point, you may think, “Wow, you haven’t talked much about the actual game.” That is simply because it is just not my type of game. After putting 5 hours into it, I am comfortable walking away from it.
This is a story-driven, laid-back, relaxing effort that follows a girl named Alo. Fun fact, Alo in Punjabi means Potato & is typically spelled Aloo. It’s a cute touch because in every conversation with her mom, she calls Alo a dish that features a potato. The narrative harkens back to the COVID-19 era, where forced isolation was everywhere, and everyone was asked to change their routines to find a new path in life
The story carries some weight, tackling deep themes about loss and coping with grief. Alo has recently lost her grandmother. And every day we open a new gift from her grandmother’s belongings and play through a memory from Alo’s past. It is deep stuff. Yet, there is a contrasting levity in how Alo speaks with her coworkers and how supportive her current circle is, right up until she briefly falls back into the moments that haunt her.
My Final Verdict on Fishbowl
The reason I’ve dropped it is that the loop has started to become repetitive, and I’ve mentally checked out.
There is not enough mechanical depth here to make me want to continue. Ultimately, the short unboxing puzzles, the various prompt-based mini-games, and the video editing mini-game just aren’t enough. It is not enticing me to want to see how Alo’s story concludes.
The video editing mini-game entails Alo matching up the correct colors of video clips to their corresponding slots. There is a small wrinkle introduced where certain clips have to be deleted instead of matched, but once you figure that out, there really isn’t more to it. The same goes for the prompt-based mini games for daily chores, like washing dishes or brushing her teeth.
While the mundanity of the tasks at hand does a great job showcasing Alo’s isolation, tasks start to become a repetitive chore for me as a player. The novelty of these mini-games wore off by hour five.
However, this is what worked for me in Fishbowl:
- Beautiful pixel art
- Super detailed character models
- Chill, lo-fi soundtrack
- Ran great on steam deck oled
As for the title and its critical reception, Fishbowl sits at a 79 on Metacritic and an 80 on OpenCritic. So all things considered, it got India Hero Project onto first base. And really, at the end of the day, forward progression means positive movement. And we will see & hear more from the India Hero Project very soon.
Fishbowl was purchased by the writer of the article
