To many, the memories of the COVID-19 pandemic feel like a surreal blur—an era that seems both distant and as if it occurred only yesterday. Fishbowl, a poignant slice-of-life narrative, immerses players in that specific tension, following a young woman named Alo during her first month in a new city just as global lockdowns begin to take hold.
As Alo navigates the heavy fog of isolation and mourns the recent passing of her grandmother, players assist her in finding emotional equilibrium. Over the course of an in-game month, the story explores self-care, the unboxing of painful memories, and a dash of magical realism centered around a sentient wind-up fish toy. Polygon recently sat down with Rhea Gupte and Prateek Saxena, the creative duo behind imissmyfriends.studio, following a hands-on session with a new demo covering Alo’s initial three days. This updated preview is currently available, with the full experience set to debut this April on PlayStation consoles and Steam.
In many respects, Alo’s routine mirrors the universal experience of that time. Her days are filled with the digital labor of video editing (presented as a charming minigame), pixelated video calls with loved ones, and the quiet struggle of living with grief. However, her journey takes a whimsical turn through her connection with Paplet, a mechanical fish from her childhood. Found among her grandmother’s effects, the toy becomes a conversational partner and a nostalgic bridge to her formative years.
The title finds its roots in “Building Floors are Fishbowls,” an art installation Gupte developed in 2020. The developers also pointed to the atmospheric storytelling of Studio Ghibli—specifically Only Yesterday—and the emotional resonance of To the Moon as foundational influences. The character of Paplet was born from a more personal place: the swimming fish toys Saxena used to gift his father.
Fishbowl has been a labor of love since the height of the pandemic. “We wanted to craft something that served as a beacon of hope during a profoundly melancholic period,” Gupte noted. The goal was to foster a sense of community and illustrate how even the smallest domestic victories can help one endure the most isolating circumstances.
After two and a half years of part-time development, the duo committed to the project full-time, spurred by the deep connection players formed with the game online. While the narrative is colored by Gupte and Saxena’s specific upbringing in India, the reception to the initial demo proved that its themes of loss and resilience are truly borderless.
“I keep a note on my desk reminding me to leave everything on the table by the time we launch,” Gupte shared. This radical sincerity is what makes the game feel so intimate; it treats the commonalities of human suffering and recovery with immense respect.
The story picks up just a month after the death of Alo’s grandmother, whom she called Jaja. This grief acts as a silent roommate for both Alo and her mother. When her mother suggests discarding Jaja’s belongings to move on, Alo insists on sorting through them herself. These boxes become tactile puzzles, functioning as time capsules of their shared life. While the mechanic may evoke comparisons to Unpacking, Fishbowl focuses more on the emotional weight of each item than the organization of space.
Though set primarily within the confines of a small apartment, the narrative expands into ethereal dreamscapes and vivid memories. These sequences range from heartwarming to devastating. In the demo, a particularly somber dream revisits Alo’s final moments with her grandmother and the slow erosion of her passion for poetry under the pressure of adulthood. Gupte noted that these dreams aren’t nightly occurrences but are instead triggered by specific emotional catalysts.
As the childhood companion Alo once carried everywhere, Paplet is essential for retrieving these lost fragments of her life. In a gentler memory, the toy helps Alo return to a sunny afternoon spent picking flowers for Jaja. These glimpses into the past gradually encourage Alo to return to her writing. “She’s hesitant at first,” Saxena explained, “but her voice as a poet is a vital, recurring theme.”
The poetry serves as one of the game’s most affecting motifs. From the pride her family once took in her work to the scattered, heartbroken lines written in a hospital waiting room, it represents a suppressed part of her identity. Watching her slowly reclaim that creative spark provides a powerful sense of progression.
Saxena noted that after Wholesome Games’ James Tillman played the demo, he remarked that the game’s most beautiful details were often tucked away. “Since then, we’ve worked to make certain nuances more apparent, though much of the magic still lies in what the player chooses to uncover,” Saxena added.
Exploration in Fishbowl is granular and rewarding. Even during the brief demo, I found small ways to influence Alo’s mood, which is tracked by a meter above her head. A comforting microwave meal might provide a temporary boost, while a difficult conversation can cause her spirits to plummet.
Players face numerous small choices daily—tasks that feel mundane to some but can seem monumental during a depressive episode, such as bathing or washing the dishes. The mood meter serves as both a gameplay mechanic and a tracker of Alo’s mental health. “We wanted to capture that reality,” Gupte said. “When you’re at your lowest, the very things that would help you feel better are often the hardest to initiate.”
This was evident in my playthrough: there were moments where Alo simply lacked the emotional bandwidth to tend to her plants or engage with her poetry, despite my suggestions.
Alo’s emotional state also dictates her social interactions, limiting or expanding her dialogue options in branching conversations. On a difficult day, she might express cynical fears about her job security to her mother; on a better day, she might find the strength to acknowledge her own efforts.
These interactions shape the level of intimacy she maintains with her circle and lead to one of several “fitting” conclusions. Saxena emphasized that there are no inherently “wrong” endings, only those that naturally reflect the player’s choices. A full playthrough typically spans seven to fourteen hours, depending on how deeply players engage with Alo’s world over the 28-day cycle.
Fishbowl stands as a testament to radical vulnerability and quiet optimism. As the developers prepare for the full release, their excitement is palpable. “It’s still surreal to think that what we built is going out into the world,” Gupte said. “I just hope players find the little pieces of ourselves we’ve hidden throughout the game.”
Source: Polygon
