Fish Fillets NG
Overview
Fish Fillets NG (Next Generation) is a free, open-source underwater logic puzzle game — an independent remake of ALTAR interactive’s 1998 classic Fish Fillets. You guide two fish through a series of sealed rooms on the sea floor and must get one of them safely to the exit by pushing, pulling, lifting and stacking whatever is lying around the room.
The twist is that each fish can do something the other cannot: the small fish slips through narrow gaps, while the big fish shifts the heavy objects that block the way. Almost every puzzle is solved by working the two of them together — and the whole game is played without a single reflex test.
Key Features
- Two fish, two abilities — switch between the small and the big fish with the space bar; their different size and strength are the core of every puzzle.
- Pure logic, no time pressure — plan as long as you like, and take back as many moves as you need with the built-in undo.
- Sandbox-style physics — objects can be pushed, lifted, dropped and stacked, so the same room usually has several solutions (and plenty of ways to squash a fish).
- Full quality-of-life menu — level restart, save and load games, move counter, subtitles, fullscreen and a faster-game toggle.
- Sea-floor level map — progress is laid out on a hand-carved world map with intro, credits and options screens.
- Lightweight and portable — a compact SDL engine that runs on very old hardware, and is packaged by Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and other distributions.
Why Use It
It is one of the most charming free puzzle games around: dozens of rooms of honest, un-timed logic, a gentle learning curve that keeps introducing new mechanics, and a distinctive hand-drawn look. Being GPL-licensed and packaged in the major distributions means there is no installer, no DRM and nothing to pay.
Use Cases
- Relaxed single-player puzzling — no timer, no score, just thinking.
- Coffee-break sessions on a low-spec laptop, netbook or Raspberry Pi.
- A gentle introduction to puzzle games for children (the rules are explained as you play).
- A free alternative to commercial puzzle titles for anyone who prefers open-source software.
Platforms
Linux and Windows builds are provided by the project, and the SDL-based source code also compiles on macOS and other Unix-like systems. Fish Fillets NG is packaged for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and many other distributions, so on Linux it is usually one package install away.
Licence
Free and open source — the game engine and the level data are released under the GNU General Public License v2.0.
Similar Tools
- Enigma — free and open source, another classic logic puzzle game in the directory.