Backrooms Fishing - Full Controller Support and Steam Deck

The last update brought the demo to macOS and Linux. This one is mostly about how you play it: with a controller, and with a bit more to do while the tide runs. Here is everything that landed.

Play With a Controller

Full controller support is in, from the launcher all the way through the game. The left stick moves the cursor, A catches and buys upgrades, the bumpers switch tabs, and the right stick scrolls. You do not have to turn anything on. Plug in a pad and the on-screen cursor follows it. Unplug it and the mouse takes over again.

It is tuned for Steam Deck, so the demo plays the same in handheld as it does at a desk. Controller support is new, so if a button feels wrong or something is hard to reach with a pad, post in the discussions and we will fix it.

Click to Catch

You no longer have to wait out the tide for every catch. Click anywhere on the water and you pull one in, with a ripple where you clicked. The idle loop keeps running underneath, so clicking is there when you want to push your rate up, and you can still leave it alone and let the Poolrooms fish themselves. Swells still stretch your high tide when you click them. Now the ordinary catching in between is in your hands too.

A New Ambient Track

There is new music for the Poolrooms, an ambient piece called The Poolrooms Breathe. It loops and fades the same way the old track did, so nothing about the mix or the volume controls changes. It just sits better under a long session. As before, you can turn it down or off in Settings.

Settings, Rebuilt

Settings used to run off the bottom of the screen. It is now a set of categories down the side, with everything for each one on a single screen and no scrolling. Your almond water rate and the rest of your stats sit in a strip along the bottom, so they stay visible while you change things.

Also in This Update

• A cleaner start for new players: the tide panel, catch feed, stats box and achievements tab now fade in as the quest that introduces them unlocks, instead of all appearing at once. Returning saves stay fully unlocked.

• Another pass over the slowest late-game quests, so the final stretch moves better. These apply to existing saves the moment you load in.

• Assorted fixes, including settings layout on smaller windows.

Every release still boots, plays, saves and resumes under automated tests on real Mac and Linux hardware before it goes out. Controller and Steam Deck handling is newer and harder to test that way, so player reports help most there.

Existing saves carry over untouched, same location, same progress.

The demo covers the first 60 journal entries of the full game. If you are enjoying it, wishlisting Backrooms Fishing genuinely helps a small studio like ours. Thanks for playing.