Thank you, Crescent Moon Games, for sending us this game to review!

The sea's bounty holds innumerable riches, but also great danger. The fishermen of the region learned this the hard way, when their efforts to fish the deepest part of the sea awoke an ancient evil. The legendary Skyfish emerged and mutated the people into hideous monstrosities. One little girl was forced away from her brother and cast into the sea to drown. But fate must have smiled on her that day, because the Moonwhale rescued her. Now, with the help of the Moonwhale, a diminutive flying fish, and her trusty fishing pole, Little Red Hook seeks to destroy the Skyfish and his evil minions for good!

“Legend of the Skyfish,” from Mgaia Studios, has the player controlling Little Red Hook. She uses her fishing line and hook to latch onto platforms or reel enemies closer, and can swing the pole like a sword to slash her enemies. In each level, she needs to destroy the Skyfish totem in order to advance. Some of the areas also contain upgrades to her hood, pole or hook in order to make her adventures a bit easier. There are a total of 45 different levels, which include three challenging boss fights.

The graphics are very cute, with an island/nautical theme. Legend of the Skyfish seems inspired by the early “Legend of Zelda” games, with a cartoonish, 2D isometric perspective. All of the enemies have a fish or aquatic motif, and almost seem as a secondary distraction to the main theme of the different levels – figuring out how to navigate the different platforms and gates in order to destroy the totem pole, which looks like a representation of the Skyfish. The puzzles aren't overly complicated, but require some experimentation and out-of-the-box thinking to solve. The musical score is pleasant as well and fits the mood nicely.

Some of the puzzles can be tricky to navigate, and sometimes Little Red Hook will take damage. If she takes too much, she will collapse to the ground with a cry of dismay. Not to worry, though – she will pop back up at the last checkpoint or the beginning of a stage. Most of the time, this is a minor setback, and you'll simply have to rethink your approach or your timing on the challenge you face. The game is quite generous with how merciful it can be.

The most difficult stages are the boss battles, but these aren't to an overwhelming extent. However, it's during these times that one of the game's biggest flaws comes to light – the controls. I've played this with both the keyboard and an Xbox controller, with mixed results. Using the keyboard it was easy to move Little Red Hook around, but right-clicking with the mouse could sometimes make it harder to hit your target with the way the screen moves. Using the controller meant having much more control over the fishing line, but then it becomes more difficult to walk around and slash at her enemies. All in all, I preferred using the keyboard over the controller. Since I didn't test the game on a portable device, I can't say how Legend of the Skyfish functions with the tablet controls. The only other potential problems I found was the lack of replay value in the game, and on the Steam platform, the absence of achievements, trading cards, or cloud saving capabilities. With 45 levels, the game is surprisingly short – it contains only three fun boss battles, and can be completed in approximately six hours.

From a moral perspective, this game is pretty clean. Little Red Hook slashes at her enemies, but they simply disappear in a puff of dust when defeated. Likewise, when she is killed, she simply falls over. There isn't any foul language to encounter – in fact, the only place text shows up is in the menus, the cutscenes, the boss fights and the story boxes upon first entering an area.

If you're looking for a fun game, Legend of the Skyfish is a good catch. It has some thought-provoking puzzles, fun enemies and boss fights, and pleasing graphics and music. It's too bad there isn't more substance to the game – there is a lot of potential here, and the game will be over before you can get too immersed in its content. Still, at the price it offers, it could be one to reel in.