{"rewrite":{"id":"r_c9d72872f193c4b81c3587ea","clusterId":"c_0170eceb39185dfc52f8218d","slug":"new-zealand-fishing-adventure-star-catcher-hands-on-at-bitsummit-punch","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"New Zealand Fishing Adventure Star Catcher Hands-On at BitSummit PUNCH","summary":"At BitSummit PUNCH, held in Kyoto from May 22 to 24, 2026, the NZ CODE booth featured a playable demo of Star Catcher, a fishing adventure from New Zealand studio Still Rain. The game blends fishing with a cosmic fantasy setting: players control a creature called a Faro, designed with dolphin and rabbit influences, and fish for wandering souls to release them back to their world via a central location called the Beyond. Art director Claralise Nel said the concept started from combining fishing and space, and the team wanted to make something unique since few games focus purely on fishing. The demo showed simple controls: hold R2 to cast, wait for a soul to bite, then press X to trigger a constellation-tracing mini-game. Beyond fishing, the game includes a charge jump for long-distance movement and a wire-action mechanic using fishing gear. The field has scattered ruins and over 20 islands to explore. Online co-op for up to four players is planned, with future ship-riding with friends. Fifteen soul types are currently designed, inspired by human memories and emotions, with plans to add more. Catching souls advances the story, and NPCs offer quests and lore.","whyItMatters":"Star Catcher is a rare example of a game that makes fishing the central mechanic in a narrative-driven cosmic fantasy, rather than a side activity.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eStar Catcher is being developed by New Zealand studio Still Rain, which showed the game at the NZ CODE booth during BitSummit PUNCH. The booth is run by New Zealand's game industry development agency and features titles from its supported studios. Art director Claralise Nel said the team has been working on the game for about 10 months. The fishing mechanic is straightforward: after casting, a hit triggers a constellation-tracing mini-game where the player follows a pattern with the left stick while holding R2. The constellations change depending on which soul is caught. Beyond fishing, the game includes a charge jump for long-distance movement and a wire-action mechanic using fishing gear. The field is dotted with ruins and over 20 islands, though the demo did not allow full exploration. Nel said the 15 soul types currently in the game are each inspired by human memories and emotions, and the team wants to increase that number. Online co-op for up to four players is planned, with future updates allowing friends to ride a ship together. The game is available for wishlisting on Steam.","blueskyPost":"Star Catcher's soul-fishing replaces the usual catch-and-release loop with a moral goal: each catch returns a wandering soul to the afterlife. The fishing mini-game is a constellation tracer, not a reel-in fight.","twitterPost":"Star Catcher replaces fish with wandering souls. Catching one means releasing it to the afterlife, not keeping or selling it.","threadsPost":"Star Catcher's hook is not the fishing itself but what you fish for: wandering souls. Every catch returns a soul to the Beyond, not to a bucket. The reel is replaced by a constellation-tracing mini-game. That changes the emotional weight of a fishing game from collection to release.","newsletterBlurb":"New Zealand studio Still Rain showed Star Catcher at BitSummit PUNCH, a fishing adventure where players catch wandering souls and release them to the Beyond. The game blends simple fishing mechanics with constellation-tracing mini-games and exploration across over 20 islands, with online co-op planned.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Game Spark\",\"url\":\"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/05/31/167161.html\",\"title\":\"「釣り」と「宇宙」がミックスしたニュージーランド発『スター・キャッチャー』プレイレポ！釣って釣って\\\"迷える魂\\\"を還せ【BitSummit PUNCH】\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":6834,"outputTokens":815,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1780205682,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T05:29:33.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-05-31T05:32:29.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T05:32:29.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_0170eceb39185dfc52f8218d","canonicalTitle":"「釣り」と「宇宙」がミックスしたニュージーランド発『スター・キャッチャー』プレイレポ！釣って釣って“迷える魂”を還せ【BitSummit PUNCH】","representativeArticleId":"a_bbdcf11afc125cba646152bf","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Star Catcher\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"review\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-05-30T23:15:03.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-05-30T23:15:03.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T05:32:30.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/05/31/167161.html","title":"「釣り」と「宇宙」がミックスしたニュージーランド発『スター・キャッチャー』プレイレポ！釣って釣って“迷える魂”を還せ【BitSummit PUNCH】"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Star Catcher"],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"review","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Star Catcher is a fishing adventure from New Zealand studio Still Rain, blending fishing with a cosmic fantasy setting.","The game was shown as a playable demo at BitSummit PUNCH in Kyoto from May 22 to 24, 2026.","Players control a creature called a Faro, designed with dolphin and rabbit influences, and fish for wandering souls to release them via the Beyond.","The demo featured simple controls: hold R2 to cast, wait for a bite, then press X to trigger a constellation-tracing mini-game.","Online co-op for up to four players is planned, and the game is available for wishlisting on Steam."]}