A Creepy Fish and the Ocean - Loan Shark Review

I love indie titles, especially when there are creepy fish on the cover. Let’s get into Loan Shark on Steam.

You start off as a fisherman in massive debt to a loan shark. When I say massive, they give you the number as 999,999 euros. I’m not the smartest nor the wisest of the bunch, but I do know that that number cannot be paid down quickly in a manner of hours by fishing.

However, you press on and fish off of your rickety boat to catch fish that nail you a whopping $10 to $30 for each catch. Then something really creepy happens.

Of course, spoilers ahead for those who do not enjoy them. If you don’t mind, continue on reading.

You catch a creepy white fish with just one eye. As you go on to gut it and store it, it begins to speak to you and demands for you to not use your knife on it. I decided not to, because talking fish, so the fish poofs into the air and ends up staring at you from your fish bucket. Gathering bucket of dead fish. Catcher’s box. I’m not a fishing person, it’s a box of dead fish.

Anyway, the one-eyed fish tells you that they can help you with a glowing eyeball that they have. Soon, you’re catching golden scaled fish and bring in an actual total of over 100K in euros per fish. It seems to be smooth sailing from here.

But, the fish decides that the eye is not for you to keep, so it vanishes; but not before telling you to ring your bell on the boat if you ever need it again. Sure enough, I needed that creepy little fish again.

Soon, the fish gives you the option of selling the eye permanently to you on one condition: you have to cut out your own eyeball and give it to the fish.

Everything in me was saying “No way”, but that ease of getting money quickly was a nice incentive to use the knife I had been using to cut my own eye out. Just when I thought this fish couldn’t get any creepier, after handing over my own eye, the fish sticks it where his old eye used to be.

It is here where we learn where the glowing eyeball comes from. A man who was a poor fisherman in a lot of debt (much like your own character) caught this fish and struck a similar deal with it. The man gave up his eye in order to gain riches, but in the end, the man gave up his life to a terrible fate in exchange to pay off his debt.

It is also here where the loan shark calls you on the boat and demands either that you get to the port as soon as possible, or you run away with the money you have collected. I, personally, chose to get to the port to give the loan shark his money back. Then, that creepy as you-know-what fish makes me an offer again. They state that they can deliver the money faster to the loan shark if you let the fish have your boat.

Why does a fish need a boat?! That’s not explained in the game, but I was confused and reluctant enough (and curious enough) to say “No” to the offer from the creepy fish.

It is here where I don’t think the developer(s) planned that well. Y’see, the time it takes to return to shore or port is very long. Which, is not the issue. The issue with the game when it comes to the ending is that there’s only one ending – take the deal from the fish. But, if you are playing the game like I am, that ending doesn’t apply. Once the timer of the loan shark runs out in the game, you get a final phone call. I selected, “Return to Port” and then- nothing.

The game returns to the main menu. Pressing “Continue” from the menu and seeing what happens next only yields the same results. Glitch-Main Menu.

So, all of this to say, I think the developers were expecting the player to take all of the deals from the creepy fish. It would have been nice to have had multiple endings such as ones where you didn’t take that final deal and had to deal with the loan shark.

But, all in all, this game is not bad. It gave me the creeps, it played out the story well, and it was only the ending sequence that made me raise an eyebrow. I definitely suggest playing it just so everyone can see the creepy fish and interact with it. The trailer doesn’t do it justice.

Right now, you can play a free demo of this game, or you can play the full game for $4 on Steam right now as of this writing on September 17, 2025.