Fishing Break vs Upstream Struggle
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Fishing Break
Embark on a relaxing fishing adventure across 12 diverse worlds. Catch hundreds of unique fish species, including rare elemental variants, and build your dream aquarium collection. Compete with friends on leaderboards and upgrade your gear to reel in the biggest catches.
- Relaxing casual fishing gameplay
- 34 fishing spots across 12 worlds
- Hundreds of fish species
- Rare elemental fish variants
- Per-fish leaderboards
- Upgrade fishing gear
- Build aquarium collection
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Time for a Fishing Break — the relaxing casual fishing game where you catch rare fish from around the world and build your dream aquarium collection. Hop on your boat and cast your line in oceans, lakes, and rivers across 12 gorgeous worlds. Fight trophy fish, reel in rare catches, and fill your museum with hundreds of unique species. Simple to pick up, impossible to put down. CATCH FISH WORLDWIDE Fish in 34 stunning locations from tropical reefs to deep ocean waters. Each spot has unique species to discover — from bass and trout to sharks and legendary elemental fish. BUILD YOUR COLLECTION Fill your aquarium museum with hundreds of fish species. Track every catch, discover rare elemental variants (fire, ice, electric, grass, light, and dark), and complete your collection to earn rewards. UPGRADE YOUR GEAR Earn coins to buy better rods, reels, hooks, and bait. Upgrade your tackle to catch bigger, rarer fish that lurk in deeper waters. COMPETE & CLIMB Every fish has its own leaderboard. Compete against friends and anglers worldwide to land the biggest catch. Earn achievements and climb the ranks. FEATURES - Relaxing casual fishing gameplay — perfect for short breaks or long sessions - 34 fishing spots across 12 beautiful worlds - Hundreds of fish species including sharks and elemental variants - Per-fish leaderboards to compete with friends - Fun achievements based on fish puns - Free to play, no energy timers Cast your line and get hooked. Download Fishing Break today!
Upstream Struggle
Embark on an endless salmon run, swimming upstream to reach home. Dodge a variety of enemies for as long as possible to unlock new fish species and improve your score.
- Endless salmon run gameplay
- Dodge enemies
- Unlock new fish
- High score challenges
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In Upstream Struggle, you play as a salmon swimming upstream to return home (except right now it's just endless, oops). Dodge enemies for as long as you can to unlock new fish.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Upstream Struggle at none against Fishing Break's 7. Upstream Struggle also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly) and review sentiment (87% vs 76%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Fishing Break sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Upstream Struggle asks for nothing beyond the download.
Upstream Struggle holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13K and 9.7K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Fishing Break's written reviews are positive against 87% of Upstream Struggle's.
Fishing Break ships an update fortnightly, Upstream Struggle every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Fishing Break | Upstream Struggle |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (13K ratings) | 4.9 (9.7K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 76.0% of reviews | 86.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 13K — better | 9.7K |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 401 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Roofdog Games | Jack LaLonde |
Customer experience
Fishing Break
Upstream Struggle
User reviews
Fishing Break
From 13K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 No ads
- 👍 Relaxing gameplay
- 👍 Good graphics
- 👍 Variety of fish to catch
- 👍 Tournaments and events
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 💰 Expensive bait
- 🕰️ Slow progression
- 🤔 Unclear mechanics (line length, gold coins)
- 🤷♀️ Difficulty catching rare/special fish
Upstream Struggle
From 9.7K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Simple and fun concept
- 🚀 No forced ads
- 💡 Potential for improvements
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 🔁 Repetitive gameplay
- 🎨 Basic graphics and animations
Bugs and requests
Fishing Break
Reported bugs
3 issues- Bait consumed even when no fish bite
- Purchases not recognized by game
- Account reset issues
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to move boat/camera
- Showcase for caught fish
- Bait refilling system
- Chat/donation system for crews
- More worlds/levels
Upstream Struggle
Reported bugs
3 issues- Getting stuck in the waterfall at the start
- Crashes and freezes, especially at higher levels
- Issues with the bird/flying obstacle
Requested features
4 requests- Add more variety to levels and obstacles
- Improve controls and jumping mechanics
- Implement a leaderboard or competitive mode
- Introduce new fish skins and customization options
In-app purchases
Fishing Break
- Stack of Cash$2.99
- Pile of Cash$4.99
- Coin Doubler$4.99
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- Coin Doubler Package$4.99
- Bag of Cash$9.99
- Chest of Cash$19.99
- Boatload of Cash$39.99
Upstream Struggle
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Fishing Break free?
Is Upstream Struggle free?
Which has better reviews, Fishing Break or Upstream Struggle?
Do Fishing Break or Upstream Struggle have ads?
Which is updated more often, Fishing Break or Upstream Struggle?
Other comparisons
