Loan Shark (video game)

Loan Shark is a psychological horror fishing video game developed by Studio Ortica and published by Dark Product. The game was released for Steam on August 8, 2025. PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch releases followed in January 2026.

Gameplay

Loan Shark's gameplay is narrative driven and has a runtime of around 30 minutes. Players are tasked with fly fishing and gutting their catches, all within a time limit.

Fishing mechanics feature a power bar for casting and a tension gauge for reeling. Fish are then gutted and placed into a container, each worth a different value. Among the catches is Cagliuso, a one-eyed talking fish whose strange gift promises the player a way out. Cagliuso will require the player to begin meeting deadlines for catches and values.

Development

A demo for the game was originally released on Steam in June 2025. Studio Ortica is based in Turin, Italy. The publishers have stated the game was designed to be completed in one sitting.

Reception

Games Asylum rated the game 7/10. In their review, they complimented the game for "executing a single idea well." They criticized the fishing mechanics for being too simple.