The One Fish UPDATE 1 to 2: New Biomes, Ship Upgrades

UPDATE 1 arrived on August 22, 2026 — the first major content update — followed by a small balance patch on August 23, Update 1.1 on August 29, Update 1.2 on September 4, and UPDATE 2 on September 26. Together they replaced launch-era fundamentals: the fishing mini-game is no longer mashing, there is a leveling system with boons, fish come in sizes, a new Mythical rarity sits above Legendary, and Update 2 added two new tiers, ship upgrades and achievements. Everything below is quoted or summarized from the official Steam announcements.

Version note: all facts on this page come from re:try’s official announcements (UPDATE 1, August 22; Small Update 8.23.26; Update 1.1, August 29; Update 1.2, September 4; UPDATE 2, September 26). Where a developer says “expect 5 new fish” or “we’ll let you guys discover these new things for yourselves” without naming them, this page says so instead of inventing names.

What changed — the headline

The launch version of The One Fish had one fishing move: cast, wait for the exclamation mark, spam left-click. The Aug 22 patch replaced that with a real mini-game and added progression systems on top:

• New fishing mechanic: the line now goes left, right or center, with a quick-time event. The line also slowly pulls you in — no more standing around.
• Level system: completing each day rewards a level skill point (Health, Slower Hunger, Luck or Strength). Shop upgrades for these stats were removed for a cleaner loop.
• Boons: day 1 completion gives a level, day 2 gives a boon, and after day 2 you pick a boon every 3 level-ups. The developer says more boons are coming.
• Fish sizes: every fish can be caught at different sizes, and size affects quota value — “try to find the biggest Small-Small Fish you can.”
• Scoring: personal best and global best scores, based mainly on fish quota and currency through the run.
• New content: 5 new fish, 6 new hats, 3 new rods with gameplay modifiers, and a new Mythical tier above Legendary.
• Fishopedia showing: click any discovered fish to showcase your record size and shiny variant.

Update 1.1 (Aug 29) — weekly content update

A week later, re:try shipped the first of a planned weekly content cadence:

• 5 new fish (only one was spoiled in the announcement image — the rest are left to discover in game).
• 2 new hats.
• 2 new events to encounter with friends (not named in the announcement).
• Balance: adjusted super bait chances to be more balanced.
• Bug fixes: player inventories restored correctly on existing saves, some save data issues fixed, the “Keep Quiet or Explode” event audio cue fixed, and the hunger/health matching boon now works properly.

The developer’s framing: “As we continue to add to the fish roster, expect to see 5 new fish this week.”

Update 1.2 (Sep 4) — weekly content update

Official notes. Fish/hat names beyond the two rods are not published — this page does not invent them.

• 5 new fish with “fun effects” (unnamed in the post).
• 3 new hats (unnamed).
• 2 new shop rods: Heart Rod (better chance at health-related fish/items) and Muscle Rod (guarantees rare or higher fish, but all fish are tougher to catch).
• Inventory slots and Fishopedia can be scrolled with the mouse wheel.
• Stay Quiet or Explode is intermittent through the day with audio cues.
• Word-Word Fish exploding on the wrong words fixed; inventory slot upgrade prices adjusted.

Small Update (Aug 23) — fishing accessibility

Between the two content drops, a small patch focused entirely on fishing feel:

• Fishing Assist: a new Gameplay setting that focuses fishing to one button (LMB) instead of swapping between LMB and RMB when mashing; the QTE still exists but uses RMB.
• More leniency after prompt switching, and slightly reduced prompt-swapping chances.
• A new tutorial for the quick-time event.
• Shop price adjustments and removal of the middle-mouse alternate control option.

UPDATE 2 (Sep 26) — new tiers, ship upgrades, achievements

Update 2 is the largest drop since launch. re:try announced it on September 18 for Friday September 25, and it went live on September 26, 2026.

Two new biomes in two new tiers. They sit above the previous level tiers, are harder, and carry a higher chance of rare fish to help you reach increasing quotas. The announcement describes them as “a bit precarious — so watch your step,” and says you will “meet the (not so friendly) inhabitants of these areas.”

Fish are now biome-exclusive. New and old biomes now hold species exclusive to their waters, which makes filling the Fishopedia “more of a journey.” The developer says to expect new species to appear in each biome as development continues, and that exclusive event types are planned — with one new event expected in one of the new biomes.

9 new fish were added in this update.

Ship upgrades gate the new tiers. To reach them you must upgrade your ship with the Rocket and Submarine parts. This is the first time progression has been gated behind ship hardware rather than level alone.

Outfits and hair colors. You can now swap outfits in the customization menu, with 4 new outfits and 5 new hair colors and more planned.

Achievements are now in the game — 22 achievements at launch of the feature, with more planned “in the near future.” This closes the most-asked question on the hub: until September 26, the game had none.

Quality-of-life and balance changes:

• Movement is quicker and more responsive.
• More consistent lighting and a graphics upgrade.
• Drowning now drains health instead of killing you instantly — the single biggest survival change in the patch.
• Updated visuals for the snow biome.
• A new censor beeping effect for Censorfish.
• Tornado Shark event adjustments.
• Menu freezing safety fallbacks.
• Hunger upgrades were nerfed.

Bug fixes: camera position drifting; player stats and items persistence between saves; Suck-Suck fish gravity; fish physics consistency; the More Crabs event spawning; ‘Rang-‘Rang Fish throwing consistency; and Richard now affects all fish.

Status as of September 27, 2026: Update 2 is live. All of the above is taken from the official September 26 announcement. Where the developer withheld specifics — the fish names, the new biomes’ names, the new event — this page does not invent them.

What this means for older guide pages

If you are reading a page that says “spam left-click to reel,” that is the launch build (August 12–21). From UPDATE 1 onward, the correct version is: watch whether the line drifts left/right or stays center, react to the QTE, and manage the line pulling you toward the water. The launch-era advice is not dangerous garbage — it is simply outdated by three weeks of updates.

Balance details that are still player-discovered

re:try is deliberately vague about the new fish, hats and event specifics: “no spoilers for anything here. We’ll let you guys discover these new things for yourselves!” The pages below list only the official changes; no invented fish names, hat references or event descriptions have been added.

Last checked: September 27, 2026. Update 2 verified as live against the official Steam announcement feed (posted September 26) on that date.