◆ Out Now · May 28 2026 ◆
SCALE THE
DEPTHS
An addictive pixel-art fishing adventure where you catch, scale, and serve fish to underwater creatures who have very strong opinions.
FISH → SCALE → SERVE → UPGRADE → GO DEEPER → REPEAT
◆ Browser Version ◆
PLAY SCALE THE DEPTHS
No download. No account. Just drop your line.
◆ About the Game ◆
WHAT IS SCALE THE DEPTHS?
Apophis 99942 — a deep Loch Ness encounter. The fish get strange the deeper you go.
Scale the Depths is a cozy pixel-art fishing simulation by Canadian indie studio Glass Gecko Games. You play a tiny robot fishmonger working a Loch Ness shoreline — catch fish, scale them with surgical precision, then serve them to an increasingly weird lineup of underwater customers.
Each customer has a favorite. Otter takes anything. Heron sneers at small fry. Nessie only opens her mouth for legendary catches like the Beithir. The deeper your line reaches, the rarer the catches — and the more bizarre your customers become.
Originally a 2024 GMTK Game Jam entry, it went viral on itch.io and racked up 210K+ demo players, 97% positive ratings, and 115K+ Steam wishlists. The full release on May 28, 2026 brings four worlds, dozens of new fish, and the lore behind why a tiny robot was built to scale fish in the first place.
◆ Gameplay ◆
THE CORE LOOP
Simple concept. Addictive depth.
Cast Your Line
Drop your hook and steer through schools of fish. Some are quick, some armored — all need timing.
Scale the Fish
Strip scales with precise mouse drags. Rush and they spoil. Find the rhythm.
Serve Customers
Match the right fish to the right picky customer. Match well, earn well.
Upgrade Gear
Sharper knives, longer lines, multi-catch hooks, new boats — every coin counts.
Go Deeper
Better gear unlocks darker waters with rarer, weirder, more valuable creatures.
Repeat
The loop tightens. One more cast becomes ten. Then twenty. The depths call.
◆ Four Layers ◆
THE WORLDS
Each layer deeper than the last. Each stranger than the last.
The SS Ligma at Loch Ness. Chupacabra wants “a feast, so make it a big one” — the customers escalate from there.
Loch Ness
Scottish folklore made real. The only world available in the demo. Ferox trout near the surface, Beithir lurking in the depths, and Nessie herself waiting for her favorite catches.
Outer Banks
Warm Atlantic waters off North Carolina. A different ecosystem — new fish species, new customers with sharper opinions, and scaling patterns that punish the rhythm you learned in Loch Ness.
Point Nemo
The oceanic pole of inaccessibility — the most remote point on Earth, 2,688 km from the nearest land. The game shifts here. Deep, dark, and full of creatures that probably shouldn't exist.
The Unknown
Beyond normal fishing. The final layer answers a question the game has been hinting at: why was a tiny robot built to scale fish in the first place? Players who collected every bottle find out first.
◆ Picky Patrons ◆
UNDERWATER CUSTOMERS
Not human. Not impressed. Learn what each one wants — serve well, pay well.
Otter
Starter
The first customer you'll meet. Forgiving — fills slower on wrong fish but never refuses.
Axolotl
Common
Quiet and grateful. Pays a steady premium for bottom-dwellers.
Heron
Picky
Visibly judgmental face. The wrong fish slows the fill bar to a crawl — burns your time.
Kelpie
Mythical
Scottish water-horse from folklore. Refuses small fry — only deep, dangerous catches.
Nessie
Legendary
Loch Ness herself. Save the rarest catches (like Beithir) for her — the payout dwarfs everything.
◆ Featured Fish ◆
FROM THE DEMO
Four catches that 210K demo players keep talking about. The full release adds dozens more.
HOGA (Texcocichthys hoga) at the scaling station. “A head resembling that of a hog, with long barbs extending from its mouth.” The catalog runs deep.
Ferox Trout
Surface Depth
Loch Ness staple. Mid-tier value, easy to scale.
Anchovies
Surface Depth
Schooling fish — every player hits the inventory cap on these. Upgrade storage early.
Moon Fish
Mid Depth
Produces a massive scale grid. The most satisfying scaling rhythm in the game.
Beithir
Deep Depth
Scottish myth serpent. Rare Loch Ness spawn. Save it for Nessie — biggest single payout in the demo.
◆ Field Manual ◆
TIPS & STRATEGIES
Six tips for the first ten hours. Read in order.
Aim for the Perfect Star
Scale slowly and evenly — when the fish is prepared at 'Perfect' quality, a gold star appears on its icon and you get a payout multiplier. Rushing damages the scales and tanks the price.
Line Length Beats Everything Else
Don't waste early coins on knife upgrades. Longer fishing line unlocks deeper fish, hidden levers, and the locked doors below the surface. Every other upgrade compounds on top of that range.
Save Beithir for Nessie
Beithir is a rare Loch Ness serpent — the biggest single payout in the demo. Don't sell it to Otter for pocket change. Hold it until Nessie shows up; her tip is enormous.
Anchovies Will Cap Your Inventory
Schooling fish like anchovies fill your storage instantly and you'll spend the next 30 seconds scaling tiny low-value fish. Upgrade inventory size before you go anchovy-heavy.
You Can Skip Scaling — But Don't
There's a button to send a fish straight to the customer without scaling. It works, but the payout is a fraction of a properly-scaled fish. Only skip when the customer is starving.
Read the Bottles
Messages in bottles aren't flavor text — they hint at lever locations, rare-fish spawn windows, and how to unlock doors deeper down. Players who read them find areas others walk past.
The Outer Banks shop. Industrial Rod V6 at $1,800 is the line-length upgrade the tips talk about — prioritize it over knives.
◆ If You Like This ◆
GAMES LIKE SCALE THE DEPTHS
Dredge
Black Salt Games
Fishing meets cosmic horror. Darker tone, same satisfying catch-and-sell loop.
Webfishing
lamedeveloper
Cozy multiplayer fishing with a similar chill vibe.
Tiny Fishing
retrostylegames
Simple browser fishing with upgrade progression. The blueprint.
Stardew Valley
ConcernedApe
The 'one more cast' energy. Different game, same itch.
◆ Frequently Asked ◆
QUESTIONS FROM THE SURFACE
Is Scale the Depths free to play?+
The demo and the browser version on this page are free. The full game on Steam is $6.99 — one-time purchase, no microtransactions.
Where can I play Scale the Depths online?+
Scroll up — the embedded game runs the official Unity build directly. No download, no account needed.
Is Scale the Depths on mobile?+
No official mobile release. The mobile ads you've seen are unauthorized clones the developers have publicly disowned.
Which upgrade should I buy first?+
Fishing line length. It's the only upgrade that compounds — longer line unlocks deeper fish, hidden levers, and locked doors.
What fish does Nessie like?+
Legendary and mythical catches — especially the Beithir, a rare Loch Ness serpent. Save it for her; the payout dwarfs everything else.
How do I get a Perfect star on a fish?+
Scale slowly and evenly. A gold star appears on Perfect-quality fish and you earn a payout multiplier on top of the base price.
What are the bottles for?+
Messages in bottles hint at lever locations, rare-fish spawns, and how to unlock doors below the surface. Read them.
What is the Beithir?+
A giant serpent from Scottish folklore. In-game, it's a rare Loch Ness spawn and the highest-paying single catch in the demo.
What is the gameplay loop?+
Fish → Scale → Serve → Upgrade → Go Deeper. Catch fish, scale them cleanly, feed picky customers, spend coins, repeat at deeper layers.
How long is Scale the Depths?+
Demo runs 1–2 hours. The full release with four worlds takes 8–15 hours depending on how much you explore.
Who developed Scale the Depths?+
Glass Gecko Games, a small Canadian indie studio. Started as a 2024 GMTK Game Jam project. Published by Pretty Soon / Phoenix Games.
Is there controller support?+
Yes on the full Steam release. The browser version uses keyboard + mouse: A/D move, E interact, mouse for scaling.
Are there in-app purchases?+
None. Single $6.99 Steam purchase. No microtransactions, DLC paywalls, or ads inside the game.
What languages are supported?+
English at launch. Localization is on the developers' post-launch roadmap.
When does the full game release?+
May 28, 2026 on Steam (PC). 115K+ wishlists going into launch.
◆ The depths are waiting ◆
CAST YOUR LINE
The browser version is right above this page. No download. No account. Just drop your line and start fishing.
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