Derby Creek

A cozy fly fishing game with a synergy-driven roguelike economy. 

Every run, you walk down to a procedurally-generated creek with a fresh tackle box and a few days on the water. Each tackle item in your box carries various tags, and those tags combine to determine which fly you tie on next. 

Each fish has its own preferred flies, habitats, feeding depths, active times of day, and weather conditions that influence when and where they bite. Line things up for the species you’re targeting, and a single catch can turn into a massive score. Hit the day’s score threshold before you run out of flies, or the run comes to an end.

The Atmosphere

Patience is key in Derby Creek. You cast your line, watch the surface, and wait. In the morning, mist lifts from calm water. At midday, light reaches deeper pools. Evening brings gentle rises. At night, the creek changes into something else entirely.

The environment is inspired by the rivers, lakes, and wilderness of the Rocky Mountains. Streams running cold. Lakes that turn dark when the clouds come in. Water that catches the light differently every hour.

The Catch Journal

Each fish in Derby Creek gets its own watercolor entry in the Catch Journal. When you catch something new, the page fills in. Until then, it stays blank. The journal records the size of the fish, the depth where you caught it, the time of day, and the fly you used. Over time, it becomes a record of your most memorable runs.

The Tackle Box

Your Tackle Box drives every run. Each item you equip can affect your fly, casting, score, luck, jigging, reeling, and more. Stack Split Shot Weights with Thingamabobbers. Combine Hemostats with French Leaders. Try adding Snake Oil, Pool Noodle Chunks, or even an old Bank Receipt to see what new combinations and flies you can create.

Some items come directly from real fly fishing. Others are the sort of things an old timer might keep in his pocket, just in case they come in handy.

The Catch

Cast where you think the fish might be. Move your fly through the water to find the right depth. Trout stay deep when the sun is high. Bass rise in the evening shade. Honey Holes appear in open water but disappear quickly.

When a fish bites, the fight begins. The line tightens, and the rod bends. Some fish come in easily, while others run until your reel is empty. If you land one smoothly, you've earned a Perfect Catch.

Tackle items, flies, skills, species, and the world itself all shape the catch. They deepen the challenge, reward skill, and give you new ways to outsmart the fish… or be outsmarted by them.

Key Features

• 40+ fish species across rivers, lakes, and ponds. Each holds at a different depth, bites at a different hour, and likes a different fly.

• 90+ fly patterns built on fly fishing references. Adams, Royal Coachman, Pheasant Tail. The whole catalog.

• 150+ tackle items with passive effects, scoring effects, and tags that shape what fly you cast.

• Roguelike runs with shifting weather, changing time of day, and a fresh shop pool each time.

• 10+ rigs that lock in your approach for the run. Pick your technique: Nymphing, Dry flying, Streaming, and much more.

• 22+ skills with names like Glass Rod and Honey Magnet. Take one while you have the chance, or let it pass. What you take reshapes the rest of the run.

• Luck is part of fly fishing, and part of every run. Honey Holes flicker on the water, rarer flies bend the odds, and some days the creek just gives.

• The Catch Journal: a watercolor entry for every species you land.

• Hand painted pixel art of the Colorado Rockies.

• Original music by an award winning composer, Nick Montopoli.

• Sound design by the sound designer of Dredge, Michaela Cornelius.