The visuals are nice, and the audio is also quite good, but while the idea holds up, I think the execution and current balance severely damage the experience.
When starting a level, you can sometimes be right next to a big fish and die immediately, or in a few seconds after moving. The camera is also too zoomed in, making it hard to see fish close to you.
It’s hard to find fish smaller than you. I think an element that adds to this is the fact that other fish can also eat smaller fish. I imagine you were trying to be somewhat realistic here, but games aren’t fun because of being realistic, and in this case, I believe this mechanic harms the experience. When the game begins, all the small fish will be quickly eaten up, leaving none to the player.
Related to the previous issue, success or failure feels like it comes down to the very start of the game, if you find a lot of fish you can eat quickly, you’ve won, otherwise, you’ll starve to death.
Movement speed felt a bit inconsistent, since sometimes I’d move slower than normal while having my mouse in the same position. I believe this is related to the puffer fish, but I’m not sure. If the player can’t realize why their speed is changing, that means that the game needs better signaling, or to straight up get rid of that mechanic.
What fish you can eat is also inconsistent, since sometimes a fish would look bigger than the me, but I could still eat it, while other times it’d seem to be about the same size, but that fish would eat me instead.
The space above the seafloor feels completely useless, since, to my knowledge, no fish spawn there or go there naturally.
Also, while in the main menu, if you click on certain spots of the ‘Play’ button, you’ll instantly click on a level icon and be instantly sent to that level.