Limited Run Games has announced a rather special collectible for nostalgic edutainment fans: the Freddi Fish Collection. As announced, this new physical release collects the five main Freddi Fish games from Humongous Entertainment, with versions available for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5. Alongside the collection, Limited Run Games will also release a soundtrack album comprising songs from the game.
For anyone who played Freddi Fish growing up, it’s certainly a nostalgic release. Freddi Fish, alongside Spy Fox, Putt-Putt, Pajama Sam, and the lesser-loved Fatty Bear, was an icon of the 1990s edutainment scene, teaching young players the basics of maths, language, geography, and more.
Each Freddi Fish adventure is a bright, colourful ride. Typically, games are focussed on one central mystery, with puzzles along the way allowing players to engage in fun mini-games, with a light touch of traditional education.
The delightful novelty of Freddi Fish
The first game’s subtitle, The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds is pretty self-explanatory. You’re Freddi Fish, and you’re searching for the magical kelp seeds which promote growth and harmony on the ocean floor. In later adventures, players investigate the case of the stolen conch shell, the mystery of a haunted schoolhouse, and the appearance of a mysterious underwater creature.
What’s novel is each game has a variable solution, so no two runs are the same. Kids are encouraged to play through each game, investigating particular clues and taking particular pathways, and when starting over, there’s new clues and new paths to take.
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If you couldn’t tell already, I’m one of those folks who grew up playing Freddi Fish, and I certainly have many positive memories of this franchise. It has a very important place in the edutainment and PC gaming scene of the 1990s, and I can say with real certainty it helped to spark my life-long love of games.
Growing up in the 1990s and 2000s, computer literacy was paramount. In a dedicated ‘computer class’ in school, I learned about typing and problem solving, with games like Freddi Fish (and Carmen Sandiego, Bugdom, The Crystal Rainforest, and Granny’s Garden) teaching valuable skills, not only about life, but also about how to use computers. I owe plenty to Humongous Entertainment, and to its founders, Shelley Day and Ron Gilbert (and yes, it’s that Ron Gilbert).
It’s great to see Limited Run Games celebrating the legacy of Freddi Fish with this upcoming collection, particularly given the Freddi Fish series (and its fellow Humongous Entertainment titles) are currently only available as digital releases in the modern market. While you can obtain CD-ROM copies if you know where to look, they are fairly rare, given they released more than two decades ago.
Those keen to obtain their own copies of the Freddi Fish Collection to replay a childhood favourite on either Nintendo Switch or PlayStation 5 can now preorder the release via Limited Run Games, with the window closing on 17 August 2025. Currently, the estimated shipping date is early December 2025.
Also on ScreenHub: State of Play survey warns of NSW game developer exodus
State of Play, an independent board established to provide data-led games industry analysis to the Australian Government, has released a new survey indicating a major crisis brewing for NSW-based game developers. Speaking to developers across the state, the organisation discovered a major lack of funding opportunities and support, which has led many developers (74% surveyed) to consider moving to another state.
For specific reasoning, developers identified not only a lack of funding opportunities (61%), but also a need for a better games industry ecosystem for networking and connection (49%), being able to live closer to talent (20%), and challenges with cost of living pressures (under 5%).
