How to Fish Troubleshooting & Fixes
How To Fish Black Screen
If How to Fish opens to a black screen, the usual culprits are a stale game version, a launcher or fullscreen conflict, or GPU drivers — and there is a fix for each. Start by updating the game: the official Patch 1.0.4 notes already addressed black screen and gray screen reports. If the screen is still black after updating, work through the six community-verified fixes below in order.
Fix 0: Update to the Latest Patch
Do this before anything else. Dazed Games shipped launch-window fixes through the Steam announcements page, and the patch notes covering 1.0.4 include black and gray screen fixes alongside multiplayer repairs. A large share of day-one black screen reports were patched out entirely.
Let Steam finish the update completely, then launch once before trying anything exotic. If the black screen appeared right after a patch, a second restart of both game and Steam often settles it. Only move on if the problem survives a fully updated install.
Fix 1: Restart Steam and Your PC
The classic first move, and the tutorial videos put it first for a reason. Fully exit Steam — including the tray icon — and reboot the PC rather than using fast startup resume. This clears half-applied updates and stuck overlay hooks that manifest as a black window.
It feels too simple to be the answer, which is exactly why it is worth two minutes before deeper digging. Black screens that appear "randomly" often stop after a clean restart. Rule it out first so the later fixes test cleanly.
Fix 2: Launch From the Game's EXE
Bypass the launcher chain by running the game's own executable. In Steam, open the Manage menu on the game's page and choose Browse local files, then double-click the game's EXE in the folder that opens. This tests whether Steam's launch wrapper is what is going black.
If the EXE launches fine, the problem lives in the launch path, and you can keep using the EXE while investigating. If the folder will not open or the EXE errors out, that points toward broken files — which is Fix 5's territory. Either way you have learned something real.
Fix 3: Compatibility Mode and Admin Rights
Right-click the EXE, open Properties, and try running it in Windows 8 or Windows 7 compatibility mode. In the same dialog, tick Run as administrator. Older compatibility targets occasionally resolve black screens on newer Windows builds when the game's display initialization misbehaves.
Admin rights matter separately: without them, some installs fail to create the files they need at launch, and a game silently staring at a black window is one of the symptoms. Apply both flags, click OK, and launch again from the EXE. One restart after changing compatibility settings is normal.
Fix 4: Disable Fullscreen Optimization
Still in the EXE's Properties, under the Compatibility tab, enable "Disable fullscreen optimizations." Windows' fullscreen optimization layer sits between the game and the GPU, and when it misjudges a game, you get a black screen with audio or a black screen on alt-tab. Disabling it removes the middleman.
This fix is free, reversible, and a known black-screen killer for many indie titles. Combined with Fix 3, it covers the display-pipeline causes. If the game now runs windowed or borderless happily, you have found your long-term setting.
Fix 5: Verify Files and Update Drivers
Two maintenance fixes close the list. First, in Steam go to the game's Properties > Installed Files and run Verify integrity of game files, which repairs corrupted or half-written installs that produce black launches. Second, update your NVIDIA or AMD GPU driver from the maker's site and reboot — driver releases in a game's launch month often carry day-one fixes.
Run verification first, then the driver update, rebooting after each. Together they resolve the remaining hardware-side causes: broken files and stale display drivers. Verify again after any driver update if the issue flickered rather than died.
If the Black Screen Comes Back
Recurring black screens deserve a report in the Steam community discussions, where the developers and players triage launch issues — that hub is the game's live troubleshooting channel. Post your specs, Windows version, game patch, and which fixes you already tried. Recurring cases after Patch 1.0.4 are exactly what the developers need to hear about next.
Also recheck the announcements page before assuming the worst, because a newer patch may already carry your fix. Black screens are boringly common in a game's first weeks and boringly fixable. Update, restart, verify, update drivers — in that order, one change at a time.
Matching the Fix to Your Symptom
Black screen with audio usually points at the display pipeline: try disabling fullscreen optimization first, then compatibility mode. Black screen on alt-tab is the same family — fullscreen optimization again. A black screen with nothing happening at all favors the launch path: EXE launch, admin rights, then file verification.
Using symptoms to order the fixes saves time versus marching the list blind. The tutorial presents the fixes as a sequence, but the sequence is really a decision tree. Diagnose one level, apply the matching fix, retest.
When Black Screens Happen in Multiplayer
Some launch-window black screen reports were tied to multiplayer sessions rather than startup, and the 1.0.4 patch notes addressed lobby and connection fixes alongside the black and gray screen items. If your black screens only appear when joining lobbies, update every player's game version first.
Version mismatches are the top join-failure suspect in the patch era. A quick update-and-restart on all sides resolves most session black screens without any local fixes. Save the deep troubleshooting for problems that survive a fully updated, freshly restarted install.
Reporting a Bug the Developers Can Use
If the screen stays black through all six fixes, post in the Steam community discussions, where launch issues are actively triaged. Include your specs, Windows version, current game patch, and exactly which fixes you already tried. Reports with that detail get fixed; reports saying "black screen pls help" do not.
Check the announcements page before posting, in case a newer patch already carries your fix. Recurring cases after 1.0.4 are precisely what the developers need to hear about next. You are not complaining — you are providing telemetry.
What the Patch Notes Already Fixed
It helps to know what has already been patched before you start troubleshooting. The official announcements for Patch 1.0.4 explicitly covered black and gray screen fixes, multiplayer lobby fixes, and other launch-window issues. If your install predates that patch, you may be debugging a bug that no longer exists.
Make "fully updated" your baseline state before applying any manual fix. Steam shows the current version on the game page, and the announcements page lists what each patch changed. The community fixes below are for black screens that survive a current, verified install.