Dredge (2023)

So, it's a little difficult to review this game in any great detail because I started playing it like 17 months ago and got about 80% of the way through before being interrupted by both my own anxiety (more on that later) and a debilitating injury, and then I just kept getting distracted by other games. As such, while I remember a lot of moments from the game (because it's a really good game with a lot of memorable set pieces), I don't know if I can really stitch them together into any kind of coherent thesis.

But it's a good game! Beautiful art and animation, perfect mood-setting score and sound design, compellingly weird and dark narrative, and the gameplay is surprisingly frictionless. Like, it's not unchallenging, there's some strategy, some puzzle-solving, some knowledge-building and environmental research, and some skill-based challenges, but none of it every felt frustrating.

Where you might find some friction, if you're like me, is in the horror aspect. But you shouldn't. Yes, there are a lot of creepy tense moments, especially when you have to go out at night (and picking up one of the many eldritch abominations while you're fishing is kind of a jump scare), but I think the only times I actually died and had to reload were when I got destroyed by the sea monster in the Gale Cliffs. Most encounters, while still tense, will see you making a daring escape, or taking a beating but still managing to limp back to port.

This was where my anxiety played up, specifically in the Twisted Strand when there was a mission that required night fishing and my nerves just couldn't take it. But coming back to the game after finally completing Bloodborne made me realize that the lessons I'd learned from that experience applied here as well. The worst thing that can happen is you fail and try again, and all it will cost you is time. With that mentality I practically sauntered through the rest of the game, giant eldritch monsters be damned. And, you know, it's way more fun when you're not anxiously avoiding half of the game.

So, a beautiful, fun, and surprisingly chill (once you get comfortable with it) horror fishing game.

p.s. I definitely did not solve every mystery even in the base game. I still haven't found a place for that dog.

p.p.s. A thing that I don't think I've noticed in any other game is how as the world gets bigger it also gets smaller. What I mean is, at the beginning of the game it takes like a whole in-game day to cross the bay to Little Marrow. The bay feels huge because of this, and then you have to go out onto the open ocean?! That's so much bigger though! But as you go through the game you upgrade your engines, and every time you come back through The Marrows you find it takes less time to cross. By the end of the game the map and your knowledge of the world has expanded so much, but the speed at which you traverse it makes those once vast distances seem tiny. It's a really interesting effect.

p.p.p.s. Is there a "good" ending? Because if there is I don't think it's the one I got. It was a good ending though.

p.p.p.p.s. At one point I shouted out Dredge on Bluesky and Joel Mason followed me, which was really awkward 'cause I hadn't finished the game yet and hadn't even played it in months. But I am finally free of this secret shame.

Dredge ha sido una grata sorpresa. A primera vista, parece un indie más con una historia sencilla de horror cósmico. Pero pronto podrás darte cuenta de que estás ante algo especial. Sus mecánicas son tan simples como efectivas: pesca, mejora tu barco, explora… y repite. Pero es justo esa mezcla entre lo relajante y lo inquietante lo que lo vuelve tan adictivo. El progreso es constante, gratificante, y siempre tienes algo que hacer, algún rincón nuevo que explorar, alguna criatura extraña que capturar antes de que caiga la noche (y empieces a ver cosas).

Lo terminé en un par de sentadas, no porque sea corto, sino porque no pude soltarlo. Dredge no reinventa la rueda, pero pule cada una de sus partes hasta que encajan con una precisión casi hipnótica. Sencillo, sí. Pero muy, muy efectivo.

I've never liked fishing in video games. Whether that be Zelda, Yakuza or WoW. I've only engaged with these minigames for the rewards associated with them (Zelda=heart pieces; Yakuza = Side quest hilarity/entertainment; WoW = Powerful consumes for raiding). I was skeptical going into this game given it's all built around fishing and I got to say I found it captivating.

The game balances between being a cozy post-Dad sim (meaning a game that incorporates some mundane task as the primary gameplay loop that is often cozy but cathartic) and a Cosmic horror atmosphere that drips from every pore of the game. The art style and music are lovely. Lo-Fi and understated but heavily stylized. It's a pleasing game to look at. I'm also a sucker for any Ocean themed game so it also checks that box for me.

You have a sanity meter that goes up the longer you stay up and the darker it gets outside. You will start hallucinating monstrosities and obstacles that can harm you. The game creates a sense of tension, but is honestly never a punishing game. It feels more challenging than it actually is in the early phases of the game, and eventually any semblance of challenge is thrown out the window once you upgrade your vessel. On one hand, it makes progression feel meaningful, on the other hand the game never really challenges you. The fishing isn't challenging, you basically just need to press a button at the right time multiple times until a bar is filled. This mini-game does vary based on fish types, but there still are a fairly limited number of fishing mini-games. Still the atmosphere and art are great enough to not make this feel stale (at least for me) and the short runtime does prevent the game from over staying its welcome. Truth be told, I wouldn't have minded to have an extra 10 hours (my total run time was about 12 hours) to experience this world more. I suppose I could have gone for 100%, but honestly I didn't feel too compelled to do this given how repetitive the gameplay is in a vacuum. It certainly feels greater than the sum of its parts.

The story is fairly minimalist and most characters are laconic, thus lore is fairly limited. But the game has highs. The first few hours are probably the best part of the game. That's because you have a small dingy vessel which has both limited space and speed. This effectively means you can cover less ground and fish less before returning to a port. The game encourages you to fish primarily during the day. Not only because of improved visibility, but also because your sanity will plummet and cosmic horrors will attack your ship. The threat level feels higher than it actually is. Most cosmic horrors will hit your ship once and then bugger off. You'll take damage, but it's pretty rare to die in the game. I died only once and by a tornado I accidentally ran into. Still the game cleverly requires you to fish at night. Specific fish will be nocturnal and you will be required to gather these fish from time to time.

Late game, once you've maxed out your ship and unlock cosmic power, traversal and carry capacity trivialize the game. It's still fun, but the game starts slow and then begins to speed by. The last few quests and reveals are still great though. The fanatical priest in the volcanic biome is a real highlight. I also really like the ultimate twist of you being the collector the whole time. It's a cool reveal that informs the weird surreal interactions you have with earlier characters. I'd be curious to replay this game at some point knowing this final reveal. I'm also a fan of both endings. They both feel befitting to the genre, with the bad ending actually being kind of awesome. They both end pretty abruptly and I would have liked more meat to them given the build up.

The game does have variety in environments, which is a strength. Each major biome has a unique cosmic horror that you need to deal with that have unique mechanics to them. The first is a large eel like monster that patrols aggressively around tight corridors you need to navigate. The second is a large unfathomable tentacle monster that hangs out in a deep abyss in the middle of the biome. The third are a series of psychic monsters in different parts of the map and the final is a large blind piranha monster that has babies that will make noise around you to draw it to you. It's really cool having each feel so unique, forcing you to adapt to the environment.

The game also has rad background details. Such as a giant tentacle erupting from the depths, and then a sperm whale diving ontop of it. Plunging the tentacle back to the depths. Or a random pod of dolphins or orcs. And the occasional colossal cosmic monstrosity that casually swims by (one of which is actually part of the good end.) These are cool moments to see that add to the atmosphere.

Overall this is an easy recommend. It has it's flaws, particularly with the end game pacing, but it's worth the time and money. I didn't check out the DLCs because they have kind of a mixed reception. I do wish I bought a complete edition though. It sounds like most people recommend tackling the DLC as you progress through the main story because if you do it late game it ends up feeling more tedious than engaging. Since I already beat the game, I decided to pass. If I revisit though, I'll plan to pick up the DLC.

Playtime: 6h45m

Intro

Dredge is a game in which you explore a map, (mostly) play Frogger to fish/dredge, grind money/upgrades and do a ton of fetch quests.

The Good

• Unique concept.
• Cool atmosphere.
• Option to disable enemy attacks.

The Bad

• Frogger.
• Grindy upgrade system.
• Too much Frogger.
• Really clunky item controls. Just use hotkeys FFS.
• Way too much Frogger.
• Relatively little story elements, compared to the fishing.
• Did i mention Frogger?
• No minimap/compass/quest hud.

The Ugly

• Really short days result in constant backtracking.
• Monsters instakill you, forcing you to reload a save.
• Way too many shallow fetch quests.
• Most quest locations not shown on map.
• It would have taken very little effort to not make you play Frogger dozens of times.

Conclusion

I like how they tried something different but the gameplay leaves much to be desired. Did we really need three different cultists who want three different kinds of fish? And at least three different shrines that want three mutated fish? Et cetera?

Multiple research systems also seem to exist just to stretch out the game. Even with enemy attacks turned off it feels grindy. All too often developers feel the need to add "gameplay" to their story-focused game, only to have that get in the way of enjoying the story. Dredge sadly turns into a drudge.

Lovely fishing game where I do my job in daylight hours and everything is fine and normal.

The developers really nailed the atmosphere here, keeping the level of dread and discomfort just below the surface. All of my most memorable moments playing were unannounced interstitials that I may as likely have missed entirely - brushes with the other world beneath the waves.

Admittedly there's not much pressing incentive at first to tread outside the 'safe' bounds of Greater Marrow, but the desire for exploration wins out. The writing is consistent and interesting; the game mechanics varied enough to maintain interest across a short runtime.

The endings are a tad disappointing, but only really in their brevity. One certainly feels more true to the source material - I didn't come to Lovecraft to feel good about things.

I greatly enjoyed this! I liked the fishing, the horror, the music, the different types of fish, the art style, upgrading my boat, the side quests, the dog!! (That I definitely kept with me till the end of the game). I liked the story and the characters. Whoever said this was a cozy game was right (even with the horror aspects!)

The Pale Reach DLC was good, and I'm looking forward to the next one!

I haven't reviewed something in forever. Mostly because a certain game has been holding my attention for a while now, and that certain game I still haven't finished. Then on a winters day, the steam sale came along. I was thinking, why not, why not play something else. I bought a couple of things, and Dredge was the first one of those I played.

Narrative

You are a fisherman. You start in this small village, of which the mayor, who gave you a new boat after you crashed yours, tells you you have a debt now and you should go fishing to pay this debt. Don't worry this debt doesn't last for long, it's just a tutorial kind of thing. Now you are free to explore the ocean around you, visit new interesting places, and be very sure not to go out at night. No seriously, don't go out at night.

Gameplay

The gameplay loop is boating around, finding fishing spots and do minigames to get these fish, and sell these for profit. The profit you can then use to upgrade your boat, and get new equipment to get even better fish. That's the core of it. Around it are quests for characters you meet along the way (including some light puzzling), a lovecraftian mystery to unravel, and scary spooky water monsters.

Setting

You find yourself in the ocean with a bunch of islands scattered around everywhere, There are several different habitats, from tropical to pine forests. The atmosphere is gloomy, it's usually bad weather, and at night the fog rolls out and many horrors can be found in there. It's a very atmospheric game, I enjoyed the art style a lot, it reminded me mildly of Darkest Dungeon. Fits the setting perfectly. The music fits the mood very well, and I enjoyed just boating around, exploring the wonders and horrors of the little stretch of ocean you find yourself in.

Other

No bugs for me. I did die, a bunch.

Conclusion

I 'finished' this game in about 10 hours. Depending on your definition of finished. I saw an ending, the credits rolled, but I didn't nearly found all the fish for instance. I don't know yet if I will, I did really enjoy the game, but knowing myself, not an avid collectathon enthousiast, I probably won't go back. For the people that want to, you can just drop back after the ending right before you initiate it. The game was a lot of fun. Ran like a dream on the steam deck. Gameplay was smooth and satisfying, and even though the fishing minigame was quite repetitive, I didn't get bored of it. The story was interesting, but in the end not the games strongest point in my opinion. The setting, the mood and the atmosphere were the real winners here. Perfect to play on a cold dark winters night.