Game Review: Dredge
Developer: Black Salt Games
Publisher: Team17
Release Date: March 30, 2023
Reviewed On: PC
Price: $24.99
Dredge is a game I had heard many good things about but had never played for myself. I had a general idea of the storyline, but otherwise, went in pretty blindly. The only two things I knew about the game was that it was about fishing and there were lovecraftian elements. I decided to finally give it a try as I had suddenly gotten an urge to deep dive into the game and figure out what makes the game stand out to other players.
Dredge is a fishing simulator game. The player is a fisherman who has crashed into the cliffs and now must start over their career from scratch as their boat is wrecked. They travel from island to island, catching fish to improve their vessel. However, when night falls, strange occurrences impede on the player’s journey. The world’s ocean holds much darker secrets beyond the depths below.
Analysis
Gameplay
I had thought that I would eventually get tired of the fishing game play, but I really didn’t. It was so rewarding for me to upgrade my ship and to catch as many fish as possible in order to do so. The main fishing minigame runs on a mechanic that wants players to press on time to reel in faster. Although, players can simply not do anything and let the reel go by itself, it’s much faster and more fun to try to reel in the fish through the timed mechanic.
Alongside the fishing is dredging which is essentially pulling out supplies and treasures from wrecks and deep below. This runs on a similar premise, although it more requires players to time going through the open path and moving out of the way of obstacles.
These two minigames made it so much more entertaining to fish and upgrade the ship. In fact, I had so much fun with the minigames that I barely went through the story before my ship was almost fully upgraded. I took a bit of time visiting the other islands but rarely ventured beyond Twisted Strand and the Greater Marrow. I also strictly stayed within the day cycle, avoiding fishing at night time besides a few brief instances.
Despite limiting myself like this, I still found a great amount of joy in simply enjoying the gameplay itself and moving around the world. It was quite relaxing to just go about the day, fishing for the day’s catch, and returning to a dock to sell them. Dredge made a great mix of lull and reward. It doesn’t feel like a lot is happening while fishing; it can be pretty relaxing. However, for simply doing this, you can be well-rewarded through upgrades and money. In my playthrough, by the time I had reached the final relics, I had thousands of dollars I didn’t need since I had a fully-upgraded ship.
Story
Story-wise, I hadn’t been expecting too much from the game because for most simulation games like this, the story tends to be on the back burner. The build up for the story was pretty long. It felt akin to a short story steeped in horror. The suspense and questions build and build, and then finally explode!
Don’t get me wrong, the climax was great. The conclusion was great. I loved the twist and the hidden clues that led up to that point in the bits and pieces given by characters and notes. I just wish there had been more of a rise and fall of tension. Part of why horror games tend to have jumpscares is to help elevate the tension, get a sense of release, and then worry about what’s to come next since the game’s not over.
To be fair, probably a part of my experience not feeling like this was because my ship had been fully upgraded and capable of handling any of the creatures that spawned while I was actually exploring through the story. However, the monsters themselves felt not really connected to the overarching story. I understand how the relics play a role, but I found myself questioning how it plays into the overall storyline. It would have been really cool to hear more about how these monsters connect to the larger world or were even symbolic to other issues on the island.
What I mean with this is that the quests along the way to getting the relics hold little relevance to the overarching story. The story itself lies within the notes and specific dialogue interactions but the players are not brought along this storyline through the actual quests they are pushed through to complete in order to attain the relics. The quests did help build the world, but they rarely connected to the main quest, aside from its connection to the relic. They overall helped establish NPCs (non-playable characters). It’s not a bad thing, but I really wish there had been more to it. It would have been cool that one of the creatures was a symbolic creature for something else at its location, like an image of greed hoarding away a treasure to match what the people of the island were like until their downfall. I think it would’ve made an interesting contrast and relation in a world where humans live alongside these creatures.
Art and Sound
I love the art style that Dredge utilized in the game. It felt unique, something I could recognize even in a random screenshot. The characters were all distinct in design which made it easy to distinguish them even without proper names. The style made catching fish even more invigorating. Like, I could recognize certain species of fish by name and wanted to see how the artist would interpret them in the game’s style. Seeing their alternate versions as well showed off the art style and the strangeness of the world without actually detailing anything.
The soundscape of the game was great as well. I found myself, at times, tense, just waiting to see if I would hear anything outside of the water. It was great for building atmosphere and really gave the game an additional element that added to its horror. I loved the fact that even parts of the UI (User Interface) had sound effects which made it feel more immersive.
Final Score
I would give Dredge a final score of 4.5 out of 5 stars! It has solid gameplay and a story that slowly builds up to an incredible climax and resolution. I would definitely recommend the game to any players who want a more relaxed horror game, something with tension but moments of lull. I only knocked off a few points from five-stars because I felt like the story and the world could have been better established. There was definitely so much love put into the smaller details like the encyclopedia for the fish, yet it seemed to be lacking in other places or connecting all of these details. The game was still, overall, an amazing experience that felt well-spent.
What are your thoughts of the game, Dredge? Would you be willing the give the game a try? What aspect of a game really pulls you in to make you willing to try it out? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below or in our Boss Rush Discord!
Featured Image Source: Team17
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