Played from – to: (2023-04-17 – 2023-04-20) – PC keyboard.
‣ 8/10 – How can something be beautiful and terrifying at the same time?
‣ Thoughts: What may seem like a simple fishing game at first glance, quickly becomes a terrifying race against time and dread. In Dredge time moves when you do, so every action has consequences, and you must always think ahead before making a move. At first, you will barely manage a few fish a day, but as the game progresses so will your skills. This is all easily achieved with a very simple yet intriguing upgrade system. Every day you will have to decide – fish for cash or resources. It’s simple yet brilliant when time is of the essence. To nobody’s surprise, my favorite part of this game was the Resident Evil 4 styled puzzle inventory management. Jokes aside, Dredge creates a unique and eerie atmosphere. Part of it comes from the very good sound design. And the other half is the world and how it interacts with the player. At the start the sea feel safe, but as soon as you go deeper it all falls apart. You are forced to face the unknown and travel at night, which even without the terrors of the deep is insane but that is exactly why this game is so fun. I found myself constantly repeating just one more day, because the progression system is really rewarding. However, Dredge has some problems, and I will just quickly gloss over them because I’m just being a nitpicking prick so I could justify the 8/10. First off, it is the very same gameplay I praise. The fishing is fun, and different fish, fish differently, however, that gets repetitive and grindy quick. Most if not all objectives will rely on your fishing skills. Some fish will only spawn at certain times so you will find yourself wasting multiple days just looking for that spawn point. Secondly, the time moves way too fast. A few recourse trips can burn days in minutes just because you pulled out a few lumber pieces. And besides that, the map is too big for the time passage speed. Sometimes you will be forced to go back to an island that is on the other edge of the map and get a singular fish, which is fine, but could get quite boring and repetitive. However, all of this was barely a problem in the grand scheme of things. Overall, Dredge is a very spooky game and creates incredible encounters in the deep dark ocean. The story and its world stay rather mysterious by the end, but those attentive enough will catch on quick. The way day and night differ from one another is incredibly well done and both visual and physical tricks the ocean pulls on you in the night is something every horror fan should experience. Sadly, if you are afraid of the ocean this will make you panic.

Eldritch horror, especially with oceanic flavor, is built on fear of unknown things beyond your sights. The creepiness of the genre pairs well with the instinctual fear me and other people have of the deep dark oceans and their secrets. A game centered around testing your will against this fear with a backdrop of scattered islands and communities seemed right up my alley, and I'm always for testing out new indie titles if they catch my interest a little. And from the beginning, Dredge really does do its absolute best to hook you and make you invested in this little world left alone to its own devices, though it is a shame it puts all its eggs in that one basket; the first impression.

The first missions and exploratory journeys in this game are exilarating. The fragility and slowness of your vessel really emphasises how alone and vulnerable you are out there, and the characters you meet fill you with either eerie curiosity or anxious pity. You deliver mysterious packages and see things that shouldn't exist, floating past you as you run for shelter or new fishing spots. The visuals, neat and crisp, make every new sight distinct and memorable. As you reach further areas, you're continually struck with a little awe and wonder at new possibilities and threats you'll encounter.

However. At some point not too far after you're able to leave the Marrows consistently, the game loses its initiative. The gameplay never evolves, the fishing remains an act of pressing a button correctly, the dredging is only marginally more complex. This wouldn't be an issue if the game kept hooking you with new atmospheric touches and fascinating story elements, but these things, too, slowly fade away as you move further along. The main story has little in common with the rest of the game, thematically, and the realization that the game is out of tricks halfway through stings.

The biggest problem with Dredge is how quantifiable and tidy it is. The encyclopedia is well structured, with every fish given its own spot. Even the weird abominations fit neatly into their slots. This is obviously a problem, as it makes it hard to ignore the fact that you're exploring a world designed for you to explore. There is never a feeling of being an outsider on the path of discovery, it feels too much like following a curated path, regardless of the freedom you're given. In a different vein, but with the same root problem, is the fact that all the threats you face are so tangible. The closest thing the game gets to the opposite are the weird red clouds, which are nothing more than nuisances. The game is too…gamey, too afraid to go in unorthodox directions to make its horror effective, and it ends up hurting it a lot in the end.

Regardless of whether or not it's an effective thriller though, it's hard to deny the simple pleasure Dredge provides. It's well polished and it looks excellent, with each and every creature being wonderfully designed. Its thematic and atmospheric problems are hard to overlook, but they don't kill the experience, just dampen it.

Lovely little game, chill vibes, you can finish it in an afternoon. There are times when it feels like there is just too much stuff to move in a given level, but midway through the story started to hook me. It's a really fun approach- the story is told more or less entirely by the things you're unpacking and the home you're fitting them into. It's quite enjoyable to see the possessions moving into and out of the player character's life and extrapolate what that means for her. And it's queer!

Still on gamepass, well worth a download to check out for yourself.