Dredge presents itself as a fishing horror game, which is quite a unique combination and probably an entirely novel concept to most people who haven't seen that one Tumblr post from I think 2018 (that I couldn't find on tumblr but I did find it reposed on Reddit here at least)
As a fishing game, Dredge is pretty great! The act of fishing itself is fun, there are lots of different fish to catch, upgrading your boat is satisfying (though I wish upgrade materials were a bit more common) and the inventory management is great.
As a horror game, ehhhhhh?
Don't get me wrong, the game as great at building atmosphere and there were actually points where I was scared but all of that shattered the moment I first died. I got a textbox saying that I died and then I was set back to the last harbor.
When I complained about this to a friend she asked "Isn't that what usually happens when you die in a game?" and I guess? But other horror games where those are the effects of death still manage to keep me tense.
I played Signalis earlier this month and knowing that at worst I'd lose like 5 minutes of progess didn't make the game any less scary. I think the issue might be how incredibly easy it is to gain more resources. Damage to your ship can always be repaired pretty quickly for a bit of money and getting that money was never an issue for me.
Also none of the stories in the game are that great, especially the story of the last biome feels more like a parody than a genuine attempt at writing a horror story.
Some of the fucked up fish sure are fucked up though!
Obviously though Dredge isn't one fishing game and one horror game that you play in succesion, it's a singular fishing horror game, and as a game overall I found it to be pretty enjoyable still.
Worth checking out if you're into fishing games, but if you're looking for a horror game specifically maybe look for something else.
As a fishing game, Dredge is pretty great! The act of fishing itself is fun, there are lots of different fish to catch, upgrading your boat is satisfying (though I wish upgrade materials were a bit more common) and the inventory management is great.
As a horror game, ehhhhhh?
Don't get me wrong, the game as great at building atmosphere and there were actually points where I was scared but all of that shattered the moment I first died. I got a textbox saying that I died and then I was set back to the last harbor.
When I complained about this to a friend she asked "Isn't that what usually happens when you die in a game?" and I guess? But other horror games where those are the effects of death still manage to keep me tense.
I played Signalis earlier this month and knowing that at worst I'd lose like 5 minutes of progess didn't make the game any less scary. I think the issue might be how incredibly easy it is to gain more resources. Damage to your ship can always be repaired pretty quickly for a bit of money and getting that money was never an issue for me.
Also none of the stories in the game are that great, especially the story of the last biome feels more like a parody than a genuine attempt at writing a horror story.
Some of the fucked up fish sure are fucked up though!
Obviously though Dredge isn't one fishing game and one horror game that you play in succesion, it's a singular fishing horror game, and as a game overall I found it to be pretty enjoyable still.
Worth checking out if you're into fishing games, but if you're looking for a horror game specifically maybe look for something else.