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.
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.