Dredge

Genre: Action-RPG / Simulation / Horror

Players: 1

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Review:

Dredge, released in 2023 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, is a game that combines Simulation and Action-RPG elements, as well as some Horror elements. The game has players taking the role of an oceanic fisherman who finds himself among a group of islands that are a quiet fishing community by day, and home to any number of Lovecraftian horrors at night.

The combination of a Fishing Simulation game and a Horror game might seem odd at first, but it doesn’t take long playing this game to be reminded that fishermen telling tales of unspeakable monsters and horrifying curses is a maritime tradition likely as old as humankind first venturing into the ocean on a boat.

During the daytime, Dredge is delightfully placid, even relaxing. The game’s 3D visuals are beautiful, with the way the sunlight bathes everything in light, as well as the way you can spot fish moving under the water, all looks wonderful, with music that befits this peacefulness without forgetting the game’s dark themes, peaceful but somber. However, at nighttime a dark fog spreads over the water, obscuring potential dangers that lurk in the depths, with the music also turning similarly creepy.

As you travel to different islands and dock at the small towns and outposts nestled there, you’ll have regular interactions with townsfolk, who will act as various kinds of shopkeepers, as well as giving you quests. The 2D art for these characters fits the game wonderfully, with their designs making them look like the world has run them all ragged. The fish you catch are also rendered in 3D, and occasionally you’ll catch mutated monstrosities which will not only sell for more, but are also necessary to complete some quests. It also bears mention that these wonderful visuals come with a surprisingly small footprint, taking up only 1.3GB of space.

Moving your boat around is a simple matter of moving the analog stick, and fishing is a brief and simple timing-based minigame. The simplicity is part of why it works so well – this game is wonderful about getting you into a rhythm of fishing repeatedly, bringing your stuff back to town to sell, and repeating the process, and this can be fairly satisfying in its own right.

When night falls, you can opt to head to port to sleep until day with no penalty beyond the annoyance of dropping what you’re doing to head for safety. Alternately, you can choose to stay out at night, and there’s good reason to do so – some fish only come out at night, and some mission objectives can only be completed at night.

However, as you might imagine, there’s a downside. Not only does the night fog obscure your vision and make it easier to smash into rocks, but the dark forces at work at night will start to make rocks appear in places you’d swear they didn’t exist a moment ago. And then of course there are the actual monsters, who will attack your ship, causing you to take damage you’ll need to spend money to repair, or even wrecking your ship and forcing you to your last port stop. What’s more, the cursed energy from your nighttime outings continues to haunt you into the day, making you a target of bats stealing stuff off of your boat until you actually get some shuteye at a port. In short, nighttime can lead to some nasty problems, and although you’ll definitely want to venture out at night on occasion, you’ll need to be careful about how you do so.

Overall, I love the imagery and core gameplay of Dredge, but it does have one glaring problem that I found frustrating – progression in the game is agonizingly slow, particularly early on when your boat’s carrying capacity is extremely limited and you need to dredge up wreckage from sunken ships to get the parts needed to upgrade your own.

Until you can figure out how to get the upgrade needed to dredge, and the location of some good spots to collect wreckage, you’ll feel stuck without the ability to progress. And even after that point, the wreckage you gather comes so slowly that you’ll be making trips out for multiple in-game days before you make any progress. And as much as I like this game’s grinding, it can get frustrating when all I want is to earn an upgrade to improve my ship, and I have to keep trotting back and forth for a seemingly interminable amount of time to earn the stuff I need to get it.

Because of the early-game doldrums and the slow progression, my early delight at Dredge dulled a bit, but overall I still think this is an outstanding game that does a great job blending a Fishing Simulation game with Lovecraftian horror. And if that odd combo appeals to you, I do not think this game will disappoint.

tl;dr – Dredge is a game that combines a Fishing Simulation-style game with Action-RPG elements and Lovecraftian Horror, making for a really unique blend of “cozy game” and a tense and nerve-wracking experience whether you’re our fishing in the daytime or at night. These elements are balanced surprisingly well, and while the pacing and progression can be slow in places, overall I found this to be an excellent game.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2023 Game Awards:

Winner:

Best Sound Design – This game gets so much right about its presentation, but I think it’s the sound design that ties everything together, from the dirty chugging of your boat, the viscous gloopy sound of the water, and the creepy noises coming from unknown terrors in the fog, Dredge’s sound design ensures that everything about this place is just off, whether you’re fishing peacefully in midday, or hurriedly scrounging for resources at night, hoping to be done and back to safety before something ungodly finds you. Dredge is absolutely dripping in atmosphere, and much of this is thanks to the amazing sound design.

Runner-Up: Best Simulation, Best Action-RPG, Most Efficient Use of File Storage Space (1.3 GB), Best Graphical Style, Best Graphics

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