Dredge Review

 Throw it back

Dredge is an idyllic, calming fishing simulator brought to us by New Zealand devs Black Salt Games, and boy howdy is it a strong first showing.

To start off, the core gameplay loop of Dredge is extremely straightforward. Catch fish in small, typical timing minigames or dredge up items from the depths in the same, when your inventory fills you take them to a town to sell or use them to upgrade your boat and complete quests, rinse and repeat. At it's core it has the usual excitement of seeing an odd shadow in the water which usually implies a new fish to catalogue, as well as rare catches, secret fishing spots, and a day night cycle it all takes place in.

The catch is that the ocean is both hauntingly beautiful and deadly in equal measures, not helped by a strong level of eldritch horror lurking beneath the surface. At night as your sanity dips lower and lower, you'll encounter all sorts of things that I would not wish to spoil, each of which can pose a threat to your ship and your cargo. Take too many hits and you'll join everyone else who's fallen below the waves.

But it's not just out on the sea that the world is unsettling, the writing and artstyle is on point with each NPC interaction dripping with atmosphere and character. While not hugely verbose, the brevity of many interactions helps the game maintain a sense of mystery about everything. While the game itself only has four major areas you'll venture through, allowing the core fishing and obstacle avoidance to not overstay it's welcome.

All in all, Dredge is a game of a few hats, but it wears them all wonderfully. The horror, while not truly terrifying, is atmospheric and moody; the fishing is satisfying and enjoyable, and even just piloting your boat around the waves has this pleasant sense of momentum and movement to it all.

If any part of the above sounds interesting, or even if you're like me and just instantly get sucked in by any game under the sun with a fishing minigame, I cannot recommend Dredge highly enough. It's short length and high quality puts it on par with other short length, well realized experiences like Portal or Gunpoint.

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