Dredge (video game)

Dredge sees the player control a small motorized fishing boat. The game takes place on a day-night cycle, where specific actions the player takes, such as sailing or fishing, push the clock forward. The player can look for fish to catch or underwater items to salvage at certain spots, where they play a short minigame to bring their catch on board. If the player stays out into the night, a panic meter starts to rise, with higher levels leading to hallucinations that change reality around the boat, creating hazards that may damage the player's vessel; however some fish only become available during the night hours, forcing the player to stay out during these times. The waters around the archipelago also contain a number of sea monsters, which can attack the player.

After docking at the main settlement or with a traveling merchant, players can sell their catch and buy new equipment for their boat such as brighter lights, faster engines, or better fishing equipment that expands the types of fish that can be caught. The boat has a predetermined amount of space on board, and the player has to choose which gear to fit inside along with space for their catch; however players can upgrade their boat, expanding its capacity and resilience to damage. At other docks scattered around the archipelago, the player can also accept side quests, completing tasks for the residents of the islands to earn rewards, as well as stop and rest which decreases panic and quickly advances time for the player.

A Fisherman sails to the coastal town of Greater Marrow, situated in a distant archipelago, to take up a job offer to be the town's local angler. While the job is normal enough, the Fisherman soon begins to notice strange phenomena, especially at night where he encounters strange mist, rocks that suddenly appear out of nowhere, ghost ships, hostile wildlife, sea monsters, and the feeling of being watched. In addition, as he sails around the archipelago, he begins to find and pick up messages in bottles, which are diary entries written by a newlywed wife known only as J.J. as she recounts how she first arrived in the archipelago with her husband, who she witnessed dredging up a mysterious casket from the sea floor, which he subsequently opened and released some sort of supernatural power. After awakening a creature in the depths, it destroyed their boat, killing his wife, and stranding himself and the old mayor on a small island.

The Fisherman then encounters a man called the Collector, who lives alone on an isolated island mansion. The Collector tasks the Fisherman with exploring the other islands of the archipelago and the ancient ruins they hide to recover a number of relics. The Collector also uses a special book called the Book of the Deep to grant the Fisherman supernatural powers that he can use on his expeditions. Once the Fisherman collects all of the relics, he can either choose to hand them over to the Collector or withhold them.

• If the Fisherman hands over the relics, the Collector reveals that he is J.J.'s husband, who recovered the Book of the Deep from the casket and discovered a ritual that could resurrect J.J. He had the Fisherman gather the relics, all personal items of J.J.'s, because they are required for the ritual. The Fisherman takes the Collector to the part of the ocean where J.J. had drowned herself, and performs the ritual by throwing the collected relics overboard. The ritual successfully resurrects J.J., but also awakens a massive eldritch beast which destroys Greater Marrow and presumably the rest of the world.
• If the Fisherman withholds the relics, he confronts the Collector and finds out to his shock that the Collector is a figment of his own imagination, being an avatar of his own repressed memories and guilt over J.J.'s death. Rather than follow the Collector's bidding, the Fisherman heads out to sea and throws the Book of the Deep into the ocean, resulting in him and his boat being swallowed by a massive sea monster.

Dredge started development in 2020. The team was inspired by other games with oppressive atmospheres, like Papers, Please and Frostpunk. Fog was used as an artistic tool to contrast the day, which is almost completely clear, to the night, where the player can barely see in front of themselves.[3] A developer described the process of creating the game's mutant fish, saying they were "coming up with the craziest adjectives to describe these messed up fish".[4]

In May 2023, Black Salt Games announced a number of future updates to the game, including boat customization, a photo mode, a "passive mode" that makes hostile creatures no longer aggressive allowing for less stressful gameplay, and a paid DLC expansion revolving around the mysterious Ironhaven Corporation.[5] An additional DLC expansion entitled The Pale Reach, containing a new polar biome, was announced in October 2023.[6]

Dredge received "generally favorable" reviews, according to the review aggregator Metacritic.[7][8][9][10]

Eurogamer felt that over the course of the game it did not "evolve much", while also criticizing the player's ability to upgrade their ship to make challenges trivial.[23] Nintendo Life praised the night sections, writing that "The story relentlessly sends you out of your comfort zone, out among treacherous cliffs or bobbing vulnerably atop sickeningly deep, dark waters".[15] GamesRadar+ disliked the late game progression, but enjoyed the sound design, "the minor piano trill that cuts through when you pull in one of these nightmares, is enough to send a shiver down your spine on even the game's most idyllic-seeming days".[13]

• Official website