DREDGE

by Aethyna Apr 12, 2023 | 1 Votes | 67 Played | 0 Reviews

10 rate

Genres:

Adventure

Graphics:

Labels:

Adventure , Dark Fantasy , Exploration , Fishing

Platforms:

Publishers:

Team 17 Shipwrecked and washed up ashore at a small fishing village, you have no choice but to pay back your debt by fishing for the locals. However, an opportunity to find out more about the archipelago and possibly a way to escape presented itself when a mysterious collector gave you a request you simply can't refuse! Play Now Similar Games

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Summary Plotline Gameplay Graphics/ Sound Conclusion

Summary

DREDGE is an exploration-driven adventure game where you play as a fisherman who was shipwrecked and washed up ashore at a small fishing village in Greater Marrow. You started off fishing to earn some money but the mysterious collector at Blackstone Isle gave you a request you simply can’t refuse. Maybe you could also take this chance to find out more about the archipelago and the creepy and strange fog that plague its inhabitants whenever nighttime comes around…

Plotline

You’ve found yourself washed shore at a small fishing village in Greater Marrow. With your boat destroyed, the mayor has kindly lent you a boat that you can eventually own once you’ve paid what you owe. The only way to do so is by fishing and selling the fishes at the village.

Naturally, escape isn’t an option, even if you do get a better boat mainly because there’s this dangerous, supernatural fog that engulfs the place once night descends. The only safe haven from the terrors that roam the fog is by docking your boat and sleeping through the night.

However, things took a mysterious turn when a strange collector on Blackstone Isle requested for your help to collect a series of equally peculiar artifacts, and in return, he will grant you weird powers that could be helpful in your journey. Why he needs the artifacts? Well, that’s for you to find out.

Of course, there are plenty more stories for you to uncover as you explore the map and discover new characters as well as quests.

Gameplay

At its core, DREDGE is a pretty chill fishing game. The main gameplay loop here mainly involves setting out to sea to find fishing spots to harvest some fishes from. The fishing aspect also includes a reflex-based mini-game, which varies slightly depending on which type of fishes you’re catching (there are 7 types in total), but in most cases, you’ll be required to tap on the Pull button (the F key) once the indicator reaches the green zone.

The available space of your cargo hold poses another challenge since the fishes you catch comes in different shapes and sizes, and will take up a certain amount of space in a Tetris-like manner. Similar to games like Backpack Hero, and to some extent, Diablo, inventory management is another crucial aspect of the game, forcing you to rotate and rearrange your catch just so you can fit more stuff onto your boat.

However, I’d like to point out - Unlike most fishing mini-games out there, the one in DREDGE can be considered “optional”. In other words, even if you don’t play the mini-game, you’ll still catch the fish… the issue here is that it’ll take you a lot longer to do so instead. Time is of the essence in this game. This is because once night descends, the fog rolls in, bringing along with it Lovecraftian horrors that can actually damage your boat or even supernatural whispers that can really do a number of your sanity, and sometimes even infect the fishes you have in your cargo.

As any fan of Don’t Starve would know, having low sanity isn’t a good idea – terrifying hallucinations may end up becoming real and, again, damage your boat. Although some components on your boat and also the cargo hold may be disabled due to the damage, a damaged boat can still be fixed if you can make it to a port which a shipwright in one piece and have enough cash on hand to pay her for her work. However, once your boat sustained too much damage and ended up being destroyed, the game is over and you’ll be forced to load your last save, forfeiting any progress you may have done since.

Interestingly, time doesn’t pass if you’re doing nothing in the game. In a way, it’s not fully real time nor is it turn-based. Only by doing something, be it sailing, fishing, or even installing a new component on your ship, will time go by. I should also point out that fishes in this game do rot over time. So, it’s probably to your best interest to quickly sell off any fishes you have in your cargo hold before you must discard them instead.

DREDGE will have you start off with a pretty small fishing trawler that can barely haul enough fish to sell, let alone house a whole lot of more powerful equipment that will allow you to catch more types of fishes or even give you more time in the night to do some nighttime fishing – some fishes do only come out at night, after all! This is where the ship upgrades come in.

Once you’ve unlocked the ability to dredge for materials, and the Dry Dock (and eventually, the Floating Dock), you’ll finally be able to use those materials you’ve dredged out of shipwrecks to upgrade your ship. A quick side-note, dredging works similarly to fishing in this game – you’ll need to complete a reflex-based mini-game in order to dredge whatever it is you’re dredging, including valuables that you can sell for more cash and research components, in addition to your typical upgrade materials.

Most of the upgrades you can unlock in the game will convert your regular cargo slots into more specialized slots for affixing various equipment like lights, a trawling net, better fishing rods, and more powerful engines, but there are also upgrades that will significantly increase your hull size, allowing you to carry more cargo.

What about those powerful equipment, you may wonder? Well, before you can purchase those, you’ll first need to research the necessary technology associated to them by investing the research components you find. You can sometimes get these components by completing quests or by scavenging wrecks and abandoned campsites as well. Once the tech is unlocked, you can then buy that very same equipment from the shipwright and have her install it on your boat, if you have the space that is.

In DREDGE, you are also afforded a rather generous and spacious storage box where you can store whatever you need, such as extra equipment that you think may come in handy later on. You can only access it if you happen to dock at a place with a storage box available, and well, fishes stored in the box do still rot over time, so you might want to take note!

Exploration is also key in DREDGE, and the inquisitive player is definitely well-rewarded. There are plenty of fun points-of-interest around the map that you can find where you can discover hidden stashes of loot, messages in bottles, secrets, and various characters that you can interact with, with some even offering quests (or as the game calls them, “Pursuits”) including a homeless dog looking for a fur-ever home. And yes, you can pet him too!

All of this exploration is made even more fun, thanks to the smooth controls of your boat, making it easy enough to navigate the waters, even the narrow and ever-changing paths of the Twisted Strand. At one point, you’ll also get a quick travel ability that you can use to teleport back almost-instantly to the Blackstone Isle.

True to the collectathon spirit, DREDGE offers fans of “collect ‘em all” games an irresistible challenge as well – the chance to fill up the encyclopedia by discovering all the sea creatures there is to find in the game! Not only does this include the normal fish variants, but it also includes both their respective aberration versions (a.k.a. fishes that have been afflicted by the fog’s corruption) and trophy versions (like any fishing game, you can catch trophy fishes here, a.k.a. fishes that are the biggest you’ve found to date). Note that some fishes can have more than one type of aberration.

Graphics/ Sound

The stylized visuals in DREDGE are striking to say the least. The game also provides different backgrounds and setting to each location on the map, so it’s not just the same background throughout. The most prominent one, at least from my perspective, is the Stellar Basin. The place just looks amazingly transformed once night descends, giving the basin its distinctive luminescent glow.

In terms of sound, the game definitely nailed the ambiance, offering the calming sound of waves lapping against the shore; the sounds of seagulls calling out to their mates; the gurgle of bubbles emitting from the bottom of the sea, the whine of your boat’s engines as you traverse the vast expanse of the sea, and the occasional sounds of the weather, such as rain and thunder. From time to time, the game interjects the ambiance with a chorus of orchestral music, usually during dialogues, or when you’re in the presence of some monstrous sea creature.

Conclusion

As a cozy fishing sim with a strong emphasis on inventory management and exploration, and Lovecraftian horror, DREDGE may present an odd combination of genres, but it’s undeniable that the game is surprisingly and addictively fun. The collectathon and exploration aspects of the game also gives it some amount of longevity, giving interested players the chance to fill up their encyclopedias and to fully discover every corner of the map, even after they have completed the story. The price tag for DREDGE may be on the higher end but the game is definitely worth it, especially for fans of cozy games but with a scary, Lovecraftian twist.

DREDGE Launches Next Free Update Today

by Aethyna Sep 15, 2023

Disturb the depths to hunt 13 new deep-sea denizens and explore in style with boat painting and decorative options in the next free update to Black Salt Games’ multi-award-winning indie adventure, available today on all platforms.

by Aethyna Jul 7, 2023

The anticipated Photo Mode, new aberrations from the deep, a passive play option, and more mark the second post-launch update to the critically acclaimed debut from Black Salt Games.