Dredge is a Lovecraftian adventure fishing game. Haul in your catch and avoid getting dragged down into the depths. Read our review to see what it does well, if it needs improvement, and if it’s worth your time and money.
Dredge Review Overview
Dredge Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Addicting Gameplay Loop Enthralling Narrative Unnerving Atmosphere |
A One-Trick Pony |
Dredge Overall - 96/100
Dredge is fantastic in all aspects, from its murky horror-mystery story, the deeply addicting gameplay, its sublime visual language and atmosphere, and the immersive and sound effects. Though all elements come together harmoniously to provide a great playthrough, it runs into a slight problem of repetition, acknowledging its strong suits and never straying from it the entire game. Nevertheless, Dredge shines as an amazing game that sticks to its identity flawlessly and triumphs as a paranoia-filled fishing game.
Dredge Story - 9/10
The presentation, unfolding, and overall narrative in Dredge is ridiculously well-executed. The atmosphere of the world gives off a fake tranquility, in the sense that there’s a lurking nervousness at every corner. With the help of the oddball NPCs that can be encountered, the mystery continues to gradually rise along, creating more questions than answers. Dredge is masterful in its narrative, tone, and presentation, which makes for such an enthralling experience.
Dredge Gameplay - 10/10
Dredge’s gameplay is flat-out addicting, with the main highlights being the fishing minigames and the inventory management system. The fishing is simple and brief, leading to easy repetition and a sense of achievement in successfully reeling catch in. The inventory management is the most engaging part, where all fish caught, resources gathered, loot discovered, ship equipment installed, and passengers reside, ALL share the same limited space. This results in the requirement of careful planning, storing, and allotting of all items, essentially making the inventory system min-max-able.
Dredge Visuals - 10/10
Dredge excels in the graphical department, instilling fear and anxiety through the visual atmosphere it’s able to provide. The grand and beautiful daylight seascapes that radiate serenity, clashing with the dark and foggy terrors of jagged rocks and flashing lights that invoke anxiety, it excellently presents horrifying tension needed for this Lovecraftian game. The character designs and portraits for the NPCs are well illustrated, with their personalities showing in the stills of their body languages.
Dredge Audio - 10/10
Dredge’s music serves to fully immerse players, with the peaceful piano ringing off at day, to be contrasted by the dark ominous musical stings when danger approaches at night. The main attraction is by far its abundant use of great sound effects (SFX). Each and every act has a corresponding SFX assigned to match said act. It results in a sense of quick responsiveness, informing players that their actions are quick and snappy, immersing them into the tasks at hand.
Dredge Value for Money - 9/10
The amount of engaging content in Dredge is staggering, as it’s only priced at $24.99. The compelling overarching mystery-horror narrative, the “relaxing” fishing in uncharted waters, and the horrifying beauty of the seascapes, monstrous creatures, and art illustrations. Not to mention its absolutely addicting gameplay that will leave you lining up your ship with fish from every corner of the map. The only point in contention, however, is that the gameplay might become too repetitive, as it never really changes much throughout the game. Nevertheless, those who don’t mind will find that Dredge is worth every single penny spent, and more.
Dredge Review: Unnerving Ruler of the Seven Seas
Never before have I ever been more addicted to fishing than in Dredge. I already adored fishing minigames in other titles that had them, and they were always a fun time. However, Dredge exceeds it further with its addition of a captivating story filled with secrets and riddles, the gorgeous stylized character illustrations, the magnificent sea and landscapes of the archipelago, and the brilliant inventory management. Wow, I am terribly addicted to inventory management.
What Dredge does the absolute best is its atmosphere, where it’s able to gradually raise eeriness and tension ever so slowly. Take for example the video above. Just a simple passing ship in the night, nothing at all suspicious. Oh wait…it just…disappeared…Oh… Oh no.
Nighttime is filled to the brim with subtle details like that which make you paranoid and look around your surroundings, making sure that they all remain ethereal and cannot hurt you. Eventually, with enough “scares” with no repercussions, you might be lulled into a sense of security.
Unfortunately, Dredge doesn’t just haunt you, it outright punishes you for thinking you could get away with it. In the video above, in a time when I thought I was relatively safe as I was near a settlement, I received no remorse. A monster leaped from the shallows and snapped at my ship, severely damaging it and causing cargo items to be lost. I managed to survive, but I steered right into a rock. The last collision was my fault, but the panic and fear that I felt from what had just transpired left me with no focus or bearings of my surroundings, and so I perished right in front of the shores.
I also want to talk about inventory management(IM). Maybe it’s just my obsession with keeping things tidy, compact, and “exact,” but this type of IM has always been my weakness. By weakness, I mean I’m always consumed into making it as neat as it can be, maximizing the spaces and shapes for optimal storage. Oftentimes I get in a trance just sorting inventories, forgetting about the game itself for a long period of time.
With Dredge, it caters to my obsession, and places the IM at the forefront as THE major mechanic to work out. EVERYTHING, from the ship’s equipment, to the fish you catch, the resources you gather, the loot you find, and some passengers who seek transportation here and there. There’s so much planning and IM you need to do in order to progress, and I love it. To think that my constant reallotment of shapes would actually come in handy in the most unexpected ways in Dredge.
All in all, Dredge is a thrillingly brilliant game packed with fishing, adventure, and surviving the paranoia from the terrors of the night. Live through the horrors you experienced, only to do it again at dawn.
Pros of Dredge
| Things Dredge Got Right |
|---|
|
Addicting Gameplay Loop Enthralling Narrative Unnerving Atmosphere |
Addicting Gameplay Loop
As seen from the video above, Dredge’s gameplay is simple but very polished, making it so addicting and satisfying. The fishing and dredging minigames that make use of various ways to time button presses are engagingly fun. The inventory management system that encourages being skilled at slotting and fitting blocks (shades of Resident Evil) is deeply gratifying. Last but not least, the pleasing SFX at every single click or action, bringing about this sense of responsiveness, all add up to an overwhelmingly addicting gameplay loop which makes it hard to stop.
Though in fishing and dredging, inventory management might look to be an afterthought, it is actually a major feature of Dredge. For example, all of the ship’s equipment, from the lights, the rods, and the engine, all make use of the same inventory. Not only that, but you’ll also acquire various resources needed to upgrade the ship. Now, add on top of all of that, the several fish you’ll be hauling in to earn money. All items that have just been mentioned all share the same inventory space, and you’re going to have to brainstorm and fit all of them together on your trips, and it’s severely engrossing to do so.
It’s very terrific and unique to have min-maxing in the form of inventory management, wherein your different types of equipment actually interfere with the other resources at which you have. This interaction invokes more thought and planning when going about and exploring the seas, making for more engaging gameplay.
Enthralling Narrative
The mysterious aura in Dredge is established early on right from the get-go, and from then on it never once releases that tension. From the cutscene cinematics, the eccentric characters you meet, the phenomena you encounter, the engrossing music you hear, and even the “calm serene" seas you sail across all help build a feeling of unease wherever you go. The mundanity of still having to perform your responsibilities as a fisherman, only to be continuously met with oddity after oddity in your travels, helps immerse the player to be constantly confused, anxious, and afraid.
As the game progresses, more questions arise instead of answers received, marking a great mystery narrative that just hooks you in deeper and deeper.
Unnerving Atmosphere
Dredge utilizes mankind’s primal fears of the dark and the sea to maximum effect, resulting in a visual experience full of paranoia. The calm and beautiful seas in the morning and afternoon, contrasted by the intense fog of the night, are essential factors for atmospheric disconcertment. Depicted in the video above, the “serene safe haven” of daytime at the seas to carry out your tasks and responsibilities amplifies the feelings of dread creeping up as night approaches.
As seen in the video above, when night comes, it makes all your fears real and exponentially worsens them. With watchful eyes appearing to stare at you in droves, ghostly ships in the night that disappear into the fog, and mysterious lights flashing in the distance, Dredge at nighttime is a nightmare. The tension is meticulously built up throughout an entire day, and surviving the night only means you have to do it all over again.
Linking back to the previous section’s point, the narrative worldbuilding and the growing unease also serves to add to the unnerving atmosphere. With each person you meet, each new information they give, and each quest they have you do – all serve to add up tension and fear of the unknown. It’s masterfully done, and all meld together flawlessly.
Cons of Dredge
| Things Dredge Can Improve |
|---|
|
A One-Trick Pony |
A One-Trick Pony
Dredge is exceptionally well designed, polished, and executed, and so it sticks to its strong suits for the entirety of the game, never changing the main gameplay loop. This could be seen as monotonal for others, just doing one thing over and over again for the course of the game’s length. Every single in game day will involve the same exploring, fishing, dredging, upgrading, and uncovering mysteries. Once brave enough, one could start doing them at night, braving the waters of the dark. However, in totality throughout the game, nothing really changes overall. The quests remain the same: catch this fish, gather this amount of resources, go to this location and back, find this artifact etc. It becomes a bit repetitive and could be a turn-off for players who seek for variety.
However, even if Dredge might seem like a one-trick pony, it’s still very excellent in what it pulls off. It sticks to its guns, knows what it does well, and performs it across the game – and it’s still an amazing experience.
Is Dredge Worth It?
Worth More Than Sunken Treasure. Buy it.
For only $24.99, you can experience the astonishing amount of content available in Dredge. The compelling story is filled with so many mysteries at every turn, leaving you wanting to venture forth and discover the next point of interest. The gameplay is so engaging and satisfying that it leaves you in a flow-state of catching fish, sorting your inventory, going back to sell, and doing it all over again. The gorgeous visuals and atmosphere which all help to immerse the player into the horror-filled world of Dredge. The amazing music, that can go from a quiet tranquility, to a terrifying chase of life and death.
Dredge is exceptional in every sense of the word, and it’s a must-buy and must-experience for virtually any and all gamers. There’s a chance that some might find it too repetitive, in a way where it never really strays or breaks the formula it establishes, but only because it’s already so masterfully good that it doesn’t need to.
Those looking for more variety might see it as a little liability, but the repetition of the gameplay IS what makes Dredge so enthralling, to be thrust into the position of a fisherman having to make ends meet, trying to survive the dangers of the sea.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 GOG |
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 Playstation |
 Xbox |
 Switch |
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| $24.99 | |||||
Dredge Overview & Premise
A new fisherman has arrived into a mysterious archipelago, where he takes the position to become the angler of a coastal town known as the Greater Marrow. On his way, his ship is unknowingly attacked and damaged, ending up washed up on the shores of the town. He takes the fishing job, but is warned by the mayor to not stay in the nighttime fog for too long. What mysteries and horrors will the new fisherman discover in this eerie archipelago? Why does he see strange things start to appear at night? Why are the townspeople so odd and eccentric?
Still, he ventures forth not knowing, determined to uncover everything.
Dredge FAQ
Does Dredge Have Multiple Endings?
Dredge has two known endings, one “Bad” ending, and one secret “good” ending. The “Bad” ending is what the majority will get, as it’s achieved through normal playthrough. The “Good” ending is unlockable by finding a secret NPC before heading to the final point of no return.
How Long Does it Take to Beat Dredge?
Dredge’s first playthrough will take about 9-12 hours, while completionists will need almost double the amount of time at 17-19 hours to fully deplete all which you can do with the game.
Game8 Reviews
Dredge Product Information
 | |
| Title | DREDGE |
|---|---|
| Release Date | March 31, 2023 |
| Developer | Black Salt Games |
| Publisher | Team17 |
| Supported Platforms | PC, Playstation 5, Playstation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch |
| Genre | Fishing, Horror, RPG |
| Number of Players | Single-Player (1) |
| ESRB Rating | E for Everyone |
| Official Website | Dredge Official Website |
