Dredge Review

 

Platform Played: Steam Deck
Developer: Black Salt Games
Publisher: Team 17
Genre: Fishing
Completion Status (How Long to Beat): Yes (9 hours)

Dredge casts you off as a fishing boat,- err, a fisherman - who has stumbled across a series of islands beset by a dark mystery, and it’s up to you to unravel said mystery. You never actually see the fisherman you play as, just the boat, which further adds to the creeping darkness. Early on, Dredge leans into the classic loop - catch fish, sell fish, upgrade boat. The act of fishing is a quick time event that’s never particularly challenging, but engaging enough to not be boring. The game adds tension through a day/night cycle whereby the night time introduces shadowy figures which wreak havoc to your boat - the Lovecraftian creatures arising at night are a central part of the game's mystery.  The cycle creates a great risk reward cycle forcing the player to decide between catching one more fish, or returning safely to shore.  As the game begins to lean into story based missions of uncovering missing relics, Dredge loses steam. The story itself, which is one of the defining features of the game, is fine, but never enough to overcome the departure from the game's hypnotic opening. I admire Dredge for attempting to incorporate a rich and heavy story into a fishing game, but more of than not, the story got in the way of the enjoyable loop. 

Pros:

• Addictive fishing loop.
• Fantastic setting which in itself feels like a character.
• High tension day/night cycle.
• Dark painterly art style.

Cons:

• Story based missions are not as satisfying as the early game.

One More Try Factors:

Two of the biggest signs that I’m really enjoying a game are how hard it is to stop playing and how much I’m itching to jump back in when I’m not playing.

• Difficulty to Stop Playing: 7/10
• Desire to Return: 7/10

Note: These scores reflect my personal engagement with the game and are separate from the overall score, which considers all aspects of the game.

Overall Score: 7/10