Dredge

[h2]TLDR:[/h2] A fun and seemingly-cozy fishing game with a dark underside. [h2]GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW:[/h2] Dredge opens with the player arriving at the island town of Greater Marrow, learning they are replacing the previous fisherman. They are tasked by the town's mayor to get to work and catch fish to feed the town's inhabitants. Though the job seems easy, the locals warn the player to be careful outside of town, especially after nightfall. At its core, Dredge is a cozy fishing game. There are numerous species of fish to catch, separated by geography and time of day, as some fish only come out at night. Fishing spots are marked by disturbances in the water, which can be spotted and scanned from a distance. Some fish can only be caught by certain methods (such as a rod versus a trawling net), and bottom crawling crustaceans require crab pots to nab. Each species of fish also features aberrations—monstrous deformed variants of the normal fish—that can be caught at random. Such variations are often worth more to the fish buyers, as exotic specimens, and their colorful descriptions in the player's encyclopedia set the mood for the game. All of the player's fishing tools, lights, and engines can be upgraded with money earned from their catch. The ship's hull can also be reinforced several times, giving more room and slots for gear, and more durability, at great cost. In addition to fish, some spots offer the chance to dredge the depths, bringing up building supplies (wood, metal parts, etc.) used in upgrading, or treasures (jewelry, sextants, and others) that can be sold to certain collectors. The player may also find or be rewarded research parts used to discover more advanced equipment. Early on, the player will meet the mysterious Collector, who sets the player on a mission to recover five lost artifacts. With each lost artifact, the player gains new abilities, such as Manifest, which brings one back to the Marrows, Haste to give you a temporary speed boost, or Atrophy, which will instantly catch all the fish in a given spot, at the risk of catching rotting or diseased fish. The player will quickly note that something is off with the world. Aside from some of the more questionable encounters with townspeople, it becomes apparent fish aren't the only inhabitants of the oceans. Traveling at night and certain activities raise the character's panic level, which results in hallucinations, obstacles where none existed, and even attacks by submerged monsters. Collective damage to the boat will sink it and send the player back to their last save (the last time they docked). Some threats can be banished with the right skills but often, the player will have to evade or elude enemies. The varying monsters patrolling the waters have different patterns and behaviors that can be exploited. Dredge also features a fair bit of side content. Mysterious hooded figures reside at hidden locations, demanding certain fish to sate their hunger. Fishing shrines offer riddles to be solved and pieces of a treasure map can be pulled from the depths. There are other side missions, most of them simple fetch-style quests, with tangible rewards. Dredge's gameplay loop will probably bore some players, as it’s pretty much the same from start to finish, the new species and threats notwithstanding. For me, the real joy simply came from collecting the fish and completing the encyclopedia. The game is perfect for the OCD-types among us, seeking to catch one of everything. Aside from the general relaxation coming from catching fish (at least during the daytime), the steady pace of upgrading equipment and the ship feels like real progress. That said, the moments of being attacked can be quite tense. Hostile mobs can be very fast and while the ship is decently maneuverable, it's still hard to evade strikes at times. Worse, colliding with anything solid (other than docks, which are visibly cushioned by old tires) damages the hull, so one can very easily sink themselves by panicking and trying to evade an attack in tight quarters. The player just has to keep their cool and, if entering an area with a known threat, go in with an escape plan ready. [h2]STORY / WORLDBUILDING:[/h2] The story for Dredge is pretty bare-bones, at least at first glance. The behavior and dialogue of the townsfolk hint the story is more complicated and sinister than a simple job replacement. Dredge borrows heavily from Lovecraft's mythology and that influence is felt through the entire game. Successive clues and discussions as the player finds the relics build the uneasy narrative toward a grim conclusion. Depending on the player's choices, the game ends somewhere between bittersweet and disastrous. Though Dredge takes place over the archipelago, there are hints at a wider world with civilization beyond the islands. The islands themselves are laid out well, with each cluster showcasing slightly different topography, ambience, and threats. There's enough variety in the settings to keep the game feeling fresh. [h2]DLC:[/h2] The game has several DLC. Two—Pale Reach and Iron Rig—add new main/side quests, fish to catch, and achievements. Pale Reach concerns an icy area and a doomed expedition. Iron Rig centers around an ill-fated drilling platform. Both add a few hours of content and are worth a look. A third DLC, Blackstone Key, is really only worth purchasing to support the devs, since the items it adds don't have any lasting impact on gameplay. [h2]TECHNICAL ASPECTS:[/h2] Dredge ran flawlessly, and I didn't have a single error or issue over 20+ hours of gameplay. The minimalist, low-polygon graphics and muted color palette work for the game, but I really have to highlight the ambient sound and music. Both are cheery and relaxing while everything in the game is calm, but grow increasingly tense and moody when the player is in tentative situations. The overall sound scheme feeds the mood perfectly. This is a relatively easy game to max Steam achievements, though it may take a little exploration and thinking through some of the puzzles. Getting 100% also requires the Pale Reach and Iron Rig DLCs. [h2]FINAL WORD:[/h2] Dredge is fun in a moody, chilling kind of way. I'd recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a little "twisted" in their "cozy" gameplay. [quote]Follow our Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41449676/]Summit Reviews[/url], to see more high quality reviews regularly.[/quote]

Great game. Simple gameplay loop that is fun and rewarding. Fishing is fun, exploring is fun, upgrading your boat is fun. Story is interesting and atmospheric. Quality game.