Dredge (2023) [PC] first impressions

I am, and have always been, an absolute sucker for fishing minigames. Never was much for fishing in real life; worms and bait are gross and patience is not my middle name. My fishing trips need a quick turnaround and guaranteed catches, even if it’s just seaweed or a shoe. So whenever a video game has a fishing minigame, you have my attention. I’m happy even if it’s “Press A to cast, press A again to reel in.” However, my heart truly lies with the games that put some effort into it. From there, there’s only one thing better than a game with a fishing minigame, and that’s a game that’s all about the fishing minigame. I’ve played all kinds, mainly mobile, but I have never before seen anything quite like DREDGE. A variety of fishing techniques mixed with Lovecraftian-style horror makes for a one-of-a-kind gaming experience in an old favorite genre.

Beware the Sea

In DREDGE, you are a fisherman who, during a terrible night, wrecked your ship upon the rocks of a small archipelago called The Marrows, despite its lighthouse’s best efforts. When you wake up, you’re offered to rent-to-own a spare trawler as long as you sell your catches to them until it’s paid off. It’s not much, but it’s not worth much either, and your debt won’t take long to make up. The people of the Marrows have one word of warning for their new fisher: beware the fog at night.

With your new little boat, you have a simple fishing rod, a near-broken motor, a barely functioning light, and a hold that does what it says on the tin. You won’t get anywhere fast, but you’ll get there eventually. Even crossing the bay will take most of the day. That’s okay, there’s still plenty to catch on the way. If you get caught out at night, don’t worry too much. Turn your lights on and take things slow. You won’t be able to see rocks until you’re close up on them, but as long as you’re not going full speed, you’ll have time to avoid them. Hit them, and the damage will take out things in your hold, damaging your tools or dumping catches. Thankfully, repairs aren’t too expensive. 

But Maggie, what about the things that come out at night? Yes, well…just take it slow and get back to a dock as soon as possible for a good sleep. Or don’t. There’s fish that come out only at night, and they can be valuable if you can find your way to them. Just…don’t mind the eyes. Watching you. Always watching…and the longer you go without sleep, the more eyes there are.

Tell Me About the Minigames

The fishing in DREDGE functions with a variety of timing minigames. Time will pass while you try to catch something. If you don’t play the minigames, you’ll slowly reel in your catch. Hitting the green targets will reel in faster, and missing will let the fish pull away. A fairly standard concept, and different fish have different gameplay styles. There’s no punishment that I’ve seen yet for taking your time to learn each new one, so don’t feel rushed.

Three kinds of fishing minigames

What you can fish depends on the type of rod you have. If your current rod is only rated for Shallows, don’t expect to catch anything in the open waters, especially not the big shark shapes circling around. You can’t just fish anywhere, either. There are specific locations where certain fish school. These areas will gradually deplete as you fish them, then slowly recover over a few days.

And don’t worry about the strange fish you’ll find sometimes. They’re…they’re normal. They’re worth a whole lot, too. Just don’t eat them. Or look in their eyes too long.

A Place and Tool For Everything

Once you’ve caught something, now it’s time to find a spot for it in your hold. Resident Evil 4 was just rereleased last week, and I’m sure some of you have been partaking or formerly enjoyed the original. How much did you like the briefcase storage system? It’s a popular mechanic that’s both easy to use and easy to poke fun at. DREDGE took lessons from that classic and made your hold use the same mechanic. Fish come in various shapes and sizes, and it’s up to you to find the space for them alongside your gear. Once you’re full, it’s time to sell. 

Of course, as the title implies, fish aren’t the only things you can catch. As the game progresses, you’ll unlock other tools for pulling things out of the water, such as crab pots, trawling nets, and, of course, salvaging equipment. Sunken ships dot the rocky coasts, and their treasures and trash wait to be hauled up. The treasures are valuable, either financially or personally. Several people around the islands need the junk boards and metal for various projects, and you can put them to use as well upgrading your ship. The dredging minigame is slightly different from fishing. Instead of hitting target areas, you’re charged with dodging “blocks” on the orbit until it’s done. 

Speaking of dodging, if you see large things moving out in the ocean…consider moving. Fast. 

Final Thoughts

One thing that tends to disappoint me with fishing minigame-focused games is they’re often very small. With over 125 kinds of fish to catch, over 40 upgrades and researchable parts, dozens of quests, and even lost messages in bottles, DREDGE promises around 12 hours minimum for the main story, with potentially up to 25 hours of content for completionists. I’ve only dived through four so far, and I can’t wait to see what else is hiding in the deep dark sea for me. If you’re a fan of fishing games and enjoy some good psychological horror and terrors from the ocean deep, I highly recommend taking a look into DREDGE.

We would like to thank Black Salt Games and Team17 for providing us with a copy of this game.

Maggie Maxwell spends most of her days buried in her fiction writing, only coming up for air to dive into the escapism of video games, cartoons, or movies. She can usually be found on Twitter as @wanderingquille and @MaxNChachi or streaming on Twitch with her husband, also as MaxNChachi.