(This node concerns the video game.)
Dredge is a video game, released in 2023. It is a fishing-themed adventure game (in the pure sense: fishing rods, nets, boat) - the player begins the game by arriving at a small island village in a dilapidated fishing boat, where they are greeted by the town Mayor as 'the new fisherman.' The boat turns out to be a sad loss, but the town is happy to fix up a new boat for the player - via a loan, of course. The player is encouraged to begin fishing in the lagoon just outside the village, but is warned by various folks to beware of the night - when a strange fog descends, and odd things are known to happen out on the water. A lighthouse, perched above the entrance to the village bay, serves to guide the player home at night, but can do nothing about the rocks and shoals in the fog - or the other things that may crop up...
Oh, yes, the other things.
As the player progresses through the familiar game mechanics (research new tech, buy new things for boat, learn new ways of fishing, gain access to new fishing areas, etc.) a story emerges when the player discovers an odd relic. As a result of this discovery, a new capability is added to the boat - the nominative dredge, which permits not just fishing but hunting for objects in the sea.
Slowly, through found artifacts and notes and cryptic brief interviews with NPCs, a mysterious and somewhat dark backstory begins to emerge...one which may turn out both squamous and rugose.
There will be tentacles, although maybe not exactly the ones you might expect.
Anyway! Dredge is a third-person game, with the player character's avatar represented 100% of the time by their fishing boat. All shoreside interactions are via menu selection and dialogue with multiple choice options where appropriate. There are abilities (gained through the course of the game) as well which will make the various quests (called "pursuits") the player will be asked to undertake somewhat easier or in some cases possible.
The art is somewhat cartoony, edging towards 'realism' (ocean area waves and weather are well-represented, e.g.) The static images representing character interaction cards are the most stylized. The graphics during gameplay are really more 'simple' than 'stylized', which makes the game very smooth on a variety of platforms as while it's a 3D world, it's represented as simply as possible without looking crude.
The game is deep enough (har de har) to not be just a casual time-waster. The fishing mechanic minigame has some variety, but the minigame itself, despite having variations, is fairly mechanical - but that works well, as fishing itself is repetitive. What makes the game rise above that is that, well, you can't just know how to fish. You need to learn where to fish, and for what, and at what time of day...etc. An encyclopedia screen helps with that, as does a global map. There are five primary areas of the map, three of which have their own particular 'fishing zone type' that will require appropriate gear to complete your tasks. Each area has a primary game advancement quest, which usually will require completing prerequisite quests...excuse me, pursuits. The game world is very well done and consistent with the theme, which is...Lovecraftian fishing simulator.
I completed the game in around 38 hours of gameplay, taking my time to complete side quests (although not exhaustively). I played on the Steam Deck, and this is one of the best-behaved games I've played on the Deck (the other oddly also being a fishing game, Dave the Diver, which in fact...now has a Dredge-themed DLC!)
Strongly recommended as a pick-it-up and put-it-down easily game with a well thought out progression mechanic and rewards, as well as a satisfying ending. Actually, there are two endings, and it will let you see both without playing metagames. What are the endings like? Um. Lovecraft, remember?
Heh.
Released: 2023
Publisher: Team17
Developer: Black Salt Games
Game Engine: Unity
Platforms: Steam, Major consoles (Playstation, XBox) and handhelds (Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck)