By Rainer Sigl
Lift the anchor at dawn, chug out to sea in a small boat and hang the deep-sea rod in the water, cast out a shrimp pot or drop a trawl every now and then: In the fishing adventure „Dredge“ At first glance, my life looks pretty unspectacular and actually quite rustically romantic.
After all, fishing is not a meditative, very relaxing activity for nothing: the waves gently rock my boat, when a fish is on the hook, I get it on board in a small mini reaction game, stow it as cleverly as possible in my hold and sell it in the evening fishing village.
The money earned in this way gives me better equipment or, at some point, a new ship that I can use to go further out and catch even bigger fish – a perfect spiral of rewards with a satisfaction guarantee.
Fishing with Lovecraft
No wonder this game is a bit of an indie surprise hit, as the core gameplay loop just described works perfectly. At its core, Dredge is a simple but satisfying fishing sim, only after a short time I realize that there is more beneath the surface.
„Dredge“developed by Black Salt Games, distributed by Team17, is available for Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox.
On the one hand, the small orders that the islanders keep giving me are becoming increasingly strange, on the other hand, grotesquely mutated beings are always wriggling on my fishing hook, and it soon becomes apparent that not only seafood but something sinister is lurking in the depths.
Especially at night, the relaxing fishing trips on the high seas turn into hair-raising journeys into the fog-black unknown. The strange red glowing symbols on the cliffs have a special fascination. To reveal more would be spoiled.
Black Salt Games
Solid, atmospheric, devilishly motivating
There is an art to telling a story around a simple but satisfying gameplay core that is just as motivating as the desire to constantly upgrade. “Dredge” masters this art excellently. The constant expansion of the radius of action and fishing tackle, which increases at a comfortable pace, keeps you busy for hours, while the nocturnal excursions are challenging and advance the story. In terms of narrative, it comes down to the content-related, endlessly creative cult game „Sunless Sea“ Although not close, “Dredge” offers a solid gameplay core that is missing.
“Dredge” is a trend game on Tiktok and Twitch – no wonder, the mixture of relaxation and gentle horror is really successful. With its impressively spooky atmosphere, this small but great game keeps drawing us out onto the dark seas.