OVERALL IMPRESSION:
Everything you do in this game has been implemented with benefits and consequences. This type of fundamental game design, even with a simple premise is able to captivate an audience as you are constantly making meaningful decisions that carry some risk. Upon first glance, this game seems as if it’s just a simple fishing adventure. In tandem with the narrative, nothing is exactly as what appears on the surface. At the core, it plays upon our human nature of curiosity and exploration. Woven within the gameplay are snippets of narrative. The gameplay and story invite the player to explore it’s depths on a quest to unravel mysteries that are lurking beneath the surface in this seemingly ordinary world with supernatural oddities.
GAMEPLAY:
There is a very well implemented and balanced risk and reward structure to the gameplay in Dredge. On the surface it’s a game about fishing and dredging for valuable resources. But every action is designed to make the player go through small decisions that will have an impact. The basic gameplay loop involves fishing to gain currency and in turn upgrade your vessel and progress the narrative. Within this loop there are choices. For example, as you move and fish time will pass. During the day, it is clear and easy to navigate. However, after the sun sets your visibility is greatly diminished making it much more hazardous to stay out on the waters as damage to your ship becomes greater. On top of that, there are eerie atmospheric and unknown dangers lurking in the dark. You never know what creatures of the deep or supernatural entities may be lurking about. The horror vibes in this game are subtle, but done well as you aren’t equipped to attack being a mere fisherman. The game plays well with the ideas of fear, being watched and the threat of being attacked out of nowhere. This gives the day and night cycle significance as you need to manage your time to gather resources and mitigate the risk of staying out too long. To further augment this dynamic, specific fish and aquatic life that you are after are sometimes only available at night.
Even simple elements like the size and storage space on your vessel have been intricately incorporated into the gameplay. You ship has a certain size and the fish you catch also come in various shapes and sizes. This makes optimizing and varying your catch an exercise in managing your limited inventory space. It’s a small element within the game, but once again one that has been executed to allow the player to consider their choices based on limitations of their current vessel.
Moreover, something as simple as navigating and moving around the waters also has the risk and reward structure in place. If you are careless and brush up against some rocks, you can easily damage your vessel. Later on as you acquire upgrades, you can boost (haste) your engines allowing you to go faster. However, if you exceed the limits of your engines you can damage them. This balance of benefits and consequence makes everything you do carry weight and in turn makes the player consider and think about what they are doing in the game throughout the journey.
This is mostly an action adventure game with exploration and fishing. There are also some RPG elements that allow you to upgrade your ship and gain passive and active abilities. As mentioned, due to how the world is setup you’ll be naturally curious to explore. It’s enticing to push the limits to see how far you can go and avoid fatal consequences. There are plenty of small islands to survey with mysteries along the way. The upgrades that you get to your ship feel significant. It’s surprisingly addictive to enhance your vessel so you can move faster, travel further and catch new species of aquatic life. As you progress the narrative, you’ll also be given some active abilities. Similar to the upgrades to your ship, they too feel significant and can transform your gameplay.
STORY & MUSIC:
Just like the ocean, what you see on the surface isn’t everything that it contains. This concept is mirrored in the gameplay as well as the narrative and soundtrack. The story elements in this game appear to be fairly simple and direct, but there’s always something lingering in the background. The music facilitates the same overall vibe of the story with mystic soundscapes. Throughout your journey you’ll learn more about the different islands and their inhabitants. Most of the story sections are functional in order to present you with quests and objectives. However, there are mysteries and supernatural elements that are present throughout. You also experience the story via your interaction with the environment especially at night and your choices will have an impact in how the story plays out. Like any good mystery there are more depths to explore and you have to experience it for yourself. Suffice to say that like all elements of this game there is much more to uncover that what you are initially presented with.
ART DESIGN:
The art design has a charming quality to it with a stylized painterly impressionistic approach. Similar to the story and gameplay this gives an initial impression of a simple and relaxing game about fishing. But as you delve deeper in the art style also uses the horror concepts of fear, isolation and paranoia to great effect through the impressionistic lens that gives you the representation of ideas without revealing all the details. This approach works well with all the other elements of the game and offers a distinct look that helps it stand out from the crowd.
CHALLENGES:
One of the challenges that players will come across will be knowing themselves and the games that they enjoy. Meaning that this game is surprisingly captivating. However, not many gamers may know that they would enjoy this type of experience that is primarily about curiosity, exploration and fishing/ship management. There isn’t flashy combat nor voice acted dialogue that you would expect in many modern games. This can prevent those that don’t seek out this type of game from discovering a true gem. Another potential challenge is that even though most sections of the game are well paced most of the activities to advance the narrative can become repetitive. It’s not as much of an issue if you’re captivated by the game and enjoy an overall more relaxed but eerie atmosphere. The slower and more methodological nature of the experience may hinder some players that aren’t use to this kind of pace or gameplay.
CLOSING THOUGHTS:
Dredge is a surprisingly captivating experience that cleverly conceals it’s secrets beneath it’s vast ocean of mystery. There’s a well thought out system of risk and reward that is implemented into many aspects of the gameplay and narrative. For those that are open to new experiences and guided by their curiosity for discovery and crave new or different experiences there’s an intriguing and eerie ride in store for you here.
GAME DETAILS
PLATFORMS: PC, Consoles, iOS/Android (coming)
RELEASE: 2023
DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER: Black Salt Games / Team 17
GENRE/TAGS: Fishing, RPG, Horror, Supernatural, Action, Adventure
TARGET AUDIENCE: Players that are interested in a different type of experience with a mix of mystery, fishing and exploration
COVER IMAGE CREDIT: Dredge
THANKS:
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