Dredge – Review

xboxoldies.com:

I’ve played a fair amount of simulation games, but if someone told me one of the best indie games of early 2023 was all about Fishing, I’m not sure I would have believed them, until I jumped on my small boat in Dredge, and then it all fell into place, warts and all.

When you first start Dredge, you’re introduced to our unnamed protagonist who’s got lost in thick fog and wound up hitting some rocks, you awaken the next morning on the nearby docks in Greater Marrow, where the Mayor greets you and offers you a small basic boat to continue your fishing journey. There’s obviously the small matter of repaying him for the boat and feeding the locals, so you’ll soon be out on the water to catch some scaled supper with the warning to try and get back before sunset to avoid another unfortunate accident.

You venture to your first fishing spot, easily recognised by the bubbles on the surfaces and fish swimming nearby, and there’s a simple mini-game to stop the marker in the green areas to speed up reeling in your next snack. Once you’ve caught a few, you can head back to Greater Marrow where you’ll be able to sell your catch to the local fishmonger, and soon be introduced to the shipyard where you’ll eventually be able to start upgrading your seafaring vessel to catch more fish, sail quicker and improve the light so you have a little more warning of nearby rocks when you do inevitably get caught out in the dark.

It’s all adorably straight-forward and before you know it, you’ll be upgrading your rod, so rather than being limited to only shallow fishing spots, you’ll soon have access to coastal spots where you’ll find a greater variety of fish, which will help bring in a little more money too.

The initial gameplay loop is to keep