DREDGE

I played the demo and loved it so much I pre-orderded the game which is VERY rare for me. I'm not disappointed at all. It's not only all the blending of simple but just challenging enough gameplay, piles of upgrades, quirky characters, and of course terrifying hallucinations as the demo promised but there's more islands to visit, more options for fishing in different depths, more music, more seemingly random events so every time you set out for deep waters it feels new. For instance stop by the Stellar Basin...and look carefully at what lurks beneath the archipelago. See if you don't jump the first time you hear your fog horn answered by another fog horn. Turn around while crab fishing and witness a giant tail covered in spiny fins disappear beneath the waters. It's not all horror, there's beauty too. You'll have pleasant days of just drifting around, exploring, finding quests and you will see some sights to fill you with wonder instead of terror (no spoilers). You can get tired of the grind of mini-games and slow travel but there's always something to see, something to do, something to collect, someone to talk to. At night some fish come out that aren't around in the day and they tend to sell for more. But be careful, you can literally start seeing things if you get tired enough, and if it isn't on the map it might not be a boat or a dock you're looking at despite the lights bobbing up and down in the fog... Excellent experience! Stable game with no crashes ran fantastically. Voice acting isn't there and interactions are sparse but it fits the theme of isolation, routine, and the creeping unknown turning a regular profession into a fight for survival. Good rule of thumb: if you can't do something, upgrade. This is not an unfair game, just a challenging one that needs some patience.

Enjoyable atmosphere and play, but rather simple. I didn't feel like there was much to master technique wise. Story was cool and did have some surprises, I was hoping for more though. It took me about 10 hour to do everything except catch every variety of fish, which Im not sure why you would. Once the initial spookiness wears off you kind of see that it is more mental than physical apparitions. Some things that I didn't like: Half of the tech tree is BAIT, only things worth upgrading are the Fishing rods and engines. Crab Pots and Nets are almost worthless other than catching an occasional fish for quests. Because of the limited number of research parts, if you dont use them on Rods, you wont be able to catch some fish until you get enough. Could have used more fun quests. The starting area set a nice bar, but then every area after had less. I ended up with more money than I could ever use just normally fishing. Game Economy isnt quite right. All together though, if you want a 10-13 hour fishing adventure with some slight eldritch horror, may be worth picking up. Also runs on Ubuntu really well.

Please don't believe the hype. There is very little really "Lovecraftian" - it's an immitation in form only, not in spirit. There is nothing even remotely resembling Lovecraft's inspired writing, no sense of mystery, no real dread, just endless fetch quests, simplistic minigames you will do over and over and over and over and over (it's more like a mobile game, really), no real danger and shallow NPCs that are little more than quest signs and paper-thin props. It really feels like a cardboard-cut "wannabe horror" toy for teenagers than something that could impart a memorable story. Which is a shame. BTW the art is quite badly drawn too, hiding behind the low polygon induced nostalgia. It's functional and on a very basic level "fine", just so bland and unambitious.

The game is a fun dichotomy, existing mostly as a chill fishing game where you see new places and meet new people, but with an underlying current of weirdness and melancholy throughout. Gameplay loops are fun and engaging, and new environments and gear keep you interested from your first few cod in the Marrows all the way through to infernal eels around Devil's Spine. Completionists will have a lot of fun hunting down all the different fishes, secrets, and equipment, though in my opinion there isn't a very high replay value given the scope of the game. Gameplay itself is mostly boating around different areas during the day to find places where fish are plentiful, then playing a rhythm style mini-game to reel them in. Time ticks by as you travel or fish but otherwise you're free to play at your own pace, with one major caveat: as the days grow longer and your stress builds things start to get weirder and more harrowing as the sea grows more dangerous, with eyes peeking out of the fog, rocks appearing as if from nowhere, and horrible creatures hounding your every move trying to sink you beneath the waves. As the game progresses you unlock new gear mostly to catch different fish in different ways, and the ability to Dredge (aha!) up treasure and raw materials from wrecks. The story emerges as you interact with characters interspersed throughout the islands and you find artifacts, notes and journal entries in the flotsam of the unforgiving sea. There are well executed themes of paranoia, desperation, and loss, and the very human need to keep going despite it all. This game handles psychological horror well, where lots of would-be familiar things are skewed and twisted as time passes. Ambience and expressionist-esque art help a lot with the general feeling of the game. All in all Dredge is a beautiful work of art and definitely worth the playthrough.