DREDGE

I know the game is labeled as a horror game, but ~10+ hours in, and I find it super relaxing. So far...

This is a nice and relaxing game if you're not looking to progress further into the story and mechanics of it, but if you want to go deep (pun intended) it gets pretty grindy and time consuming.

I had heard nothing but good things about this, but it really does the bare minimum on all fronts. You have a inventory management game at its heart. But they don't use it to create small puzzles with something to be gained by doing well. Primarily because the inventory is simply to small to utilize in that way. Due to the small inventory it is blatant they are trying to force you to choose to not bring equipment on outings to save space. But that just feels awful when you come across something you want to investigate but oops you left the tool back at base. The end result is you much more often than you want end up doing the same boaring uneventful trip back home a million times. Made so much worse because in their infinite wisdom, they decided the primary loot should rot. Then theres the balance. It also makes no sense. Treasure is rare compared to fish. you pull one 40 gold erring off a rare wreck, then the node closes; or you go to a good common fish node and pick up 2 fish worth 150 on average. In the time for you to find another rare treasure, you can return and sell your fish twice... This game was balanced by idiots. It's baoring, REALLY boaring. Nothing is hard, there is no challenge, there is no puzzle worthy of the word. And all of that nothing is in the way as you grind to upgrade your boats fishing (so you make money), cargo (so you can haul things you need to buy granular upgrades) and then engines so you can explore further (for fetch quest after fetch quest from bland nodes.) And the farther you go, the more you see there is nothing. It's like a smooth tech demo engine, with good atmosphere that they never bothered to make a game out of.

good fish nice boat scary abyss

- A world inspired by HP Lovecraft. The game's atmosphere is unsettling, with its foggy seas, dark nights, and an underlying sense of dread. While the writing falls FAR short of Lovecraft, the experience is still worthwhile. - The story is told in small snippets through characters you meet, and has an eerie feeling. Each encounter adds a new layer of mystery, and doesn't hold your hand as you piece together the larger narrative. If you're looking for environmental storytelling, this game has it. - It's literally an RPG. The boat is your character. The fishing equipment is your armor and sword. - Fish are your gold coins that you use for upgrading the boat. - Most of the game is well-structured and nicely paced, with exploration rewarding you with secrets and upgrades. - Some of the puzzles are terribly poorly explained. You will definitely be frustrated a few times by some very vague descriptions (you'll know it when you're there), and rather than wasting an hour trying different solutions, you shouldn't be afraid to just search it up online. - The hunt for 100% completion with all fish variants is a bit too long and tedious. The base game has 151 fish variants (which are tracked in your encyclopedia). Prepare to waste at least 8 extra hours with repetitive grinding if you want to catch them all. Do I recommend it? No. Did I do it? Yes. While possibly rewarding for completionists, the sheer grind of finding rare fish severely strains the game's pacing. - The endings are abrupt and leave many story threads unresolved, which might or might not satisfy everyone. While the journey is a decent experience, the conclusion falls short, with most of the impactful storytelling occurring much earlier in the experience. - My review: 70%. Get DREDGE if you want a cozy, slightly spooky Lovecraftian game where you can relax and play your own little fishing boat RPG. It's a great game to just lean back with a gamepad and do some spooky fishing while listening to a podcast.