...or whatever bloody time it is. Possibly the greatest World War II themed action game ever and a strong contender for a game to take to a deserted island or on a lifelong space mission. It has everything a man may need for quality entertainment: - nearly infinite amounts of silly yet satisfying fun in freeplay mode, - pretty good and varied mission design, - pulpy story with humor and melodrama galore, - great atmosphere, - charming, cozy open world, - nice titties, - cool cars and enjoyable driving model (also: tanks), - decent arsenal and some neat tricks (like using car bombs), - absolute banger of a soundtrack, - Skylar, - and some of the cheesiest lines ever recorded for a video game. I only wish it had more diversions other than blowing things up and messing around, like street racing especially feels underutilized.
DREDGE is an impressively well done, fun and relaxed exploration game with mystery elements. Every part of it is very polished. I deliberately used word "mystery" instead of "horror" because let's be honest: these scary parts are more akin to the kids cartoons than something truly creepy or unsettling. Still, it has its charm and adds some flavor to the main course which is fishing and exploring. The archipelago where the game is set is small but charming and in every direction there is something new to discover. At first I was afraid this game will be too repetitive and grindy for my taste - it can feel a bit overwhelming at the beginning when new mechanics and unlockables are introduced - but soon realized its not really the case. There is no pressure whatsoever, and everyone can play at their own pace. No need to worry about ever running out of time or money: you don't have to buy fuel, water, pay for rent etc., and even if that'd be the case, there's infinite amount of fish everywhere. If anything, I've spent too much time dawdling in the early areas, I guess, because I had my ship fully upgraded in like halfway through the game, and then there was not much left to do other than clearing side-quests and following main story line. Sure, there is over hundred species to discover and catch, but unless you're hardcore completionist or achievement hunter, there's not much reason to do so, especially that you don't have anything to spend money on in the late game other than occasional repairs. It runs fantastic on potato powered PC's and takes under 1 GB of disk space. It's better optimized than many 2D pixel-art games these days. I guess my only gripe that doesn't allow me to call it a truly remarkable game is that the story and characters are rather forgettable and the endings could be a bit more fleshed out. Side missions also often seem intriguing at first glance, but in the end most of them turn out nothing but simple fetch quests with not much background.
