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You can mitigate this by turning your boat lights on, but obviously that also makes you more visible to the monsters. Rocks will also randomly start to appear as you sail, with the explanation being that because it’s dark and you’re not thinking straight, you can’t see them until the last minute. When your panic level in Dredge rises, you become far more prone to being boarded by monsters. Other, larger creatures will simply try to smash up your hull, which not only damages your boat and causes you to lose cargo, but increases how panicked you are. Some of these slither on board and infect your haul. But alongside fish, there are also monsters lurking beneath the waves. Once evening comes, the types of fish you can catch change, meaning there will occasionally be certain requests that demand you to venture out in the dark. Image: Black Salt Games/Team17Īfter exploring the archipelago during the day, it’s only natural for you to be curious about what happens after the sun goes down. It isn’t until you start adventuring at nighttime that you begin to understand that something definitely isn’t right. The local trader is also a little odd, although it’s initially difficult to nail down why, let alone articulate it.

The mayor is shady, evading questions and insisting you focus on your work. It quickly becomes apparent that not everything at the village is as it seems. As you become acquainted with all of this, everything seems to be going well - perhaps a little too well. Throughout the whole game, there are roughly 125 different creatures to catch, as well as a host of treasures and trinkets to dredge up from the depths of the ocean. In hindsight, it was probably the right thing to do.

This was less satisfying, but not because of the game’s technical systems - I was just annoyed that morality demanded I sacrifice half my haul. On another, I spent even longer trying to make space for a castaway.

On one occasion, I spent 10 minutes trying to rearrange all of the fish I’d caught to fit one more cod on board - it was very satisfying. You do this via a simple yet elegant fishing minigame that employs light rhythm mechanics, while your inventory is managed in a similar fashion to a Tetris grid, with fish, boat parts, and other cargo taking on various shapes and sizes. A couple of days pass, during which you catch simple fish like cod and mackerel, both of which can be sold for decent money. You’re greeted by the local mayor and the pair of you strike a deal: You are allowed to stay here on the condition that you provide for the town, and you can take out a loan to purchase a basic boat that will enable you to do so. Of the dozen or so games I saw at Gamescom 2022, this was by far my favorite.ĭredge begins as you, a lone fisherman lost at sea, stumble across a small maritime village. It specifically opts to acknowledge Lovecraftian tropes and ideas, but implements them in its own unique way. While there have been games like Call of Cthulhu and The Sinking City - hell, even Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters DLC incorporates a location called the Fishing Hamlet - Dredge is different. Much of Lovecraft’s work is concerned with the abyssal depths of the ocean, as opposed to the endless expanses of the universe that are more often considered by modern science fiction authors - one of his most famous stories, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, is a testament to this. With the above description in mind, it’s no wonder that people often associate fishing with peace and quiet - which is precisely why fishing towns are, somewhat ironically, a perfect locus for eldritch horror.ĭredge is described to me by three of the four team members from Black Salt Games as a “ Lovecraftian fishing RPG,” which is a concept that, when you stop to think about it, feels like it should have been done by now. On every side, the waves shimmer, textured by silvery tides of salt and foam. A brisk breeze carries the refreshing waft of sea air directly toward and through your nostrils, as the wind ruffles your hair and the cold clings to your cheeks. The sky adopts an orangish hue as the world’s favorite fire giant awakens from its slumber, arcing towards the heavens until it looms over you, large and lustrous.