Trolling the Deep with "Dredge"

The best cosmic horror/fishing crossover since tentacles.

Ahoy folks!

It’s not every day I see a game that invents a whole new genre! This week’s recommendation comes at the strange intersection of two gaming niches: cosmic horror and fishing.

As a horror-lover who also enjoys fishing both on-screen and on-boat, I knew when I stumbled across Black Salt Games’ Dredge that it was a catch.

From the Steam Store,

“DREDGE is a single-player fishing adventure with a sinister undercurrent. Sell your catch, upgrade your boat, and dredge the depths for long-buried secrets. Explore a mysterious archipelago and discover why some things are best left forgotten.”

Stranded in a strange patch of ocean dotted with mysterious islands, you take the role of a marooned angler, first washed ashore at the town of Greater Marrow and then enlisted as the town’s own fisherman.

As daytime fishing expeditions give way to nighttime excursions, though, the more… aberrant aspects of the region start to surface. Strange catches, robed figures, and unexplained sounds and lights on the water all ripple out from some unseen madness lurking in the depths beneath the waves.

Dredge is best played alone, in the late hours of the morning, headphones on and lights off (or maybe with a small lantern, if you have one, preferably flickering). It’s quiet, and drifts effortlessly between creepy and charming; fans of games like Don’t Starve, Subnautica, and The Long Dark will appreciate the vibe.

I don’t want to give away too much more, but it’s an experience that has me hooked - in fact, I’ll be streaming it tomorrow (4/19/2023) at 9.30 p.m. EST on our Twitch! Be sure to stop by if you want to take a firsthand look or chat about it!

As always, thanks for reading, and if you know someone who’d like the show, stream, or newsletter, be sure to share it with them!

---

Big thanks to my friend and long-standing friend of the show Kenny, a.k.a. @wrkngclssgmr, for gifting me Dredge, along with a slew of my other wishlisted games, as a birthday present. I can’t overstate how awesome that was and how grateful I am. You rock.