Dredge, the horror fishing RPG for Switch and Steam, is captivating

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. As the breeze blows through your nostrils and ruffles the hair, the sea air carries a refreshing wave of ocean air. Every side is textured with salty waves of salt and foam.

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.

Dredge 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. 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, Shadow over InnsmouthThis can be seen in the photograph.

There have been many games such as Cthulhu’s Call The Sinking City — hell, even Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters DLC incorporates a location called the Fishing Hamlet — Dredge is different. This game specifically acknowledges Lovecraftian concepts and tropes but does it in its own way. My favorite of all the games that I was able to see at Gamescom 2022 was this one.

Dredge It all begins when you, an intrepid fisherman at sea, come across a small village. 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. You catch basic fish, such as cod or mackerel. Both can be sold at decent prices.

Image: Black Salt Games/Team17

This is done using a very simple but elegant fishing game that uses light rhythm mechanics. Your inventory can be managed similarly to Tetris grids. Fish, boats, parts and cargo take on different shapes and sizes. 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.

Another time, I tried to find space for the castaway. 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. I think it was the right thing to have done.

There are approximately 125 creatures that you can catch and a whole host of trinkets, treasures, and other items to dig up from the bottom of the sea. As you become acquainted with all of this, everything seems to be going well — perhaps a little You can also well.

The village may not be as simple as you think. He is not trustworthy and will avoid asking questions. Instead, he insists that you concentrate on your job. The local trader is also a little odd, although it’s initially difficult to nail down why, let alone articulate it. It isn’t until you start adventuring at nighttime that you begin to understand that something definitely isn’t right.

Image: Black Salt Games/Team17

After exploring the archipelago during the day, it’s only natural for you to be curious about what happens after the sun goes down. The types of fish that you are able to catch changes as evening approaches. This means there may be times when you will have to go out into the darkness. Not only are there fish but also creatures lurking under the seas. They can crawl onboard and infect you haul. Others, bigger creatures, will try to smash your hull. This not only causes damage to your boat, and can cause you to lose cargo. It also increases your panic.

If your panic levels are high Dredge You are much more likely to get boarded or attacked by monsters if your elevation increases. 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. Although you can reduce this effect by having your boat lights turn on, it also increases the visibility of monsters. All of these minor systems are smartly interconnected to craft an experience that rapidly oscillates between calmness and chaos, flitting from tranquility to terror as if it’s nobody’s business.

The safest bet is to avoid nighttime entirely — but as you start to meet characters who are also suspicious of the town’s relationship with the monsters, you no longer have much of a choice. As you progress through the game, you’ll start to catch messed-up fish that have clearly been mutated by some kind of eldritch power. Despite how disgusting it looks (most fish rots if you don’t sell it reasonably soon after catching it, but this corrupted fish keeps indefinitely), the local trader will pay top dollar for it. This was the moment I realized why he was so odd.

All of this is baked into the game’s mechanics, which is very intriguing from a narrative perspective. Sure, you have the main quest to follow and a bunch of side quests to experiment with — but it feels like you organically encounter the mystery attached to this place once you start to catch funky fish and dredge up mysterious trinkets, especially because the game refuses to explain why this is happening. It informs you that your suspicions aren’t misguided, that you’re right to pay attention to the fact there’s something sinister at play — but it’s handled with enough brevity that it doesn’t deride the pacing of repeatedly going out every day, fishing up some cod, selling your haul, catching some Z’s, and doing it all over again.

Image: Black Salt Games/Team17

This is why Dredge’s mystery is so compelling: It’s slow-burning, centering on incomprehensible instances of strangeness tied to weird fish, weirder strangers, and a lingering sense of slowly debilitating dread. Its intensity often only increases at a glacial pace, although that has the potential to be far more effective than something more rapid or readily discernible — as Margaret Atwood once wrote, “In a gradually heating bathtub, you’d be boiled to death before you knew it.”

DredgeIn development for Nintendo Switch, Windows PC It is one of the most intriguing games currently in development. It has gorgeous art, thoughtful systems, and a fascinating premise that feels like it should have been done years ago — at least it’s finally being done now.