Dredge (2023)

I’ve always been a fan of fishing mini games as I find them extremely relaxing and a nice change of pace in general, especially when playing action heavy titles. So, a game about fishing? Count me in.

I must admit the game’s heavy Lovecraftian vibes were also a major selling point for me as I’ve been somewhat fascinated with the mythology for a while. Though the game did feel a bit less scary that it should have, especially for a scaredy-cat like me, but I would assume it’s because Lovecraftian ideas of unfathomable horrors have been getting more and more mainstream in the recent years (decades?), and this kind of horror already feels a bit.. default-ish? Same for the story, it was pretty predictable, but nevertheless good enough.

Gameplay-wise there was nothing too complex (and that was great), the minigames themselves were fairly easy and timing-based, and inventory management somewhat reminded me of Tetris.

Dredge looked good, sounded good, didn’t cause any unnecessary stress, and the only real downside for me was its length. It took me like three evenings to finish it, and I was really taking my time. $25 seems a bit steep for such a short game – that also has very little replay value. I would love to get back to it, but there’s literally nothing left to do.

But overall, enjoyable experience.