THE REVIEW / Adventure
DREDGE
DREDGE suits players who want a finite exploration mystery with a clear upgrade loop and an unsettling atmosphere. Fishing upgrades and unsettling discoveries give this mystery a practical loop between its larger revelations.
The programme
Game facts
- Developer
- Black Salt Games
- Publisher
- Team17
- Released
- 30 March 2023
- Platforms
- Windows · macOS (Steam edition)
- Model
- Paid game
- PEGI
- 12 — Nintendo Switch download edition edition; not a separate PC classification
- Players
- Single-player
- Length
- Short
- Difficulty
- 2 / 5 · Moderate
- Steam Deck
- Verified
PEGI source ↗ · Steam Deck status source ↗
Edition: Base game
The score, explained
The interest and responsiveness of the core decisions and actions.
How progression, exploration and goals fit together.
The coherence of the visual, musical and narrative presentation.
How clearly the game explains its rules and offers useful ways to engage.
The depth of optional goals, alternative approaches and reasons to return.
Every fishing trip is a plan
DREDGE places the player in charge of a fishing trawler moving between remote islands. Catching fish supports equipment improvements, while new capabilities make further areas and discoveries accessible. The premise also makes darkness a source of risk, so the next trip is more than a simple collection task. The strongest element is this connection between preparation, travel and uncertainty. It gives practical decisions a role in the surrounding mystery. The main limitation is that the catch-and-upgrade rhythm must remain enjoyable to the player. Someone interested only in the story may find the repeated practical work less appealing, while a reader who likes planning a small expedition has a clear reason to investigate.
A mystery organised around the boat
Different islands have their own inhabitants, tasks and troubling histories, giving the trawler's development a narrative direction. Equipment research and upgrades support access to new waters, while returning to a port gives each expedition a recognisable shape. We rate the structure positively because the mystery is attached to the same travel and fishing systems the player is using throughout. It is not a separate story that begins only when the practical work stops. The game remains an authored adventure rather than an unlimited maritime simulation. Readers who want a deeply realistic fishing career or detailed commercial fleet management should not assume that the setting provides those systems. The boat serves a more focused exploratory purpose.
The sea becomes less comfortable after dark
The game contrasts recognisable fishing places with fog, dangerous water and increasingly strange discoveries. That atmosphere is central to the appeal, and it is why DREDGE should not be recommended solely as a tranquil fishing game. The presentation works through making the same setting support both practical familiarity and unease. The visual identity gives a trip a sense of place while the darker premise changes how secure it feels. Readers who dislike horror or persistent tension should take those themes seriously even if the boat, islands and daytime scenes initially look inviting. The Marrows establish a reassuring rhythm of fishing, selling catches and improving the boat, before longer voyages complicate that routine.
Choose practical exploration with an uneasy edge
DREDGE suits a player who wants each outing to have a tangible purpose while leaving room for a mystery to develop. Returning can mean pursuing missed discoveries or improving how an expedition is planned, but the central story is finite and known revelations will change a second journey. Our replay assessment recognises that balance. Sable offers a useful alternative when travelling to unfamiliar places is the attraction but the fishing economy and threatening nights are not. Choose DREDGE when a modest boat, a practical objective and an uncertain return sound compelling together. Its strongest design idea is that the familiar work of a trip can make the unfamiliar things encountered along the way more significant. Fishing upgrades and unsettling discoveries give this mystery a practical loop between its larger revelations.
The verdict
DREDGE suits players who want a finite exploration mystery with a clear upgrade loop and an unsettling atmosphere. Fishing upgrades and unsettling discoveries give this mystery a practical loop between its larger revelations.
Reasons to play
- Fishing and boat upgrades give exploration a clear purpose
- Island quests support a finite mystery-led structure
- Day and night create an understandable risk decision
Reasons to think twice
- Unease and horror themes are central to the presentation
- The catch-and-upgrade loop may feel repetitive
- Base-game time estimates are not an all-DLC promise
See the game
Assist & accessibility
Parents’ guide
Players: Single-player. No in-game purchase marker in the checked Steam listing. Separate downloadable content may be sold.
Age classification: 12. Nintendo Switch download edition edition; not a separate PC classification
A useful starting tip
Decide what the next trip needs to achieve before leaving port, and reconsider that plan as darkness changes the risk.
A different direction
Compare this with TOEM: A Photo Adventure: A compact photographic journey that turns observation into progress and gives small visual discoveries a cheerful sense of occasion.
Official sources
Reviewed: November 2026
You might also like
TUNICRead review →
ANIMAL WELLRead review →
Chicory: A Colorful TaleRead review →