DREDGE

I can't help but feel a little betrayed by DREDGE. It promises a delicious and intriguing adventure, proves to you that it indeed can fulfill this promise - and then it just kinds of... trails off into mediocrity.
Okay, mediocrity is a bit of a strong word. The game still manages to be very engaging, and the way it channels the spirit of Lovecraft's... uh... craft - a nice surprise, considering how often "Lovecraftian" is just a shorthand for tentacled cosmic horrors. But that only strengthens the burning question I'm left with after beating it: what if?
Sunrise over Innsmouth the Marrows
See, DREDGE has a very strong start. Something's not right. You know something is going to happen. Fishing? Sure, let's fish, sell the fish, get better gear. Don't pay attention to the black ooze coming from the package you're asked to deliver. And make sure to come back before sundown.
Point is: the mood is there. On top of it, you're given a nice gameplay loop with an extensive upgrade tree. Oh yeah. This is going to be a great ride. Eventually, you begin the main quest in the earnest, and things really get moving.
A leak in the hull
But then you slowly start noticing the flaws. The pacing is not quite right, for example. When upgrading my boat, I often felt constrained in this... artificial way. Almost like I'm just supposed to do things in a specific way. This one's a bit hard to explain, and maybe it's a me problem; who knows.
Another artificial feeling comes when you realise how the game world is structured. It feels less like a living, breathing world, and more like, well, a set of video game levels. Everything is too deliberate; too functional. You might say that it's a good thing, keeps things lean. I say it's a tradeoff - one I personally didn't like too much.
Light up the night
And the final complaint is that once you begin the main quest, the dread just stops. Yes, there is the general feeling of 'what the hell am I even working towards' which keeps going until the very end, but that's about it. The areas start feeling sterile. The threats - all manageable with ease. Even the night stops being an issue after a while.
Also, the general design of the areas other than the central one is just... not very eldritch, if that makes any sense? There's nothing ominous about them. Yes, there are major, location-specific threats, but they're rather obvious and have some pretty fool-proof ways of neutralising. Maybe it's my fault for comparing this game in my mind to Sunless Sea (can you blame me?), where literally every place filled you with a dread of different flavour (even if the gameplay itself was nowhere near as fun as here).
Rise from the depths
Yeah, the game is fun, in spite of all these flaws. Fishing might be a collection of minigames, but they're varied and short. The inventory management is a pleasure throughout the entire game. And even though I said that the threats are all trivial to manage, it still remains a thrill to do so - mainly because your boat is very susceptible to damage, and every hit can ruin your haul.
And the main mystery, hoo boy. You're being fed pieces of the truth as you go, and let me tell you: I've seen a lot of mysteries. I hate the extent of my plot prediction abilities. And here? I managed to piece one thing together, but the final twist caught me off guard like a champ. And it's excellently foreshadowed.
Throw me back
I guess I just wanted... more. More mystery. More exploring. More upgrades. It's a great game, all things considered; and the combination of fishing and Lovecraft seems like such a natural concept. And yes, in spite of everything I wrote, I recommend this game wholeheartedly - even if, or perhaps especially if you're not very good with horror.
And for those who don't generally play indie titles - thanks for reading. DREDGE is a good game, but trust me, if you decide to, uh, dredge the depths of the Ocean of Steam, there are so many amazing experiences out there to find. For sure, play this one; just perhaps consider throwing your fishing line into the unknown sometime. You'll be very surprised by what you'll find.
Curator page

It's a simple loop: go fishing, sell your fish, upgrade your boat, and search for mystery and treasures across the seas. A dash of Lovecraftian horror sets the tone, and so DREDGE sucks you in.
DREDGE doesn't overstay its welcome. My 18 hours is pushing the limits of what can be squeezed out of the game, and, with a less completionist mindset, it only would have taken 10. The time spent is relaxing, exploration is rewarding, and uncovering mysteries is satisfying. I enjoyed playing 100% of the available content, with 1 glaring flaw.
The time. Up at the top of the screen, there's a constant reminder of how many in-game days have passed. This lead me to believe it was important how quickly I progress, that the world would change as time goes on. The pressure was on to manage my time, so I prioritized efficiency over fun at times. HOWEVER, nothing in game depends on the day counter. The passage of time only ever effects day/night and the spoilage of fish. You are free to explore the world at your leisure with no negative effects whatsoever. It would have been nice if this was relegated to a menu somewhere instead of prominently displayed at the center of the screen at all times, so I wouldn't have felt pressured.
I still recommend DREDGE. Ignore the day counter, take it at your own pace, and enjoy the atmosphere. It's a nice casual diversion into the horror of the seas.
DLC
The Pale Reach is only $6, and adds about 2 hours to the game. It's fits in well about halfway through the game, so its best to pick it up early if you're enjoying DREDGE. If you've already finished the game, it doesn't add much worth doing.

If you want a game full of Lovecraftian horror, this probably isn't for you

If you want a cozy fishing game that is lovingly crafted and has subtle Lovecraftian elements scattered through its world, this game is definitely for you

Short review
Buy this game if:
✅ You're into fishing and naval-themed games, with a strong emphasis on Lovecraftian horror tropes;
✅ You like exploring open world games and farming (by fishing over 150 types of fishes);
✅ You enjoy spending your time exploring while upgrading your equipment and reading lore while doing sidequests;
Don't buy if:
❌ you don't like repetitiveness, as you'll navigate the whole map countless times;
❌ you were expecting fighting or fishing bizarre and/or challenging creatures;
Longer review
Even though steam's reviews for Dredge are extremely positive, please be aware before buying that:
1- It is indeed a nice looking game, but there's neither real horror nor implied horror mechanics. Do not buy the game if you were looking for thrilling moments or jumpscares.
2- All the upgradable equipment is made to make navigation and fishing much easier and faster, however I haven't personally seen anything original about it
3- Side characters aren't bad, but also aren't that compelling or engaging, even though there was lots of room to expand on their personal stories and struggles throughout the main story and some side quests
4- Why so many positive reviews then? Dredge is a nice indie, navigating and upgrading your boat and fishing tools feels rewarding, as each species has its own minigame that you'll need to overcome in order to be able to get your nets out and the fishes in, besides there aren't at the moment games such like these on Steam as Dredge is a nice mixture of navigation , open world and (simplified) commerce mechanics
Verdict: 7
Time required to finish the main game (without the DLC, which lasts 2 hours) : 9/10 hrs
Time required to complete it at 100% with the DLC: 20-22 hours (depending on luck)
Thanks for reading, leave a comment below if you have any questions or observations, feel free to follow my other reviews at:

This game is deceiving in the best way possible. It starts with just humble fishing only for you to realize something is very, very wrong. Then, when you think you know what's going on, it throws another plot twist at you. Twice did this game leave me flabbergasted and afterwards loving it even more <3

I only have one tiny complaint, but it's barely an issue if you have a different play style. The research parts you need to upgrade your boat are hidden in side quests. This rewards the player for looking deeper, which is good for a game full of mystery. I do find it a little tedious at times, though.

Summary:
A unique kind of fishing game: cosy and smoothing during the daytime, cosmic horror and stressful at night. It takes around 10 hours to complete the main quests, and double the amount to 100%. Despite enjoying this game myself, I only recommend it cautiously due to its multiple downsides. If you are not daunted by the price, the Complete Edition offers the best experience.
Goodies:
+ Well-polished and arguably feature-complete after more than one year's updates and two major DLCs.
+ The different mechanics are all easy to pick up.
+ Top-notch art and sound design and soundtrack.
+ Amazing Lovecraftian atmosphere.
+ Passive mode and other accessibility options.
+ An captivating open world divided into 7 beautiful regions, each with a vastly distinct environment and types of fish (more than 200 kinds in the game!).
+ Gratifying to go through 5 tiers of one's boat and to get faster, larger, and more versatile as one goes along.
+ Very satisfying boat driving and water physics.
Downsides:
- Not much evolution in terms of gameplay or plots; you basically repeat the same kind of mini-games / fetch quests / farming throughout the whole game.
- The upgrades of equipment are fairly incremental and utterly underwhelming. Furthermore, the items at the end of the tech tree are not necessarily the optimal ones, which takes away the pleasure of researching all upgrades.
- Each tier of the ship has a fixed layout which indicates where you can install each of the four types of equipment (fishing rod, trawl net, light, and engine) and how many slots you have for each type of equipment. In other words, it is not really up to you to make the compromise between having more equipment installed (which makes you ship more powerful since stats from different equipment stack) and more cargo space.
- For a game with so many collectibles, there is no in-game tracking system; one has to rely on online guides or maps.
- Extremely fragmentary lore.
- Flat NPC design: insipid character arcs which rarely intertwine (NPCs rarely have reactions to the events outside their quests).
- Only possible to fast travel to the centre of the map. Even with the full-upgraded ship, it is a slog to travel between regions again and again, especially at night when visibility is highly reduced.
- No manual save.
- In the late game, you will have tons of money but almost nothing to buy. This is exacerbated in the second DLC, where craftable equipment requires raw materials that you cannot buy directly (only obtainable via dredging or farming).
- - - Particularly highly priced, especially the two DLCs with a debatably small amount of content and boring story; the complete edition costs twice as much as most indie games.
More details follow; you are also highly encouraged to visit the devs' YouTube channel , which has a dozen of one-minute-long videos showcasing various mechanics (e.g. fishing, inventory, time management) and main in-game regions.
Gameplay structure:
* A playthrough consists of finishing a set of main quests, which guide you to each main area of the open world. The quests (both main and side ones) are mostly independent and can be fulfilled out of order. They are mainly fetch quests: fetch/deliver me these fish or those objects from/to point X.
* Fishing (by rod) and dredging are mainly based on several kinds of QTE mini-games; the principle is more or less the same: push the button when the moving dots are in the indicated zone to accelerate fishing.
* Throughout the game, you drive a fish boat. Fish, material, trinkets, equipment, etc, all have a fixed form and occupy a certain number of slots; you need to fit them into the storage of your boat like playing Tetris.
* Money and material earned from quests or selling fish are necessary for upgrading your boat (more space to hold more goods or larger equipment, better equipment for more types of fish, higher cruising speed, etc).
* Fishing/dredging + selling + upgrading form the main gameplay loop.
More about the fishing elements:
* There is a day-night cycle; time advances when fishing, driving, or installing equipment. Some fish only spawn during the night.
* There are also passive ways of fishing by using trawl nets and crab pots.
* Fishing spots appear as bubbling water; each spot contains one kind of fish, which can be guessed from the silhouettes under the bubble. The spyglass allows determining the kind of fish in a bubble from far away, saving you the trouble of approaching.
* The number of available fish in a spot is limited; once depleted, it takes some time for the spot to respawn.
* The position of all the spots for each kind of fish is mostly fixed; you can consult an interactive map like this one to learn where to find the fish you are searching for.
The particularities lie in its Lovecraftian horror setting, which manifests through more than the story arcs:
* By design, your character is highly discouraged from staying out during the night because they have a sanity metre (called “panic” in the game). When the panic is high, you will see and experience all sorts of strange things: chromatic aberrations, optic illusions, fish infection, and most horribly, sea monsters, which will pursue and attack you. (Luckily, sea monster attack can be turned off in the passive mode.)
* Each kind of fish has one of two eldritch variants (called “aberrations” in the game); these variants appear with a small probability each time you fish.

A very fun little fishing sim in a lovecraftian horror story.

+ Great Steam Deck game
+ A small, open world with minimum guidance, outside of the main quest
+ Respectful of your time and unlocks grant new abilities that also make fishing more efficient.
+ Cool art direction that captures the overall spooky tone and arcade’y feel of the gameplay. The character and creature design is great.
+ A Good, indie-level horror story

- Would’ve liked better sim-like boat controls. Playing with a controller, I didn’t like using the left stick for both throttle and steering. I was able to remap throttle and reverse to the left and right trigger.
- As a busy person that plays in short bursts, I would’ve liked a more detailed journal to help track the story better.
-On a controller, I found moving items across inventories to be cumbersome.

Blind play-through until the main quest was finished. Completed all pursuits (quests) with the exemption of one and caught the majority of fish types.