4/5 ★ – Itsgrimsby's review of Dredge.

I’ve gone back and forth on how much I like Dredge. In the beginning I found that venturing out at night before I’d built my boat up was just straight up frustrating. There was so much promise in the game as a cosy fishing game with an eldrich twist, but the survival elements and inclusion of fail states was really ruining the game for me. Then I discovered passive mode and things started to change. I found I could actually enjoy playing the game without the threat of being dragged back to my last save game because a random sea monster broke my boat. Then I ran into another sticking point… the story missions in the game aren’t that compelling. Each really only exists in order to give you a reason to visit the new region and start expanding your toolset. While I didn’t enjoy the main story missions, I did feel that the two dlc stories were much better and more interesting. I also enjoyed the twist at the end of the game if you go through the secret ending. All in all I’ve had a turbulent time with Dredge, but as I work on filling out my encyclopaedia for the platinum trophy, I’ve found that the game is finally doing exactly what I want from it. It offers little challenge or thought, and yet it’s a perfect game to switch off with as I catalogue all the fish in the game.