4.5/5 ★ – gabicus's review of Dredge.

After playing the demo, I had a feeling I would like Dredge. Eight hours later, this game has vastly surpassed my expectations. Dredge is one of the most engrossing games I've played in recent memory. I was pulling out my Switch between meetings, late at night, basically squeezing in any game time I could just to return to it's creepy waters. Part of what makes it so engrossing is all the gameplay systems that build on themselves. You'll go catch fish in order to buy better gear. But you also have to spend time dredging to get materials which allows you to unlock new upgrades on your Research Tree. And that allows you to buy them, which means you need more money and that means you need more fish. Overall, a great loop. By the end of the game it was super satisfying to see my little boat evolve and how much better my gear was. The other half of the experience here is the main plot and side quests, all of which help tell a really unique lovecraftian tale. The side quests are great because you have to go discover them yourself and they introduce you to interesting characters. The main plot really took me by surprised though. I wasn’t expecting a story here at all but it comes into focus by the end of the game and man, it leads to some great revelations. Couldn't recommend this enough, save for some quality of life features I would've wanted, Dredge is a stellar title and easily one of the best indie games I've played.