I cracked my brain trying to come up with a review for Dredge, but what always came out was a lot of gushing over the game itself. So, I decided to change gears a little: This is not a review, it’s a love letter.
I first came upon Dredge while idly browsing the Nintendo Store on my Switch. The first thing that caught my attention was the font. Then I watched the little preview video, and that was enough to get me to download the demo. I played it, and what sold me completely was the eerie tone of the narrative. The game is not only about catching fish—although that’s a very big part—but it’s also about uncovering the mystery of a man’s—the player’s, your—lost memory.
The game starts easy enough. You become a fisherman who shipwrecked on an island-town. You must work catching and selling fish to win your boat back. Along the way, you meet new characters and unearth strange artifacts and pieces of a larger puzzle. You end up being involved with the characters and the towns, and the game is no longer about just fishing. It becomes an obsessive search for the truth and trying to grasp at what you’ve lost.
A lot of atmospheric dread is added via the other characters’ comments about a massive creature, strange monsters, and the fish aberrations you end up catching. There’s definitely more to this town and this game than meets the eye.
The horror at the core of the game creeps up on you. It’s not outright scary, but rather it starts building dread and eeriness as you travel to other lands and encounter other characters. The game normally lets you know when a monster is nearby, but it is up to you to figure out how to face the monster. Your screen turns a creepy shade of red-purple, the music shifts, and suddenly you become the prey. I’ve had to start over the game several times just because I enjoy the feeling of being hunted and killed.
A lot has been said about the presence of cosmic horror, so I will dwell little on it. A big part of the game’s appeal is sanity and being out to sea during long stretches and what that can do to someone’s mind. When I was younger, I used to think a lot about space dementia: astronauts losing their sense of self just by looking out to the vastness of space for too long. Dredge plays a little with sea dementia and takes advantage of it.
The little nod to cultists, the doubling of the self and losing perception of reality, the slowly spiraling into madness and trying to snap out of it to do the right thing are all wonderfully developed throughout the game. The narrative is immaculate, the art is exquisite, and the music is absolutely fantastic.
While on the topic of music—it’s a fantastic piece of art all on itself, but as background for the game it just elevates the experience. The music changes with your voyages. What at first was a calm and nostalgic accompaniment turns into a creepy and foreboding soundtrack. I’ve spent hours working, commuting, and reading to it. Some people listen to lo-fi beats, I listen to this soundtrack completely unprompted.
The game recently added downloadable content that expands on the narrative line and includes more fish to catch. The accompanying soundtrack is well on its way to be my most played album of this year. I have absolutely nothing but praise for this game.
I don’t have much to say besides “please buy and play this game”. It’s a magnificent experience. And to the developers:
Thank you so much for creating this wonderful gem. I will never get tired of playing it and will always be grateful for all your hard work and dedication. Dredge was clearly made with love. Rest assured that it’s being played and re-played with love around the world.
Adriana Acevedo is an editor, writer, and sleep paralysis demon. She's been published in magazines like samfiftyfour and Impostor. She's bilingual and living in the monstruos Mexico City. Whenever she's not reading horror stories or watching horror movies, she's baking sourdough bread. Read more of her writing here.