IGDB rating83 / 100
Main story9.5h
Released2023
PlatformsPC (Microsoft Windows) · Mac

Your game

Save it for later

Track progress or keep it in a collection.

Overview

About

Read storyline and full description
Starting from your new home in the remote archipelago, ‘The Marrows’, take to the water and scour the depths for curious collectables and over 125 deep sea denizens. Explore each area while completing quests and visiting neighbouring island regions – each with their own unique opportunities, inhabitants, and secrets.

Gallery

Media

CheckpointDB editorialCurator context
CheckpointDB Spotlight

Spotlight on Dredge

exploration-firststory-forwardcozy but strategiccomfort replayMelancholicLonelyTense

A brilliantly tense, Lovecraftian fishing adventure. Dredge masterfully synthesizes a cozy, satisfying inventory-tetris fishing loop with high-stakes night panic mechanics and a highly atmospheric cosmic horror mystery that makes every late-night sail terrifying.

Dredge is a highly atmospheric, sinister single-player fishing adventure that merges cozy boat exploration with cosmic Lovecraftian horror. Operating a small trawler around the mysterious archipelago of The Marrows, the daytime loop is relaxing: players dredge for ship wreckage materials (wood, metal, scrap) to upgrade engine speed and cargo slots, and complete spatial inventory tetris puzzles to fit caught fish into their hold. However, when the sun sets, a thick fog rolls in, introducing a high-stakes 'Panic' mechanic. High panic triggers terrifying auditory and visual hallucinations—such as giant phantom rocks appearing in navigation paths, glowing ghost ships chasing your boat, and deep-sea sea monsters attacking your hull, which inflicts damage slots that disable cargo space. You sell caught fish and mutated deep-sea aberrations to bizarre merchants, piece together ancient relic mysteries, and navigate real-time sailing physics.

Strengths

  • Highly satisfying, spatial inventory-tetris caught fish sorting mechanics
  • Stellar, highly atmospheric Lovecraftian cosmic horror story loops
  • Addictive and rewarding boat engine and cargo slot upgrades

Caveats

  • Main storyline campaign is relatively short (around 12 hours)
  • Navigating night panics becomes easily mitigated in the late-game

Context

Developed by New Zealand studio Black Salt Games and published by Team17 in 2023. It became an instant critical sensation, receiving perfect scores and multiple awards for its visual lighting and narrative art direction, transforming the niche 'horror-fishing' concept into a global success.

✦ CheckpointDB Lens

Why might I like this game?

A quick, evidence-backed read. Deeper comparisons stay available in the full Lens.

Core fitAction-Adventure › Exploration Action-Adventure
Commitment9.5h main path · HLTB
Series contextNo researched series context is recorded yet.

Continue exploring

Explore more

Browse all related games