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DREDGE - Trawling for eldritch horrors - Out now! - 82 average on OC

Jamie John

By Jamie John
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Kirby

Kirby

Posted
Posted

I think the DLC etc is a way to show support for the development by putting a little bit of mo ey their way (at least that's the way I saw it). Compared to say LRG the physical and extras aren't exactly expensive and you get something in return that won't be game breaking.

 

Also the digital extra strikes me as a little something to say thanks for picking it up at full price rather than waiting for a sale.

 

But anyway, had a lovely hour with the full game now. 😀

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BadgerFarmer

BadgerFarmer

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Posted
10 hours ago, ImmaculateClump said:

How "story rich" is this?
Is it infinitely replayable, like can you just sail around fishing and levelling up, or is it very much just a one and done short story thing?

You can spend as much time as you like exploring and fishing, and if you want to find all the different fish types or unlock and fully upgrade all the gear, that'll certainly take a while. I wouldn't say it's infinitely replayable, though, in the sense that you'll run out of meaningful things to do eventually.

 

 

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Scribblor

Scribblor

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Posted

Hmm. Just read the Eurogamer review: https://www.eurogamer.net/dredge-review-a-clever-fishing-sim-but-an-underwhelming-horror-game

 

That makes it seem like it's maybe not for me.

 

I quite enjoyed the demo, but the actual sailing around and fishing loop didn't do much for me, and I was pushing through it to get to the small crumbs of story.

 

I was hoping that in the full game the horror elements and narrative would become more central and compelling, but that review suggests not.

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  • Jamie John changed the title to DREDGE - Trawling for eldritch horrors - Out now! - 82 average on OC
Kirby

Kirby

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Posted

Its certainly a different pace of game and I'm loving it.

 

Until some HUGE eldritch horror caught me pootling about in the small hours and nearly sank me.

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Siri

Siri

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Posted
17 hours ago, ph0rce said:

Is this demo not available anymore now, or am I blind?

 

Tried to search the store on the Steam Deck but nothing about a demo comes back. 

 

Last I remember, I had to uninstall the demo because it was time limited to Steam Next Fest - so after the event was done, the play button changes to a 'purchase' button for the full game instead. So I think the former is correct.

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Kirby

Kirby

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Mr.Crowley said:

Fuck, this is impossible to put down, but they should have called it Lumber Quest, because there's never enough.

 

Keep an eye open for things on any little islands that you pass. I've picked up lots of lumber/junk metal from those.

 

It's really great isn't it? Every so often something comes along that's a bit different that just clicks with you.

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thesnwmn

thesnwmn

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It's a 40% reel speed increase I think. So a slight efficiency improvement but essentially a nothing.

 

I'd still rather it didn't exist simply because I think pre-order bonuses can get in the sea (no pun, well).

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thesnwmn

thesnwmn

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A few hours in and I'm enjoying the basic gameplay loop as I knew I would after the demo. Looks lovely. Sounds lovely. Good atmosphere which although for the most part not really all that creepy does have its moments.

 

I worry that my conservative tendencies and risk aversion mean I'll actually have quite a safe/dull and very very long journey ahead. I'm working on earning a little money, ship upgrades and research. I should probably push the core story forwards a little more.

 

Danger has been minimal so far. I motored into a twister at one point and was attacked by the same big fish twice which was location related rather than nighttime.

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Kirby

Kirby

Posted
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Don't know about the deck but performs like a dream on my OLED.

 

Given its gone midnight I need to put this down! Had a proper tense few minutes, having picked up some dubloons and snacks including the ever elusive research thingies when an eldritch bastard smashed my lights. At night. So relieved when I got back to a friendly pontoon!

 

It's great that so many people are buying and enjoying it. The development team (4 people!) deserve this to be a success. 

 

Has anyone had a pod of dolphins appear - jumping out of the water? That gave me a panic for a few seconds as I went into "but it's not night - this can't be happening" until I realised, nope, it was just some friendly cetaceans.

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thesnwmn

thesnwmn

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What this has more than anything else is that "one more turn", or maybe "one more day", hook (pun intended). Trying to go to sleep last night or get out of bed for work this morning was so difficult.

 

Always just one more trip to get fish (for money) and debris for boat upgrades. Or one more errand to run. Or one more little nook in the coast to explore. Or a strange environmental element to investigate.

 

And now I'm stuck at work and really want to be in the game.

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Kirby

Kirby

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Posted

Glad its not just me. I know its "just" a fairly simple game loop interspersed with some genuinely engaging stories and mysteries.

 

But.

 

BUT.

 

I can't really explain why - its just so pleasant to play. The little boat reacting to the waves, the weather, the little coves .... it's the first game of this type (collect stuff, do stuff, take x to y) where I couldn't care less about any fast travel. Those of us who um .... have Dredge under the skin know.

 

It's almost as though someone has read from a faded piece of paper words which have had the eldritch effect of falling hard for this game.

 

:ph34r:

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Argh

Argh

Posted
Posted

This is fun. I recovered an item for a person and then managed to lose it overboard due to damage. Just wondering if I've missed out on any sort of unique reward?

 

I'm only an hour or two in and this was just one of the side pursuits.  It was the

Spoiler

belt buckle

.

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thesnwmn

thesnwmn

Posted
Posted
37 minutes ago, Argh said:

This is fun. I recovered an item for a person and then managed to lose it overboard due to damage. Just wondering if I've missed out on any sort of unique reward?

 

I'm only an hour or two in and this was just one of the side pursuits.  It was the

  Reveal hidden contents

belt buckle

.

 

Nothing needed of amazing there I don't think. In fact I believe you just get a different end to the quest. There a few of these things that can fail but nothing critical at all is my understanding.

 

Also there are (apparently) no missable achievements either. So you should just be able to play safely.

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Padaxes

Padaxes

Posted
Posted

Well I've been enjoying this, put 8.5 hours into it already.

It's not as scary as I hoped though, most of the time it has, as  mentioned got a distinctly mellow enjoyable vibe going on. 

I'll spoiler the rest of my thoughts do not read if you haven't finished it.

 

Spoiler

The game and the core mechanics are simple, but also very moreish. It doesn't quite click for me in some way though. The lack of fear and danger maybe one thing. It's an easy game that maybe a little too basic, but you progress at a fair old clip , just fast enough to stay ahead of boredom I think which they have obviously judged quite well.  

It's a short game, at 8.5 hours I have just hit the "this is endgame" warning.

 

The story and atmosphere are where it lets itself down a bit for me, it obviously has Lovecraftian vibes and is "inspired" by a certain other game, but doesn't deliver on either of these promises. It falls short of horror, menace, madness or any of beats I expect from this genre. It clearly THINKS it is and in some cases almost is, but it's not executed well enough in this regard. Myabe the ending will wow me, but the build up has not, despite a couple of nice moments. 

Example: The giant fish creature near the cliffs. It just appeared underneath me and sponged my ship into the air. I think more of a build up and more menace would have made this a much more effective encounter. 

This may sound like a hardsh judgement but this is because of that other game I mentioned.....


Sunless Sea

This is Sunless Sea but in 3D, but with inferior writing, scale, audio and world building.  Weve seen this before , people trying to take excellent 2D games and put them into 3D  , PULSAR I am looking at you.

Suffice to say if you have enoyed your time with Dredge I would reckommend giving Sunless Sea a go.

 

 

 

I am NOT saying this game is a failure, it's a great little game (so far) it's just not as good as I hoped it would be.

If I were them i would have got the narrator from Deepest Dungeon in as well:) 

 

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thesnwmn

thesnwmn

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Posted

I think the atmosphere is fine for me. A little creepy but not oppressive (I wouldn't play it if it wasn't).

 

The problem with its "horror" for many I think is whether there is really and risk/reward or anything of value to be lost. The very short day and night cycle and the saving system means there's not really much to be lost most of the time. Mostly just a few minutes of play.

 

Although I did get one proper little scare this morning. Maybe more surprise than actual horror and jump but it was lovely.

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ph0rce

ph0rce

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, thesnwmn said:

What this has more than anything else is that "one more turn", or maybe "one more day", hook (pun intended). Trying to go to sleep last night or get out of bed for work this morning was so difficult.

 

Always just one more trip to get fish (for money) and debris for boat upgrades. Or one more errand to run. Or one more little nook in the coast to explore. Or a strange environmental element to investigate.

 

And now I'm stuck at work and really want to be in the game.

 

I can't cope with another 'one more go' game at the moment, Vampire Survivors has that handled!

 

This does look amazing though, maybe one for after I get all these unlocks, well, unlocked.

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