Dredge is all about atmosphere. The simple yet detailed environments, poly graphics, deep fog, and diverse soundtrack really add to this mysterious experience where you don't really know what's lurking around the corner or what screwed up item you might unearth from the deep. The story doesn't really get too detailed, but I'm sure it's there if someone wanted to dissect every little comment someone makes. The gameplay itself is pretty straightforward - but navigating the challenges of each environment provide enough diversity where each main zone feels different. Other than its short length, the only downside for this game is the fact that when you die, there is no death animation of the ship sinking - you just cut to a black screen that says you capsized and you can immediately start back from the last time you docked. It almost ruins some of the challenge in avoiding all obstacles because the punishment is so small.

Great atmosphere and low-poly visuals, and the controls that make or break its gameplay loops feel great to control. Overall it’s a perfectly solid game that I’d recommend, and I thought both of its endings were neat, but I also felt a little like “that’s it?” as I realized its full extent. The compulsive multipart harvest-and-upgrade loops, the number of separate islands, and the expansive list of creatively imagined fish all give the impression that it’s a bigger game than it is. I’m fine with it not being any bigger, but I wish it was okay cutting some of the upgrade loop stuff that retroactively feels like filler, building up needlessly for content that’s not there.