Horror fishing games are a really untapped genre. Fishing games are usually cozy and horror games usually aren't, so maybe that is why the two genres aren't paired together much, but Dredge shows how coziness and fear work really well together.

There's something about the calm feeling of fishing but having to monitor the sun because you know once it goes down you need to get back to port that I find so interesting. Especially with how much I enjoy the fishing and really wanted to stay out catching fish but needed to weigh the sanity affects of being out at dark and the creepy creatures of the deep coming out. The feeling of getting your haul back to port in pure darkness while feeling like something is coming for you is such a thrill without really betraying the fishing game roots.

Dredge is really greater than the sum of its parts. The game has you fish with simple but varied fishing minigames and adding your catches to your ship's limited cargo via the RE4 style inventory minigame. You bring the fish back to port to sell for money you can use to upgrade your boat to catch more fish, move faster, and have more light for night time fishing. It's all simple on the surface but the horror edge along with excellent sound design and the simple but addictive gameplay loop fueled by constant rising and falling tension all come together to create a captivating experience.

The story is also interesting enough but the strong gameplay loop and atmosphere are what kept me hooked on the game.

I recommend it if you want a different style of cozy game or if you like fishing games in general.