I haven’t played Dredge yet. I wasn’t assigned to review it and my guide writing days are long behind me. But I’ve seen a lot of it. Probably more than you, at a guess. That’s because I’ve followed it closely, since Dredge’s premise immediately intrigued me when it was revealed – an indie fishing sim with a dark, Lovecraftian side that emerges at night.
Dredge’s cosmic horror side has always been hinted at, but the more we’ve seen of the game, the more it compels me. This has never been marketed in that category of ‘wholesome games’ nor standard sims, Dredge is open and honest about its werewolf (werefish?) nature. But the trailers only scratch the surface.
That’s kind of the point. The dark horrors of Dredge will affect the player far more deeply if they’re surprising. This isn’t your standard jumpscares and gore, it’s the horror of being stranded at sea when your engine fails or trying to make it home with your cursed haul when your light’s gone out and your foghorn’s inoperative. I won’t spoil anything further, but a faulty flashlight is scarier than you think when the ocean is teeming with predators far more dangerous than sharks.
Now we get to the Zelda comparisons. It’s more than just, ‘you’re on a boat and it’s spoopy,’ I promise. Let’s start with The Wind Waker. While you are on a boat at sea, and you can fish off the side at little bubbling pools in the open ocean, and both games do have a cartoonish art style (although Dredge is nowhere near as bold as Wind Waker in this regard), there’s even more to it.
Exploring seems very Wind Waker. Dredge’s seas are surprisingly large, and it’s easy to get lost between islands. However, when darkness descends and you’re scrambling for safety, there are a few hints baked in to help you home. Much like you can nearly always see the next island – however big or small – in Wind Waker, to help you navigate the vast Hyrulian ocean. At nighttime in Dredge, lights in windows guide you towards harbours, and a towering lighthouse always seems to appear on the horizon when you need it most. Whether you can spot Dragon Roost Island, the Tower of the Gods, or the mountainous Forest Island, there’s always a clear monument to head towards or triangulate your exact position from. Perhaps this is just a necessary element of open sea game design, but when combined with the visual similarities – not least the ocean itself – Dredge feels very Wind Waker.
Not every spooky game feels like Majora’s Mask, but Dredge does. It’s not the Lovecraftian horrors that remind me of Zelda’s creepiest entry, but the clock. As you sail the seas, catching fish and uncovering secrets, time goes on. It tends to do that. The clock at the top of your screen moves towards afternoon, then evening. The sun begins to set. You understand the dangers, but you desperately need a swordfish to take home. One more fishing spot. It’s a dud. Just one more. Oh shit oh fu-
You can’t escape the sunset in Dredge, much like you can’t escape the moon falling to earth in Majora’s Mask. It’s just your task to do as much as you can before the inevitable. The creepy vibes help the comparison, too, but much like Wind Waker, there’s more parallels than immediately come to mind.
From merchants on floating barges, to darkness spelling your doom, Dredge feels like early 3D Zelda in the best ways possible, and I can’t wait to cast off into the murky depths. If only you could upgrade the King of Red Lions to have better engines and a trawling net to haul all those chests off the Hyrulian ocean floor.