CONTROL Resonant
CONTROL Resonant
Game
Game2023
DREDGE
Developer Black Salt Games
Dredge is a 2023 video game developed by Black Salt Games and published by Team17 that combines genres of fishing, survival, and horror. It follows a fisherman who faces Lovecraftian creatures as he fishes and explores an open world consisting of five archipelagos. As the game progresses, the player can upgrade the character's fishing equipment and abilities. It follows a day–night cycle; the day is serene, while… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
679 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
92
LovedLoved
439 positive · 36 negative
95% range 90–94%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 439 | 36 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 69 | 2 | 110 |
| Mastodon * | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 5 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Overwhelmingly Positive
36,835 of 38,285 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
89% recommend · 259 yes, 32 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 291 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (54,998 of 57,385 positive).
Players praise the unique blend of cozy fishing and Lovecraftian horror. [1][2][3] Many find the gameplay loop engaging but note it becomes repetitive after several hours. [4][5][6] The atmosphere and pacing are widely celebrated, with some calling it a top game. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [6]
After completing the game I just don't understand the overwhelmingly positive reviews for it. It's not awful or anything, it's just very...average. It doesn't take much playtime to realize you've discovered the loop, which loses its novelty fast - catch fish, sell the fish, buy new gear so you can go catch different fish, sell those fish, buy new gear again. You're going to be doing that for the entire game, and …
- [1]
Dredge is a horror fishing game. Dredge is a cabin in a snow storm. Is it cozy? Sure. But every time you look outside you get the feeling something is looking back. Dredge is that small tourist town where everyone seems friendly and they welcome visitors with open arms, but you will never catch a local kid with a smile. Dredge is the candle light that fills most of the room when you are reading, but not the dark …
- [7]
One of my all-time favourite games. You can go from completely relaxing and only slightly creepy to WHY ARE THERE SO MANY EYES AND WHAT THE HECK IS THAT WHAT IS FOLLOWING ME OH MY FREAKING HECK GET AWAY FROM ME and then back to a lovely time fishing and boating and doing fetch quests AND THEN THE HORROR HAPPENS AGAIN. 10/10, Will forever replay over and over and over and over and over and over again.
- [3]
One day, someone thought "what if I made a fairly laid-back, casual fishing game and used it to tell a Lovecraftian horror story?" This is the result. It's probably not for everyone, but I loved it. The fishing isn't overcomplicated: go to the right spot and play a fairly simple minigame, then maybe do a bit of inventory management to fit the fish in your hold. There are things that want to kill you, but during the …
- [2]
Dredge is a game for weirdos who want a nice, calm fishing adventure but would also occasionally like a heart attack. Overall, I enjoyed it.
Summarised from 34 of the 426 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked DREDGE talk about unique mix of relaxing fishing and cosmic horror; those who didn't talk about gameplay becomes repetitive after first few areas. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Dredge received a "generally favorable" reception from critics, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic. It sold over 100,000 copies within the first twenty-four hours of release, a milestone that the developers had expected would take a year or longer to reach. In October 2023, Black Salt Games reported that Dredge had sold one million copies. Reviewers praised Dredge for its presentation. Harrison Abbot of Bloody Disgusting described the game experience as "well-balanced and thought-through", while Steven Green of Nintendo World Report called Dredge a "near-perfect indie game" due to being entertaining and innovative. Several reviewers also praised the game's balance of cozy…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 679 · most liked firstBlack Salt Games has officially begun pre-production on our second game! With the team focused on our next journey, development of DREDGE has officially wrapped up. Our next title won't be DREDGE 2 but will be exploring a brand new world that the team is eager to share more about in the future.
neutral · AI labelView post →NEW ZEALAND Christchurch-based developer of indie hit game "Dredge" put money where the millionaire sailing clique won't even look. The Hector's Dolphin 🐬 needs protection. Sailing boats need to stay away from them.
neutral · AI labelView post →Hi! I'm the music composer and sound designer for DREDGE and I am officially looking for new work !! If you've got a cool game that needs audio of any kind. Please reach out. My DM's are open. Here's a few of the cool games I've done the music and sound design for! 🔊🎵 #gamedev #indiegamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →And I actually made some direct Dredge fanart when the game came out! Just realised I had never posted it to bluesky so here it is:
neutral · AI labelView post →One way to avoid feeling pressured into liking a game that everyone is talking about is to simply not play it until several years after everyone finishes talking about it. Anyway I started playing Dredge
neutral · AI labelView post →🎮: Dredge Started this today, Spent the entire day playing it and will spent the rest of the day playing it too 👀 As someone who has Thalassophobia, Dredge is proving to be quite the horror game for me 😭
positive · AI labelView post →Our new title, Indie Game Works, explores 50 visionary independent titles including Cairn, Tunic, GRIS, Valheim, DREDGE, 1000xRESIST, Genesis Noir, Abzû and A Short Hike, among many others, bringing together in-game imagery, development artwork, and early sketch material.
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a creature design inspired by @blacksaltgames.com's Dredge and it's cool aberrant fish, using a local endangered species as a base! Go give the game a look! And if you want more weird fishes, here's another one I made! bsky.app/profile/vald...
neutral · AI labelView post →they tell you not to release a game on a friday but true masochism is releasing one on xmas day. DREDGE is now free on EPIC. happy xmas from new zealand
neutral · AI labelView post →Just finished Dredge. Great game!!
positive · AI labelView post →Dredge is a cool game #isthisfloss
positive · AI labelView post →#art #fanart #VideoGameArt #Dredge I love fish - they're such great subjects because they're so shape-y! I also love the video game Dredge - it's so full of delightfully shape-y fish :)
positive · AI labelView post →my partner has been playing the game DREDGE for a couple of days, which means our apartment sounds like a melancholy french café for hours on end, which i'm not mad about
neutral · AI labelView post →Installed and opened. 10 hours later I was restless, delirious, seeing things as I played a man who was restless, delirious, and seeing things. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☑ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☑ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Too long wont read – Dredge is incredible in ways I did not expect, and I will recommend it to anyone who even slightly enjoys video games. I have been in a rut with games for a while. Burnout, unfinished titles piling up, and that missing sense of closure that used to come from rolling credits. So many modern games want you to play forever without ever truly ending, and somewhere along the way I stopped feeling excited to finish anything. My goal this year was simple: find the joy again.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →More games like Dredge. Cozy staple video games but with cosmic horror. Fishing game, but cosmic horror? Yes. Golf game, but cosmic horror? Yes. Solitaire, but cosmic horror? Yes.
neutral · AI labelView post →12. Dredge The relaxing and engrossing fishing gameplay with minigames and inventory management settles you into a rhythm where you sometimes won't notice how dark it's getting, when the nightmares come out... it's that contrast between the chill and the chilling that makes this game so special.
positive · AI labelView post →Update the ocean system, The buoyancy effect works better, and I can also generate a vast sea. I was inspired by a making-of video of Dredge Game #indiedev #unity3d
neutral · AI labelView post →Dredge is a horror fishing game. Dredge is a cabin in a snow storm. Is it cozy? Sure. But every time you look outside you get the feeling something is looking back. Dredge is that small tourist town where everyone seems friendly and they welcome visitors with open arms, but you will never catch a local kid with a smile. Dredge is the candle light that fills most of the room when you are reading, but not the dark corners that compel you to keep looking up. Dredge is that perfect…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Anyone have any cozy game recommendations that have a spooky theme?? I've already done Graveyard Keeper and Dredge so I'm looking for something else 👀
neutral · AI labelView post →Dredge is a game for weirdos who want a nice, calm fishing adventure but would also occasionally like a heart attack. Overall, I enjoyed it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🐈🐟 Now live - playing a very normal fishing game (DREDGE) twitch.tv/mangoloocosp...
neutral · AI labelView post →Well, now I have two games about eldritch fishing I love -- the Dredge video game 😭 and the Deep Regrets board game. Maybe I need to look for more? Are gross, mind destroying fish my jam?
positive · AI labelView post →The idea of a fishing game with elements of Lovecraftian horror is an interesting one, and Dredge makes good use of it for the first few hours. The cozy atmosphere and music are immediately arresting, and the mysterious narrative hooks and art style make for an intriguing introduction. Once the novelty wears off, Dredge quickly settles into going through the motions of checklist gaming. After the first couple areas, you've essentially seen everything the game has to offer, and most of the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of my all-time favourite games. You can go from completely relaxing and only slightly creepy to WHY ARE THERE SO MANY EYES AND WHAT THE HECK IS THAT WHAT IS FOLLOWING ME OH MY FREAKING HECK GET AWAY FROM ME and then back to a lovely time fishing and boating and doing fetch quests AND THEN THE HORROR HAPPENS AGAIN. 10/10, Will forever replay over and over and over and over and over and over again.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🤯 Oh, hey, come see us talking about @yarnspinner.dev and @blacksaltgames.com's #DREDGE at @officialgdc.bsky.social! schedule.gdconf.com/session/dred... #GDC #GDC25 #GDC2025
neutral · AI labelView post →Dredge is one of my top five games of all time. I loved it so much on Switch that I literally bought a second copy on Steam just to be able to play again. It's got the perfect Lovecraftian horror setting, as well as a genuinely fun and engaging game loop. Collecting all the freaky fish was so fun, and I quite enjoyed the story. Overall, I'm not great with words, but I had to say this game is amazing and deserves a play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm playing this truly excellent game called Dredge that asks the question: what if a fish was fucked up? what if you got lost at sea in the middle of the night and some leviathan rose up from the abyss to chase you until your nightmares became real? would you like that? yes? then I highly recommend
positive · AI labelView post →Very great start, nice atmosphere but after 10 hours mark the game feels tedious the main missions where to much from the same thing. Tons of people keep saying how the good story is, its more lore than really story and its the atmosphere that is bringing this game to a certain level. Its worth the buy, but don't expect to play long with it. Overall pleasant experience i really liked the concept. But its small budget i would love to see a more ambitious game with this kind of gameplay in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One day, someone thought "what if I made a fairly laid-back, casual fishing game and used it to tell a Lovecraftian horror story?" This is the result. It's probably not for everyone, but I loved it. The fishing isn't overcomplicated: go to the right spot and play a fairly simple minigame, then maybe do a bit of inventory management to fit the fish in your hold. There are things that want to kill you, but during the day (roughly speaking) they're limited to specific areas of the game world.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →“The more they are spoken, the more they are… understood.” First: Overall Rating ★★★★ 1/2 I decided to pull this game out of my backlog when I was recovering from surgery and needed a game to keep me occupied. This game has been recommended to me several times by a bunch of different friends of mine, and now I understand why. In all honesty I'm kind of upset with myself that it took so long to play it because it truly is a one of a kind sort of game. First, things I really…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DREDGE might be my favorite """""cozy""""" game
positive · AI labelView post →You’re at the club, I’m at the pier. You drink a beer, I’m sailing uncharted seas like a pioneer. Women want you, fish fear me… I’m alone on this barren earth and that breaks my heart.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The next game being given away by Epic for the 2024 holidays is DREDGE, a game I would consider an essential #SteamDeck title. It is only free for 24 hours, so go claim it now and don't miss out: steamdeckhq.com/epic-giving-...
neutral · AI labelView post →You will like my indie game if you played these games: - Dredge ⚓ - Skyrim 🗺️ - A Short Hike 🗻
neutral · AI labelView post →My fav new game from last year, Dredge, is currently half-price on Steam, should a relaxing fishing game with Lovecraftian monsters appeal to you.
positive · AI labelView post →DREDGE looks calm and beautiful on the surface, but there’s a constant sense of mystery beneath it. The core loop is simple: fish, sell, repeat, with boat upgrades playing a big role. Upgrading your boat requires finding materials, and fishing itself is supported by fun mini-games. I highly recommend doing side quests. Many characters reward you with books that unlock small but meaningful bonuses, improving gameplay and overall comfort. If you’re aiming for 100% achievements, both DLCs…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →my weird feesh I did after playing Dredge :) That game changed my life fr
positive · AI labelView post →I started playing it thinking it was just a casual fishing game. I was wrong. Better to be careful what the ocean hides at night. One of my favorite games of recent years, an absolute gem. The unique atmosphere of this game won me over 100%.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →'Dredge wasn't originally going to be a narrative game, but then it became one of 2023's best' by Aron Garst www.gamedeveloper.com/design/dredg...
neutral · AI labelView post →*starts sweating profusely hoping nobody subpoenas my achievements list for Dredge, a game where you overfish deep-sea animals*
neutral · AI labelView post →When getting adult, I prefer playing the games that don't require the fancy control skills. More to story line and 100% complete tick box. Few months ago, I was playing GTA SA. The flying school mission and drive school mission were the one testing my gaming skills. I hated it but I enjoyed. Managed to get full gold medals for all vehicles schools. So, this game complies all my wish, and most important it doesn't requires high specifications computer to run the game. I am still using 2014…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Casual and clunky to the point of being yawn-inducingly boring yet for some reason I felt compelled to finish it and I'm glad I did because the ending is pretty great. The n64 graphics aren't doing this game any favors.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I’ve been saying I want to play a video game for the past 6 hours, but instead of booting up my PC I’ve been watching my wife play DREDGE
neutral · AI labelView post →I've been playing Dredge since it came out, and to this day I can say it's my favorite game. The blend of cosmic horror, Lovecraftian fantasy, and the calming soundtrack, along with the fishing gameplay, made this one of the best games I've ever played. The story captivated me from the very first moment; the gameplay is excellent and the illustration of the fish and marine animals is wonderful. A friend gifted me the DLCs and I enjoyed them like never before; although they don't affect the main…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bought a game for my Switch called Dredge, where you pootle around in a fishing trawler, fishing and doing tasks, with lurking dangers at night. It's very satisfying, I think I might make it my whole personality for a while.
positive · AI labelView post →as an ADHD sufferer, this game was perfectly paced for me. i was able to binge it in a weekend, by hyperfocusing for the entire weekend, and enjoyed every minute of it., even just fishing is interesting, and not too slow as to be boring. it isnt too long of a game overall that i lose interest after a month or two, and isnt too short that it was over before i really felt like i could get into it. 10/10 aside from pacing, i love the storyline and the mythos. perfect hook for me as an occult…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The loop is perfect. Catch fish, upgrade boat, get rich, lose mind, repeat. One of those games you start for “just a bit” and suddenly it’s 3 AM and you’re questioning reality.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fiancee bought me Dredge! It's a cute fishing game, with nothing untoward happening in it at all! www.twitch.tv/jimmy_wuffster
positive · AI labelView post →dredge is so magnificent. it is perfectly balanced between chill QTE and inventory management and harrowing near misses. the gameplay never feels monotonous which, for a fishing game, is saying something. it throws a lot of side quests and mysteries at you right off the bat to get you hooked (heh) but there is also no time limit on any of them which means you can spend all your time grinding and getting your bag if you want to (i mean, peacefully fishing on beautiful blue waves...). the score…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →my banner picture is heavily inspired by DREDGE which is, genuinely, for realsies, a fairly relaxing fishing game. #art
neutral · AI labelView post →Good Omens x Dredge I LOVED this game so much and I also cried at the end. I really recommend it to you folks✨ ~ I want to start to do more crossovers with Azi and Crowley. I’ll sure do some spoilers on the other site next week💛 #goodomens #dredge
positive · AI labelView post →Congratulations to @blacksaltgames.com and @team17.com on winning Best Mobile Game for Dredge at the Unity Awards!
neutral · AI labelView post →Easy 10/10 game for anybody that wants something that can be calm, exciting, and addicting at the same time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dredge is the only game where I willingly sail into a cosmic horror abyss just because I really need to upgrade my little fishing boat. It is a delightful mix of 'calming coastal simulator' and 'please stop staring at me with too many eyes,' leaving me equal parts terrified and oddly satisfied with my catch.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Let's appreciate and normalize games that are well paced and keep their scope reasonable. It's a very chill boating/fishing gameplay with some story and exploration. Even if the gameplay could have been grindy, at no point I felt like I had to do more than what I wanted to do. I enjoyed its content and when I felt I had enough, I went to the ending and enjoyed the very short but satisfying rendition of my choice.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After completing the game I just don't understand the overwhelmingly positive reviews for it. It's not awful or anything, it's just very...average. It doesn't take much playtime to realize you've discovered the loop, which loses its novelty fast - catch fish, sell the fish, buy new gear so you can go catch different fish, sell those fish, buy new gear again. You're going to be doing that for the entire game, and hour 13 of doing that is no more interesting or rewarding than hour 2 was. I felt…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DREDGE is one of those games that sticks with you. It’s haunting in a quiet, unsettling way, not loud horror, but something that creeps in slowly and stays. The atmosphere carries everything. The fog, the water, the strange things you pull from the depths, it all builds this constant tension that never really lets you relax. It’s calm on the surface, but there’s always something off underneath. The gameplay loop is simple but works perfectly. Fishing, upgrading, exploring, and slowly…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I do recommend this game if you like cosy games with a fantastic eerie atmosphere. What I learnt playing Dredge, is that I can enjoy that for a bit but ultimately find it unsatisfying. I really wanted to love Dredge, and it's a great game in many ways. The atmosphere, the art, the characters, the music are wonderful. The gameplay loop is surprisingly enjoyable. And the general air of mystery amongst all the oddities in the gameworld kept me going happily for a good 10 hours. After that it…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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