opinion: DaniDredge almost dismissed it as a boring fishing game. But banality, of all things, helps her face her fears
“Natalie, don”t look down!” There are moments in my life that I will never forget. My school enrolment, my near ligament tear in gym class – or that summer day in the Egyptian sea. I had just jumped out of a boat to go snorkelling on a coral reef. But the view down revealed no colourful underwater world. I could just barely make out my legs before the light was swallowed faster than my money in a Steam sale. I stared into a black, endless depth. And she stared back. Hello, new phobia!
Since then, I”ve given a wide berth to video games that send me out to sea, that require me to dive, or that try to lure me in with Lovecraftian monsters. I give fishing simulations just as much of a wide berth. Not because I”m afraid of them, but because I can”t imagine anything more boring.
Dredge combines both aspects – the monotonous fishing and the nightmares of a thalassophobe. Maybe it was my curiosity, or maybe it was the call of Cthulhu: I had to find out why the fishing sim (is among the current Steam top sellers). Surprisingly, Dredge benefits from my own dislikes of all things … And now won”t let me go.
Fisher by day – scaredy-cat by night
During the day, I chug across the waters in Dredge with my small steamer, fish and get to know the surroundings of the archipelago “The Marrow”. It soon becomes clear that the inhabitants are not telling me the whole truth and that something is very wrong here.
But I don”t have to worry about that for the time being. I continue to collect different types of fish to complete my encyclopaedia, search the depths for scrap to improve my little ship and sell deformed anomalies and treasures to supplement my pocket money.
“But, Natalie, didn”t you just say that fishing simulations were totally boring?” Yes. But in Dredge, I cling to every fishing rod so I don”t have to deal with what happens after the sun goes down.
As soon as night plunges the sea into darkness, my panic rises – in the game, as well as in front of the screen. A large eye in the middle of the compass display shows my fisherman”s state of mind. The longer he stays in the darkness and the more strange things happen around him, the more paranoid he becomes.
Then suddenly stones appear out of nowhere and I scrape my hull along them. Black birds with red eyes steal my prey. Oncoming ships turn into menacing sea creatures. And that whisper…
Between shallow simulation and nightmare
This fine line between the monotonous fishing simulation and the terrifying flipside with monsters, paranormal events and impenetrable darkness is the great strength of Dredge. And my imagination does the rest.
I keep a close eye on the clock to be safely back in port by sunset. If I spot large figures on the water”s surface on the horizon, I turn my back on them. Was it a whale, the leviathan? And whose tentacles are sprouting from the depths? Anyway, collect some mackerel and let”s get out of here!
Dredge tickles my curiosity, provoking me with exciting stories and supernatural events. It wraps me in a smothering veil of atmosphere in seconds when I feel too safe.
But it also lets me play with danger and balance on the edge. I can do all my tasks during the day and sleep through the night. I have the choice to proceed cautiously and not witness any of the horrors of the seas. For certain types of fish and quests, however, I must sometimes venture out at night.
The relaxed fishing is the perfect counterbalance to the shallow horror of the night. As my thoughts of the unknown go haywire, I gratefully cling to the trivial mechanics of the simulation.
I never thought that a fishing game, of all things, would give me the scariest horror experience I”ve had in a long time, because it so elegantly confronts me with my own fears, sometimes tightening the rod and then letting it slacken again. Dredge had me hooked after the first few minutes … and now I”m only too happy to play bait for whatever lurks in the mysterious waters.
