DREDGE ▶ Trailer
DREDGE screenshot 1DREDGE screenshot 2
AdventureRPGExplorationFishingLovecraftianOpen WorldInventory Management

511 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 1,189

Peak in the last 7 days: 1,521

DREDGE Steam store

Game description

DREDGE is a single-player fishing adventure with a sinister undercurrent. Sell your catch, upgrade your boat, and dredge the depths for long-buried secrets. Explore a mysterious archipelago and discover why some things are best left forgotten.

Basic info

DeveloperBlack Salt Games
PublisherTeam17
PlatformsWindows · macOS
Steam DeckVerified
Release dateMar 30, 2023
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 10
ProcessorIntel Core i3-2100 | AMD Phenom II X4 965
Memory4 GB
GraphicsNvidia 8800 GT 512MB | Radeon HD 6570 1GB
Storage2 GB
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Review Analysis Score

Based on 462 reviews from the past 1 year

88.4/ 100
Top 20%

Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (96%)

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 21, 2026)

Fishing quiet islands with something sinister beneath the waves, DREDGE scores 88.4, top 20% of games we analyzed.

👍 Strengths

178 reviews praise the world and its mix of cozy and sinister atmosphere, and some single out the cosmic horror mystery. Story & World ranks 283rd of 1096. 96 find it addictive and relaxing, and some lost track of time in its loop of fishing and upgrading. 68 admire the art style, and some also praise the soundtrack. Visuals & Sound ranks 158th of 1249 and comes up in 42% of analyzed reviews.

👎 Where it falls short

56 reviews say the loop turns repetitive after the first areas, and some call the main tasks a formulaic checklist. 33 feel the price and DLC cost too much for the content, and some suggest waiting for a discount. Pricing & Fairness ranks 837th of 1399. 30 find it short on content, and some say the later islands drag or the game ends too soon, while a few wanted more after the credits. Content Volume ranks 668th of 1351.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“perfect combination of cozy and sinister atmosphere” · 178 reviews
“perfect addictive loop, suddenly 3 AM questioning reality” · 96 reviews
“art style gorgeous, soundtrack excellent, Lovecraftian twist made me fall in love” · 68 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 54% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Progression +2.64 · Leveling, unlocks and gear — is growth rewarding or a grind?
Positive “satisfying boat upgrades and character development progression system” · 15 reviews
Negative “mid-to-late game progression lacks compelling upgrade incentives” · 10 reviews

Difficulty 14% · Onboarding 6% · Freedom 17% · Strategy 7% · Controls & feel 10%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 80% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

World +3.88 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “perfect combination of cozy and sinister atmosphere” · 178 reviews
Negative “horror elements feel like flavor, not genuinely threatening” · 12 reviews

Story 45% · Characters 7%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 43% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Volume +1.41 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price
Positive “base game short but DLC quadruples content significantly” · 9 reviews
Negative “only ten hours of content, becomes boring by third and fourth islands” · 30 reviews

Variety 27% · Replayability 6%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 42% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +3.99 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “art style gorgeous, soundtrack excellent, Lovecraftian twist made me fall in love” · 68 reviews
Negative “low polygon art style lacks expressiveness and quality” · 2 reviews

Audio 22%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 1% of reviews mention this.

Playing together +1.67 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals

Community 0% · Servers & Connection 0%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 16% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Pricing -0.22 · Whether the price, DLC and microtransactions are reasonable, and how much paying gives you an edge
Negative “game volume and price mismatch, DLC overpriced” · 33 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Balance 1% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 7% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Performance +0.13 · Frame rate, optimization, and loading times
Positive “runs smoothly even on non-gaming laptop hardware” · 2 reviews
Negative “game freezes every 15 minutes, unplayable GPU compatibility issues” · 3 reviews

Stability 2% · Developer support 1%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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