Sometimes we all need a getaway, something we can drift off into like an ocean and escape everything else. DREDGE is a perfect game for that; combining relaxing fishing sim with eldritchian horror keeps you pleasantly soothed but also just tense enough that everything else seems much further away than whatever’s looming beneath the waves. Streaming it through the cloud on GeForce NOW Powered by Pentanet makes it an escape available anywhere, and the simple controls make it perfect for gaming on the go. Whether mobile, laptop, or tablet, you’ll be set to sail with DREDGE.
I never got fishing. Nothing against those who do, some of my best friend’s fish. But the idea of sailing out, setting up my rod and waiting didn’t seem my thing, especially when I could go and get fish at my local chippy and not need to cook it myself. DREDGE has made me re-assess this notion, and next time my friends go fishing, I might just join them.
DREDGE puts you in the shoes (or perhaps wellies) of an amnesiac fisherman, washed up on one island among many. Given a boat by the kindly mayor, you set out to sea to pay off your debt and start learning the fishing hotspots of this archipelago. As you leave, the mayor gives you a warning; be back before dark, before the fog rolls in.
This simple setup sees you out to sea and establishes the dichotomy of DREDGE. During the day, especially in the shallows, it’s naught but a relaxing fishing game. Using timed button presses, you fill your nets and head home to collect your pay. Occasionally you might find some odd fish, ones with extra tails, too many teeth, or an eye in the middle of its forehead that stares straight into the sins of your soul. But nothing concerning, nothing that can’t be written off as mere biological chance.
That all changes if you stay out after dark, and once wanderlust drags you from the starting island to the deeper seas, you almost certainly will. Everything eats up time in DREDGE, fishing, moving, dropping crab cages, everything advances the hour until the sun disappears over the horizon.
At night, the game changes; fog limits your sight to mere metres past your hull. Rocks you thought were real phase straight through your ship while others appear from nothing to wreck your hull. Things you think are ships rove the fog until they come close enough to open their maw and swallow you whole. Through it all, you frantically race for safe harbour as your sanity depletes further and further, making these apparitions all the more common.
So, there’s more to this archipelago than lopsided crabs and bug-eyed fishmongers. This is when DREDGE hits its stride. There’s a mystery out there that delves into the occult and the forces beyond the ken of mortal men, and it’s up to you to dredge up the truth. Your fisherman’s forgotten past is irrevocably tied to these strange isles, and as you get nearer to your answers, you begin to realise some questions are better left rhetorical.
So that’s DREDGE, a simple, relaxing fishing sim at first glance, but just like the ocean, there’s so much more to find beneath the calm surface waters. With GeForce NOW Powered by Pentanet, I’ve been able to stream it at my leisure, wherever possible. Whenever I feel the oceans song calling me, the game’s simple control scheme makes it a breeze to enjoy on any device. DREDGE is a unique title that’ll stick with you long after its story has been told. I heartily recommend you try it today on GeForce NOW Powered by Pentanet.
This spotlight was written by Pentanet team member ‘Motley’ and does not represent the opinions of Pentanet or NVIDIA.
