History VideoGame / Dredge

** [[spoiler:The Dockworker can be subject to this too if you deliver the packages from the Mayor and the Courier before they spoil. Nothing of note happens after the first one, but after the second one, his eyes become pitch black, he constantly stares out to the ocean with a pained look on his face, and his skin becomes ash grey with faint red stains on his face and clothes, heavily implied to be blood. He also begins spurting out the same black ooze the packages had from his ear.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The first time the Fisherman meets the Collector, he speaks to him through a porthole window, [[spoiler:or rather, since the Collector ''is'' the Fisherman, its reflection.]]

* BodyHorror: The grotesque fish you catch have all sorts of bizarre mutations, ranging from extra eyes, flayed bodies, spines bent at unnatural angles, pulsating growths, and more. The descriptions emphasize the ''sheer wrongness'' of their mutations, from their jaws extending the length of their body to how their "scales" try to escape the body.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The first time the Fisherman meets the Collector, he speaks to you through a porthole window, [[spoiler:or rather, since the Collector ''is'' the Fisherman, its reflection.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: In the Good Ending, the fisherman throws the Tome of the Deep back into the sea, [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong saving the Gray Isles from the fog he had unleashed 20 years ago]], but in the process he is killed by the enormous sea monster that patrols the archipelago swallowing him and his boat.]]

* SanityMeter: Once the sun sets, or in certain dangerous locations, the player character begins to panic, represented by an eyeball at the top of the screen rapidly looking around. The longer you stay out, the more things appear to hunt you down. Panic can be reduced quickly by sleeping at a dock, but it also slowly goes down once day breaks.

* NoodleIncident: One of the collectable messages is the cargo manifest from a shipwreck. An item on it is a seemingly normal tea set, with the warning "DO NOT USE."

* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler: The Collector is the fisherman's suppressed grief, trauma, and guilt over the death of his wife and his failed attempt at resurrecting her 20 years ago that cursed the Isles with the eldritch fog, speaking to him through his reflection.]]

You get to work, but soon you start catching fish that... aren't quite right. A local [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep collector]] takes notice of the odd fish, and approaches you with an offer - use your ship's dredging equipment to help him find relics from shipwrecks that seem to be connected to the grotesque fish, and he'll help you improve your vessel. Sounds like a good deal... Right?

* AlluringAnglerfish: One of the things lurking in the fog is a ''massive'' monster fish that has a lure that looks exactly like another fishing boat.

* EldritchOceanAbyss: The main setting of the game, where while you don't ever go beneath the water, some of the... "fish" that can be caught certainly do look like they ''belong'' in the abyss. Some of the normal fish caught require equipment that can reach "Abyss" levels.

* SanityMeter: Once the sun sets, or in certain dangerous locations, the player character begins to panic, represented by an eyeball at the top of the screen rapidly looking around. The longer you stay out, the more things appear to hunt you down. Panic can be reduced quickly by sleeping at a dock, but it also slowly goes down once day breaks...

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: In the good ending, the fisherman throws the Tome of the Deep back into the sea, [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong saving the Gray Isles from the fog he unleashed 20 years ago]], but in the process he is killed by an enormous sea monster.]]

** "Good Ending:" [[spoiler:You follow the Lightkeeper's advice on throwing the TomeOfEldritchLore back into the sea at the specific point she directs the spotlight at, and yet [[BittersweetEnding get swallowed]] by the enormous leviathan-like fish that's been warned about. The result is that Greater Marrow is safe.]]
** "Bad Ending:" [[spoiler:You follow the Collector's instructions on bringing back your love from where she had drowned, and in turn unleash a Cthulhu-like giant squid from the depths. This results in Greater Marrow's burning destruction.]]

* TomeOfEldritchLore: What the red book with silver ribbons used by the Collector is implied to be, given by the player character's reactions to it whenever the book is mentioned or something read from it by the Collector. [[spoiler:It ''is'' a Tome of Eldritch Lore, given how the silver ribbons react when you choose to throw it back into the ocean in the Good Ending.]]

** "Bad Ending:" [[spoiler:You follow the Collector's instructions on bringing back your love from where she had drowned, and in turn unleash a Cthululu-like giant squid from the depths. This results in Greater Marrow's burning destruction.]]

* PatchworkMap: The five main island groups that make up the world are rocky New England islands, sheer cliffs, a tropical coral atoll, a mangrove swamp, and a volcanic ridge.

You're a sailor who gets caught in a storm and washes up in the seaside town of [[LovecraftCountry Greater Marrow]]. Luckily for you, they need a new fisherman after their last one disappeared, and you just happen to fit the bill. The mayor loans you a boat and urges you to get started feeding the town, but before you begin, he gives you a stern warning - don't stay out on the sea at night.

You get to work, but soon you start catching fish that... aren't quite right. A local [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep collector]] takes notice of the odd fish, and approaches you with an offer- use your ship's dredging equipment to help him find relics from shipwrecks that seem to be connected to the grotesque fish, and he'll help you improve your vessel. Sounds like a good deal... Right?

You get to work, but soon you start catching fish that... aren't quite right. A local [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep collector]] takes notice of the odd fish, and approaches you with an offe r- use your ship's dredging equipment to help him find relics from shipwrecks that seem to be connected to the grotesque fish, and he'll help you improve your vessel. Sounds like a good deal... Tight?

''DREDGE'' is an open world fishing horror game that was out as early access in 2022 and fully released on March 30, 2023 by New Zealand-based Black Salt Games and published by Creator/Team17.

''Dredge'' is an open world fishing horror game that was out as early access in 2022 and fully released on March 30, 2023 by New Zealand-based Black Salt Games and published by Creator/Team17.

!!''Dredge'' contains examples of the following tropes:

''Dredge'' is an open world fishing horror game released in 2023 by New Zealand -based Black Salt Games and published by Creator/Team17.

You're a sailor who gets caught in a storm and washes up in the seaside town of [[LovecraftCountry Greater Marrow]]. Luckily for you, they need a new fisherman after their last one disappeared, and you just happen to fit the bill. The mayor loans you a boat and urges you to get started feeding the town, but before you begin, he gives you a stern warning- don't stay out on the sea at night.

You get to work, but soon you start catching fish that... aren't quite right. A local [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep collector]] takes notice of the odd fish, and approaches you with an offer- use your ship's dredging equipment to help him find relics from shipwrecks that seem to be connected to the grotesque fish, and he'll help you improve your vessel. Sounds like a good deal... right?

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The timing-based mechanics to fish and dredge wrecks can be disabled from the settings menu.

* BioluminescenceIsCool: The Stellar Basin tropical atoll is full of bioluminescent coral and jellyfish that glow at night. Some of the fish you can catch also bioluminesce.
* BodyHorror: The grotesque fish you catch have all sorts of bizarre mutations, ranging from extra eyes, flayed bodies, spines bent at unnatural angles, pulsating growths, and more.

* EldritchOceanAbyss: The main setting of the game.

* LovecraftCountry: The Greater Marrow and Ingfell areas are based on the kinds of New England fishing and whaling towns common in Lovecraft's works.

* TentacledTerror: One of the things that can appear at night are tentacles rising from the sea that sink your boat if you get too close. One living in the middle of Stellar Basin can also attack you in broad daylight.

* SanityMeter: Once the sun sets, or in certain dangerous locations, the player character begins to panic, represented by an eyeball at the top of the screen rapidly looking around. The longer you stay out, the more things appear to hunt you down. Panic only goes away after resting at a dock.

You are a sailor who gets caught in a storm and washes up in the island town of [[LovecraftCountry Greater Marrow]]. Luckily for both you and the town, they need a new fisherman after their last one disappeared, and you just happen to fit the bill. The mayor loans you a boat and urges you to get started feeding the town, but before you start, he gives you a stern warning- don't stay out on the sea at night.

You get to work, but soon you start catching fish that... aren't quite right. A local [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep collector]] takes notice of the odd fish, and approaches you with an offer- use your ship's dredging equipment to help him collect a set of old relics from shipwrecks that seem to have something to do with these fish, and he'll help you improve your vessel. Sounds like a good deal... right?

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: None of the characters are given names, just epithets like "The Mayor," "Lighthouse Keeper," "Collector," etc.

* PatchworkMap: The five main island groups that make up the world are rocky New England islands, covered in sheer cliffs, a tropical coral atoll, a mangrove swamp, and a volcanic ridge.

* SceneryPorn: The graphics may be simplified, but the world is still gorgeous, especially the Stellar Basin region, an atoll full of bioluminescent jellyfish.

* BioluminescenceIsCool: The Stellar Basin tropical atoll is full of bioluminescent jellyfish that come out at night.

* SceneryPorn: The graphics may be simplified, but the world is still gorgeous, especially the Stellar Basin region, an atoll full of bioluminescent jellyfish.

Along the way, you'll explore the [[EldritchLocation strange archipelago]], help out the people who live there, upgrade your fishing boat, and try to make a living as a small-town fisherman, all while unraveling the mystery of the eerie fog that rolls after the sun goes down, and the ''things'' it brings with it.

You are a sailor who gets caught in a storm and washes up in the island town of [[LovecraftCountry Greater Marrow]]. Luckily for both you and the town, they need a new fisherman after their last one disappeared, and you just happen to fit the bill. The mayor loans you a boat and urges you to get started feeding the town, but before you start, he gives you a strong warning- don't stay out on the sea at night.

You get to work, but soon you start catching fish that... aren't quite right. A local collector takes notice of the odd fish, and approaches you with an offer- use your ship's dredging equipment to help him collect a set of old relics from shipwrecks that seem to have something to do with these fish, and he'll help improve your vessel. Sounds like a good deal... right?

You are a sailor who gets caught in a storm and washes up in the island town of [[LovecraftCountry Greater Marrow]]. Luckily for both you and the town, they need a new fisherman after their last one disappeared, and you just happen to fit the bill. The mayor loans you a boat and urges you to get to work, but before you start, he gives you a strong warning- don't stay out on the sea at night.