You’ve been a farmer in Stardew Valley, a zookeeper in Planet Zoo and even an alchemist in Potion Craft. Now, it is time to take on another role as a fisherman.
You might’ve played many fishing titles but this one is slightly different. DREDGE is an indie title that is rich in its gameplay and has some of the best ambiences video games have to offer thus far this year. It’s calming during the day and highly unnerving when the sun sleeps.
Despite being an indie game, DREDGE’s gameplay is not shallow at all. It is not a game that you can get a hang of in a few hours so it’ll do you well to have some tips and tricks up your sleeve. This is where we come in because today, we’ll be bringing you some of those to make your first playthrough better.
Let’s start!
Inventory Management
Know that DREDGE is not all just about fishing. A large part of the game is about how you manage your ship and how resourceful you are with your tools and fishes you caught. Trust us when we say this game’s resources are very limited.
One of these limited resources is space. So, you definitely cannot just venture out into the ocean and hope to reel in an unlimited amount of fish. You will need to organise your ship space properly—be it through upgrades or the placement of your fish.
Early on, you’d probably not have the means to upgrade your ship, so the best thing you can do is clever fish placement. Try your best to rotate the fish into the best optimal position before placing them on your ship. The spaces are designed based on boxes and this gives you a rough estimation of how you can min-max your fish placements.
Darkness Is Not Your Old Friend
Yes, we know that fishing during the night can be atmospheric and scarily fun. Unfortunately, fishing in darkness has a lot of dangers in DREDGE.
For one, during the night and you are out in the sea, your panic meter will rise. This is detailed with the eye icon on the top-middle of the screen. As your panic increases, the larger and more alert the eye becomes. When this happens, be sure to dock at the nearest area as soon as possible.
Also, when you are out there in the dark, unknown creatures of the sea will attempt to assault your ship and will cause damage to it. Other hazards include unexpected debris and rocks that can also wreck your ship if you were to navigate carelessly into the night.
Before you fully upgrade your ship, fearing the night is wise. Only when you have the necessary tools then you can start exploring the darkness of DREDGE.
Remember to Always Upgrade
Always remember to work towards upgrading your ship. These upgrades give you a lot of fishing options out in the sea. Whenever possible, upgrade your boat to give yourself an advantage against the sea.
One of the first things you should look to upgrade is the rods. When you first explore the ocean, you’ll notice that there are some patches of fish you cannot catch. Do catch them, you’ll need specific rods. Each upgrade will give allow you to access these fish and towards the late game, you’ll have upgraded rods that can catch any fish.
Other upgrades like engines and lights are also not to be neglected. Engine upgrades allow you to travel faster, saving you precious time on the sea. Stronger lights mean that you will traverse better during the night, meaning you won’t be as easily panicked as before.
Talking to People
DREDGE has a pretty good cast of characters for an indie game. The residents of each town/island sometimes have requests that you can fulfil. Talking to these people will trigger their requests and doing them will give you some nice rewards.
Plus, these townspeople often chat flavour text out which can possibly give you more insights about the game. These requests are relatively easy to complete so there is really no reason for you not to do them. Especially the earlier ones, do them as they also serve as somewhat of a tutorial for the game.
Don’t Waste Time
If you’ve noticed, time past extremely quickly in DREDGE. There is very little you can do in a day and before you know it, it’ll be night already and your activities become significantly harder. When you are docked on land, plan ahead what you are going to do during the day.
On land, time is frozen so you have all the luxury to organise your route and what you need to do when you are out in the ocean. By doing so, you will not be thrown into a dilemma out there, which can waste precious time and time in this game is not your friend.
Final Thoughts
Honestly, DREDGE is a game that is best played on your own. The first experience you get is unmatched. Then again, we do understand if you want a helping hand or two so, hopefully, we managed to fill that role with this article.
Haven’t purchased this game yet? The game is now available on Steam which you can get using our Steam Wallet Codes here!
