Is it me or is this game.... not very good?

[TeknoTel]

This game is rated overwhelmingly positive. After completing it I genuinely have no idea how this is the case.

It starts off very promising absolutely, however after you have done anything in Dredge you have done everything. There is no real variation at all. Just go from one point to the next.

The fishing mini games are very simplistic, its fine, if it was one of several other game mechanics, which it isn't.

I think this style of game, travelling from point a to point b and back to point a would be fine if the game world, characters or story were engaging or immersive in any way. This is actually where the game is at is absolute worst in my opinion.

Nothing is developed. You meet characters and are like, oh, I wonder what is going to happen here, nothing happens with any of them. You will have one or two maximum interactions and the story will never develop any further with them. I found this to be the most surprising aspect of the game as I expected this would be where the games focus would be seeing how simplistic virtually everything else is.

I completed it very quickly and after doing so I had two open quests, very tedious rinse and repeat quests so I had seen the overwhelming majority of the game as well.

The game looks set up to be very good after the first 30-60 minutes of play and I think this explains a lot of the overwhelmingly positive reviews, however when you eventually realise that very little actually develops in Dredge you see how quickly this game has been put together and how little there is to it. Honestly after completing this I thought this was one of the most shallow/rushed games I have ever played and the price of £20 is obscene for how little has gone into this game.

[Carighan]

Originally posted by TeknoTel:

Yes games target different groups of people, that doesn't mean all games in that market segment are of the same quality. Dredge has far less content and less development then any of those games you listed.

And yet it's plenty enjoyable, of really good quality, has amazing atmosphere, and doesn't overstay its welcome. 🤷 I'm serious, it's just a really really good game. It doesn't need to challenge you, be a story epiphany or anything like that. Not every game is.

You just play it, relax fishing some, sometimes stress trying to escape the dark in the early game, and then by the time it would get rote the game is already done, which is perfect. And it's not like it's costly, so it's perfectly fine it only lasts a few hours.

I frankly struggle to see the criticism. And sure, you could say that if someone says "Hey, I really like relaxed farming, fishing, crafting, etc games" then they should definitely play something like Stardew Valley first. I agree! But, chances are that by the time DREDGE released, they'd have long played Stardew Valley if they also got enough experience to state their preferences so clearly. Plus I'll be honest, DREDGE's visual style helps it a lot, too. It's a very pretty game that conveys its atmosphere really well as a result.

[BurgerVault]

Dredge does feel pretty empty once you get to a certain point. The end game leaves a lot to be desired.

[Uyên PT]

I'm really wondering whether I should buy it or not after reading the comments in here. ~~

[Carighan]

Originally posted by Uyên PT:

I'm really wondering whether I should buy it or not after reading the comments in here. ~~

Eh, personally I wouldn't let the overly loud minority weight you down. If you enjoy "relaxing" games (keep in mind it has a creepy atmosphere that it sells really really well) then this is a fantastic game, especially for its price.

[Uyên PT]

Originally posted by Carighan:

Originally posted by Uyên PT:

I'm really wondering whether I should buy it or not after reading the comments in here. ~~

Eh, personally I wouldn't let the overly loud minority weight you down. If you enjoy "relaxing" games (keep in mind it has a creepy atmosphere that it sells really really well) then this is a fantastic game, especially for its price.

Why don't I see it in your library?

[Carighan]

Originally posted by Uyên PT:

Why don't I see it in your library?

Bought on GOG, they had a good early sale on it.

[tzeneth]

Originally posted by Uyên PT:

I'm really wondering whether I should buy it or not after reading the comments in here. ~~

My biased opinion is that if you're unsure, wait for a sale.

[Uyên PT]

Originally posted by tzeneth:

Originally posted by Uyên PT:

I'm really wondering whether I should buy it or not after reading the comments in here. ~~

My biased opinion is that if you're unsure, wait for a sale.

It's on sale. 😂

[RCMidas]

Steam refund policies make it very easy to determine whether this game is for you or not. Play for an hour, hour and a half, see if you feel the gameplay loop and atmosphere is for you. If not, refund. If so, keep going, you'll likely be done in a few more hours.

[Uyên PT]

Originally posted by RCMidas:

Steam refund policies make it very easy to determine whether this game is for you or not. Play for an hour, hour and a half, see if you feel the gameplay loop and atmosphere is for you. If not, refund. If so, keep going, you'll likely be done in a few more hours.

Thank you for your comment, but I don't want to take advantage of Steam's refund mechanism

[Vesperas]

Originally posted by TeknoTel:

Originally posted by Vesperas:

The game is good.

Sure, it could be longer. There could have been more quests, areas to explore, upgrades, and plot development.

I feel like the issue with it really comes down to how it's paced and the lack of replayability. It starts wrapping itself up right around when you start to feel like it's about to open up. I will readily agree that the lack of depth within DREDGE is disappointing.

That said, despite its minimalism, it's still a fun (casual) game while it lasts, so I don't think the price is awful. Obviously, value is subjective.

By comparison, if you look at something like Psychonauts 2, which most people consider to be an amazing game (myself included), I was able to obtain every achievement and reach 100% completion in that game in about 30 hours.

It also cost $60.

It is not really anything to do with the game length, its the content. It's poorly developed. Nothing ever progresses, advances or evolved. The mechanics never change. The characters never develop. There is no real connecting story. Once you scratch beneath the surface there is very little to this game.

It does look nice though and what is there is a solid foundation/premise for a good game, it just never moves on from the foundation which is very disappointing for a game at its price point.

I both agree and disagree.

I agree with your statements that the mechanics never change and it never really moves on from the foundation it's built upon. My comment about the game wrapping itself up right around when you feel like it's about to open up reflects this.

As I've pointed out throughout several threads now, my biggest criticisms concern its length and replayability. In both cases, I'd say these criticisms reflect a desire for more substantial content and improvements to the overall gameplay loop (specifically, the day & night cycle and the cadence of gameplay).

However, I disagree that there's no real connecting story. If you follow the quests and consider how it all applies to the bigger picture, it make sense. In fact, it even explains why some of the characters never develop. They're broken--they've given up.

There are also "hidden" quests; finding the old mayor and finding the stone tablet, which help provide more context to what is really happening.

The plot is minimalist with its overall presentation because it doesn't need to be anything more. It's a very basic, existential, meaning of life story. The classic, "to be or not to be?" In this case, it's "do I struggle through the day to day routine, preoccupying myself with endless production work, or do I just give up?"

Effectively, it's the same plot as all of the Zelda games. In both DREDGE and Zelda, you play the anti-hero.

[dont use this profile anymore]

I really enjoyed it at first now it's already boring

[Arnie Rimsy BSc.SSc.]

I honestly just don't think it's that deep... it's a chill lil adventure mystery game... fun.

[tzeneth]

Originally posted by RCMidas:

Steam refund policies make it very easy to determine whether this game is for you or not. Play for an hour, hour and a half, see if you feel the gameplay loop and atmosphere is for you. If not, refund. If so, keep going, you'll likely be done in a few more hours.

The problem with steam's refund policies is that there are games where the first few hours are good (I think this games first few hours are good) but the rest of the game has some issue or it doesn't develop as you would expect (IE: the first couple hours of a mechanic are good but it starts to drag over time).

[Arnie Rimsy BSc.SSc.]

Originally posted by tzeneth:

Originally posted by RCMidas:

Steam refund policies make it very easy to determine whether this game is for you or not. Play for an hour, hour and a half, see if you feel the gameplay loop and atmosphere is for you. If not, refund. If so, keep going, you'll likely be done in a few more hours.

The problem with steam's refund policies is that there are games where the first few hours are good (I think this games first few hours are good) but the rest of the game has some issue or it doesn't develop as you would expect (IE: the first couple hours of a mechanic are good but it starts to drag over time).

I don't think the games info misleads players with claims of indepth, ever evolving gameplay.
It's sold as a simple little fishing game with occasional upgrades, & some mystery mixed in to the main story. On top of that, anyone can read the reviews from other players currently, including negative reviews criticising the games length. This is a 10 hour story with another 20-30 hours of fishing, exploring and 100%ing.
There's new DLC releasing next week adding a few hours of extra content too.

Not trying to talk you down, there's just very little reason for anyone to claim they had an issue with the gameplay length, Steam refund policies, and not having access to info that the game is a short indie game. I'd also argue that for the price, you basically get a dollar an hour of entertainment, and that's if it takes you over 36 1/2 Australian hours, (boy what a measurement!)

I do think an added difficulty could be great, add tension and length to the game though. I'd say you could fault this game only a little bit through personal preference, IE: Please add this cos it's cool to me.

Just to finish my personal opinion here, this games length was perfect for me. It wasn't filled with bloat, a little adventure, some upgrades, a small map. I loved playing it through so much that I've just got a Steam copy to do it all again + the DLC.