[Update #2]: Dredge's Patch 1.1 has now made navigation smoother and added quality-of-life improvements,

[Update]: Good news! Dredge is getting an expansion alongside a couple of quality-of-life focused updates!

Whether we're talking about real life or video games, I must admit I don't like fishing. It's a slow, boring activity that mostly seems like an excuse to crack open a few beers and kick up your feet. Yet despite this, I found myself really enamored with Dredge - a Lovecraftian exploration game that's almost entirely about roaming the isles looking for strange new fish to annoy.

The main reason Dredge got its hooks into me is the simple yet compelling gameplay loop. You need to catch fish and collect various materials in order to upgrade your ship, which then allows you to explore further and catch even bigger fish, which then lets you upgrade your ship with even more fancy toys, and so it goes. Most things take a bit of effort to unlock which makes acquiring new items feel satisfying, yet the process is never too grindy so you get to constantly enjoy a stream of new abilities and enhancements.

As you progress through the story you'll slowly but surely start getting hints about the Lovecraftian side of Dredge. At first it'll just be a couple of strange visions while sailing at night, then maybe a mutated fish or two, while later on you'll run across gigantic sea monsters that would love nothing more than to nibble on your ship. It's a relatively simple story, and a fairly common premise for a Lovecraftian game, but it's crafted so well that I always found myself pushing forward just to see where this whole thing will even go.

But rather than babble on, allow me to share with you the launch trailer. It should give you a pretty good idea of the sort of atmosphere and gameplay style Dredge is going for. Have a little peek:

If any of this looks like it's right up your alley, and you don't mind a short but focused experience, I'd highly recommend checking Dredge out. I had a blast with it over the past weekend, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye on Black Salt Games to see just what else they might cook up in the future.

You can learn more about Dredge, as well as read a whole bunch of player reviews, over at Steam. Happy fishing!