Dredge, the excellent “sinister fishing” indie joint from New Zealand’s Black Salt Games (which earned the #7 spot in our 2023 Game of the Year countdown), has just celebrated a whole year since its release on March 30th, 2023.
To mark the occasion, not only has the team released a gorgeous little video highlighting some impressive stats post-launch, but it’s also pledged a massive $100,000 donation to the NZ Whale & Dolphin Trust, to help further its efforts in research and conversation of species like the Bottlenose Dolphin and Sperm Whale.
For PlayStation players who are yet to experience one of last year’s best games, there’s also now a free demo available on the PlayStation Store which features the full first chapter of the game. You can find that here.
? HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! ?
One year ago, we released DREDGE on all platforms! We want to say a huge thank you for your continued support. Here's to more adventures across the Greater Marrow later this year… ?
To celebrate, here's a recap of the last twelve months: ?? pic.twitter.com/3TG5elmv0X
— DREDGE (@BSG_DREDGE) March 28, 2024
Some of the impressive stats shared by Black Salt Games include over 1 million copies sold along with multiple award wins and nominations, and looking at actual gameplay data shows that players have spent over a combined 1,400 years fishing in the game in the year since release. 500,000 of us fully upgraded our boats, 100k of us caught every fish and – shamefully – the vast majority of us managed to doom the world.
Dredge has also seen multiple updates since launch, including a hefty DLC expansion titled The Pale Reach.
To celebrate DREDGE's one-year anniversary, @BlackSaltGames have made an $100k donation to the NZ Whale & Dolphin Trust to further their research and conservation efforts! ??
Thank you to everyone who has played the game in the last year- your support has made this possible! pic.twitter.com/O6djSn1ovh
— DREDGE (@BSG_DREDGE) March 27, 2024
We scored Dredge a massive 9/10 in our review, with Brodie saying, “To use fishing terms, Dredge isn’t one you’d kiss and throw back. It’s the definition of a trophy catch. Its series of elegantly simple systems interplay nicely, blending seamlessly with an eerily stunning eldritch style and a moreish checklist of sea life to catch.”
