DREDGE - The Iron Rig Review

DREDGE, the fishing game seasoned with a bit of eldritch horror, ticks most of the boxes one could associate with nautical horror: the unknown horror of the deep, the unnerving loneliness of the sea and the shapes in the fog, and, naturally, other people. What the game was missing for quite a while, however, was either a supernatural storm or a haunted oil rig… until now! With the latest DLC,The Iron Rig, a new and fancy oil rig has appeared near to the Marrows rife with mystery and monsters.

The first thing you’ll probably notice related to the expansion is a surplus of wrecked ships dotted around the water, often with Ironhaven Boxes to be found after a bit of dredging. After you find a few, you may notice a small question mark popping up in the northern part of the map, wherein a dim light can also be seen. Upon investigation, you may find the titular Ironhaven oil rig.

The situation is this: the Ironhaven Corporation decided to build an oil rig but only managed to build the platform when trouble arose. The many shipments of supplies and tools meant to aid in the construction of the rig never made it there and the workers are now pretty much stranded — corporate naturally didn’t want to scrap the project yet. You, as the intrepid fisherman, can help out by picking up the stray crate here and there and delivering it, helping the workers expand their operations.

Thankfully, the rig has more to offer than a place to rest! As you deliver more and more crates, the rig will add new facilities for you to enjoy, such as an R&D department with new upgrades for your gear, a place to sell your fish, and even an upgrade to your hull eventually. The main facility you will be visiting plotwise, however, is the Science building and the not-at-all-creepy scientist within.

As you help the rig expand a few times, the expansion proper begins. As one can assume, once the rig’s drill hits the seafloor, bad things happen and a sort of… sludge bubbles to the surface. Since this was very much not the intended result, you are sent forth to investigate, finding new fish to, well, fish. “New” is a proportional term, however, as it seems these piscine creatures are ancient creatures long thought extinct! From here forward, the expansion eases into a routine of you snatching up specimens from the goop, bringing them back to the rig, and then going to the next area affected.

The Iron Rig is a great expansion to play in tandem with the plot of the base game, as you’ll find yourself visiting the major locations to sift through sludge for the rig. Might as well do the main quest while you’re at it, right? However, the oily pools of gunk the expansion adds can be a tad annoying, as they slow you down quite a bit, may fill your hold with blobs of goo, and are dangerous to stay in. Luckily, the pools aren’t everywhere and aren’t that big, so they can be avoided for the most part.

DREDGE: The Iron Rig adds a nice little side story to explore while you sail around the Marrows, in addition to providing some fun upgrades to your ship and new fish to catch. While it can be a bit frustrating to go back and forth between the rig and the other locations, the interesting plot and relatively easy requirements make it a good addition. If you haven’t played DREDGE yet, I do recommend getting this DLC to go along with it and if you have, this may be a good excuse to sail through the seas again!