As me and at least two colleagues have written before, dredge is a lot of fun. I can’t help but feel that Iron Rig, the latest bit of DLC, is the same kind of fun purchase and could offer more than that, at least from a narrative standpoint.
As you probably collected from the name, the central premise of an iron rig is that the oil rig appears north of the game’s established island. So, as you did in a light range filled with ice, it’s your job to head towards this new landmark and see if it requires the best aquatic life and hatred on the land.
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Upon arrival, we learn from the Foreman of the Rig that something mysterious is ongoing, just like tradition. The ships dispatched by Ironhaven Corporation are dispatched by Ironhaven Corporation, which owns the rigs to bring in the supplies needed for workers to be properly set up and the excavation to sink, and no one is fogged the least. So we start one of the two central gameplay loops in the DLC. You go out, drove some wooden boxes belonging to the company, take this opportunity to return to the rig and unlock it as a home base.
Throughout your time on the iron rig, Crate becomes not just a hobby, but also a full-time job, especially for the completionist type. As you know, boxes are necessary to upgrade your rigs – gradually build through the construction of new modules such as factories, foundries, and high-tech labs – and fashion many boat and equipment upgrades that can be created using most of these modules.
Meanwhile, whenever the rig’s drill goes up and you’ll see that every time workers thrust it deep, it causes a huge crack towards one of the four locales that make up the base game’s archipelago, making an excuse to again shoot the excellent design and atmosphere of these established areas. Once these large cracks have finished, patches of dark liquids, such as three or four oils, appear in various regions across the island. These are where DLC is tasked with heading across from the rig scientists to catch a pretty, pretty new array of fish that will add to Dredge’s already impressive collection of strange and wet things.
The new species that live in the depths are very interesting and it is clear that developers have dug up books on fossils to create many creatures that appear to be able to survive the nuclear apocalypse, eat your whole, or both. Naturally, they all have nightmare fuel abnormally evil twins as well. When fishing them, you need to avoid bursting goo bubbles and excess creatures that act as a risk of dark liquid patches.
You’ll need some new rods to catch these dark liquid fish, but these are the same rods that we used for different depths in the base game, which is a bit disappointing as Iron Herben’s technique is tied up. Furthermore, the Dark Sludge itself is a valuable craft resource that you’ll want to gather through a new siphon net and return to your rig.
Crate collection/rig upgrades and dark liquid fishing trips go hand in hand throughout each stage of the expansion story as they progress, with more excavations being made and some more wrinkles being thrown in as typical business executives arrive at their superiors. Iron Rig also provides a proper backstory for undeveloped characters in the base game. This is a great touch.
However, without going too far into too much detail to avoid spoilers, Iron Rig’s story arc finds a way to conclude with a bit of anti-climic. Although it certainly isn’t a character for the rest of the game, it was built so well by the previous events that it would have been possible with a bit more impactful and memorable payoff, as did the base game’s ending. As it stands, the developer may have accidentally written himself a bit in the corner by mistake in plotting the rig, but it is clear that this DLC is intended to be played as something that fits the game’s established story.
What you’re done is left with the task of upgrading your rig to the fullest. Many of these upgrades include new hulls, improved capabilities, and most of new technologies to improve craft catches and exercise efficiency.
There are a few additional iron rig equipment I would definitely recommend as an essential craft. These are nets and crab pots that collect dredge materials, rather than fish or new types of food. The former saves you from desperately hunting Frothsam whenever you are about to upgrade your craft, but the latter, especially exotic bait – creates a process of hooking rare fish from the rest of the game that may have escaped you. Oh, and you can make tea that calms you down when you get creepy at night, it’s great
Overall, if you’re looking for more dredges, or if you’re looking for a reason to return to the game for the first time since the pale reach, Iron Rig may at least offer weekend fun. Even if it was a good place, it might have been a little more than just another fish that added to the good and creepy net catch.
DREDGE: Iron Rig is scheduled to be released on August 15th for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Reviewed using a PC key provided by the publisher.