DREDGE The Pale Reach DLC Review (PlayStation 5)

For this DREDGE The Pale Reach DLC Review, In The Pale Reach, we will navigate the treacherous ice fields to discover a mystery frozen under the ice. Retrace the steps of the last crew that came before us and unearth a story of bitter betrayal. Find some familiar faces and develop new equipment to navigate the area and profit from its inhabitants. On a side not I have added in details from the main game in case you are coming in fresh.

DREDGE The Pale Reach DLC Review Pros:

  • Beautiful graphics.
  • Download size.
  • A new set of trophies for the DLC.
  • You get the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 versions of the game.
  • Controller settings – Invert axis and sensitivity sliders rebind controls, camera shakes amount slider, and re-center.
  • Accessibility settings – change color schemes (Colourblind support), relaxed fishing mode, radial menu, motion smoothing, chromatic aberration, pop-up duration, and text speed.
  • New In-game cutscenes.
  • Set the clock style (12/24), and units used (metric/imperial).
  • Tutorials – on/off.
  • The fishing is done via a mini-game where you must press a button within the marked areas.
  • You can go and play the DLC whenever you want, It’s an area at the bottom of the map and is always accessible, I mean you just need a bit of cash to get some ice rods and nets then off you go.
  • The ice breaker is the new toy for your ship and this allows you to break through the ice chunks that inhabit the new area.
  • Item management is handled like Resident Evil in that you can almost play Tetris arranging and moving items around to make them fit.
  • Full 3D camera control.
  • You can see fishing spots on the water’s surface.
  • All fish and items come in different shapes and sizes to add an extra puzzle-like layer to managing your inventory.
  • Time only advances when you are fishing, moving, or doing a particular action.
  • Full day/night cycle.
  • All fishing spots are different kinds like seawater, freshwater, etc, and require particular equipment.
  • Easy dock and undock controls.
  • A ll new fish that take new fishing gear for the ice waters.
  • Trophy fish can appear.
  • The goal of the DLC is to rebuild the hut, explore the area, and catalog all new finds.
  • Multiple choice encounters.
  • Your inventory is the Shap of your boat and this means you have sections marked out for new ship parts, engines, rods, etc.
  • The shipwright will repair damage to your ship and also sell upgrades.
  • Research new equipment for it to appear in shops.
  • Central storage box.
  • Quick sell all button option.
  • The encyclopedia fills in with caught fish. 128 in total with 7 water types like coastal, volcano, oceanic, etc.
  • There is an upgrade tree for your boat.
  • Collect resources by finding them or exploring shipwrecks.
  • Panic sets in in the dark and can only be lessened by sleep or using the boat light.
  • Different weather effects.
  • Pursuits are the game’s missions amd you get a lot of side ones to accompany the main story pursuits.
  • Upgrades take real in-game time to complete.
  • Advance time by sleeping.
  • You can see the fish underwater swimming around and this helps with identifying rare fish.
  • Books can be awarded and found. Select one to have it read as time passes.
  • Fish locations randomly change.
  • At night you can catch different fish/resources.
  • Interact with landmarks and points of interest.
  • Chilled soundtrack.
  • Corrupted fish are rare and can garner a high sell price along with a bonus award.
  • When upgrading you can store what resources you have at the moment to free up inventory space.
  • Find lost relics and give them to the collector for dredging tools.
  • Talk with locals to learn about potential side pursuits and secrets like sunken ships etc.
  • All the dredging and fishing mini-games are variations of the idea.
  • The map fills in with destinations.
  • Get powerful needed abilities like Haste (faster acceleration)that are good but also have side effects.
  • There is a dark almost horror element to the game.
  • Five locations to unlock each with unique towns folk, shops, and selling prices.
  • The game is a huge time killer.
  • You read the books to get permanent buffs.
  • The encyclopedia works like a Pokedex and catching a new fish for the first time will put them into your encyclopedia entry.

DREDGE The Pale Reach DLC Review Cons:

  • You have to remember to collect the map before going otherwise it never fills in. (This is your heads up)
  • Short playtime, I clocked it in around five hours.
  • Money is really needed to start the DLC just so you can get a few basic new ice rods and nets so you can start and progress in the DLC story.
  • A lot to take in.
  • The first hour is tough as you have a slow boat, Wide open areas and you need to grind out currency.
  • Turns into a juggling act with so many pursuits on the go at once.
  • The true game takes a while to show itself.
  • Dragging and dropping is not as snappy as it should be.
  • A fair bit of grinding as you need to get the upgrades so you can do a few things at once.

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DREDGE The Pale Reach DLC:

Official website.

Developer: Black Salt Games

Publisher: Team 17

Store Links –

PlayStation

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!