Sometimes, you want entirely new experiences or even activities from a game expansion. With Black Salt Games’ Dredge The Pale Reach DLC, the team offers exactly what anyone savoring the game would want, and that’s more of what makes this haunting fishing adventure what it is.
The Pale Reach in Dredge is simple enough to start, and you can essentially head to the new location at any point. It’s at the southern most part of the map, marked with red ink. I recommend visiting after heading to at least Gale Cliffs, but anything works. (That happened to be where I was in my replay when I began the expansion.) Upon arriving, you’ll find a Traveling Merchant already set up shop. Talking to the NPC prompts hints about the ice field, as well as the ruins nearby and the promise of an icebreaker that could grant access to additional locations in the region.
What I love first and foremost about this add-on is the sense of purpose it provides. Once I got there and learned I’d need to construct the icebreaker and purchase the new Ice type equipment like the Barbed Ice Rod and Brittle Trawl Net, I felt a renewed desire to get back to fishing. I’d taken an extended pause, due to other games and already earning an ending I found satisfying. Knowing I had a reason to start heading out to the ocean again invigorated me. Plus, knowing there were almost 20 types of new fish and creatures to find in the water drove me onward so I could see it all.
Not to mention there are the new pursuits. I appreciated that each one of these new missions involved worthwhile rewards, but sometimes weren’t always ominous. I mean, while the Narwhal is an intimidating figure, the pursuit tied to it starts out in something of an innocent way. Trickling out so each one unlocks more, be it access to new areas of The Pale Reach in Dredge to new equipment, it felt like I was mostly earning access or things I’d actually use. The only exception was the ability to get Ice Blocks from the merchant. Freshness never really ended up being an issue for me in the base game or this expansion, so it was sort of… there.
I will admit that The Pale Reach did leave me wanting, but not because there isn’t enough new content for Dredge in it. Rather, it’s because I suppose the full game spoiled me a bit. There was so much lore packed into it, if you took the time to explore, and I really appreciated some of the threatening beings that would haunt the waters. I’d have appreciated more of those insights here, as well as the threats. What’s here is a good taste and builds slightly on existing elements. Just extra insight and forboding moments would have made a good time even better.
Essentially, The Pale Reach is what I wanted from a first major Dredge add-on, and it makes me excited about The Iron Rig DLC coming in 2024. There’s a bit of a new story, a good array of new fish, extra equipment to earn, and the ability to journey to the new region at any time during a playthrough, and it all fits in well basically anytime in your current adventure. While I might have liked a little more lore or ominous opponents, this DLC makes for some more solid seafaring sessions.
Dredge and its The Pale Reach DLC are available on the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.
